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If Anybody had told me before the season that by mid-July East Lancs First XI would be on top of the Lancashire League and through to the Worsley Cup Final, I would have taken their beer off them and told them that it was time for them to go home.

For this was to be my first year as captain, we had lost the services of several senior players, we were to play with new rules and we were awaiting the arrival of a new professional, Claude Henderson. To put it politely, I was slightly concerned.

My worries were eased on the day that Claude arrived. I was told by the cricket chairman that it was the norm to entertain the professional on his first night, so I decided to take him for a curry and a couple of drinks.

The way he talked was in no way big-headed, but was with a strong belief in his own cricketing abilities and a desire to win. Claude has obviously made a massive impact on the league with his slow left arm bowling, but he would be the first to admit that our results so far have only been achieved with great team efforts.

The Cup Final on August 8 will be a repeat of last year's final against Colne and I expect a very tight game. I believe the teams to be evenly matched and it may go down to the wire yet again. As for the league, there is still such a long way to go, so many things can change, but I believe the champions will emerge from the current top three. We don't expect anything, but who knows? Stranger things have happened. East Lancashire Club at the moment is a very happy place, our spectators have been brilliant and everybody is full of encouragement. The other day, I even caught Jeff (club steward) smiling, but maybe that was just a bout of wind.