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This week, with David Thompson (Bacup CC)

If the recent World Cup was the ``carnival of cricket'' then I suppose the Lancashire League is the ``Party of Pluviation'' (from the Latin for rain, ``pluvia'' - for those of you not from Bacup or without a classical education).

It was often said around the League last year that it was the worst season in living memory for rain though so far this season has actually surpassed it. It is a poor do when all three rain replay dates are already filled by the end of May. I cannot remember who said it but the famous quote by an American about the British weather - ``you get nine months of winter followed by three months of bad weather'' - is very true. How about starting the season later and ending it later as invariably the weather seems to be better in September than in April?

One of the plus points for this season are the new rules. I believe the League should be congratulated for getting the rules just about right after last year's debacle though the rain recalculation targets are about as easy to understand as the ``Rosetta Stone?!!'' (again those with classical educations will know what I am talking about). As far as my team Bacup are concerned we have been our usual inconsistent selves beating teams at the top of the League such as Nelson and East Lancs, and losing to teams at the bottom such as Accrington and Ramsbottom. I suppose one day soon everything will click and we will amass a score in excess of 300, and bowl the opposition out for less than 50.

Finally, I think the Lancashire League can be very proud of the fact that half of the World Cup-winning Australia team have in the not too distance past played in the League, namely Steve Waugh, Tom Moody, Shane Warne, Paul Reiffel and Damien Fleming, plus squad members Shane Lee and Brendan Julian.

I think this proves that the League is as strong as ever, and I urge people to come and watch Lancashire League cricket as you never know but you may well be watching members of future World Cup-winning team.