Royton on track — skipper Hulme

Denny Hulme

CRICKET: DENNY Hulme still believes firmly that Royton are heading in the right direction despite last weekend’s stunning CLL Premiership defeat at the hands of leaders Norden.

Inspired by professional Dan Salpietro, who took five wickets and scored 69 not out, Norden cruised to a nine-wicket success at The Paddock to check Royton’s smart start to the 2015 campaign.

It was a blow for Hulme’s men, but they showed character in bouncing back to win their Wood Cup tie at Milnrow 24 hours later.

Hulme said: “We were disappointed to lose against Norden.

“We feel we’re capable of competing with anyone in our division, but Salpietro made the difference for them on Saturday. He was different class.

“Overall, though, I’ve got no complaints at the way things are going so far.

“Maybe our batting has let us down at times, but the bowling is always going to be strong and that stands us in good stead going forward.

“We could do with a few better tracks as the pitches hopefully start to improve with the weather soon.

“We’re an aggressive side and we are capable of putting the opposition under pressure.

“But so far we’ve done okay, and we showed that in beating Milnrow the day after, Saturday’s result was a real wake-up call.”

Skipper Hulme has been pleased with the all-round togetherness his team have shown during the early stages of this season.

“We have got a great group at Royton,” added Hulme.

“In fact I’d go as far as to say it’s possibly the best group I’ve known since I’ve been at the club.

“We’re all local lads, we hang around together and stop behind for a drink after games. There’s a great camaraderie.

“There’s certainly no club politics here like you get at other places.

“We get on well and that’s evident when we’re out on the field.”

Royton will be confident of securing another victory on Saturday when they host stuttering Clifton.

DELPH skipper and Lancashire prospect Arron Lilley turned out as stand-in professional for Werneth in their Wood Cup preliminary round clash at Monton and Weaste.

However, the county all-rounder was unable to affect the outcome as Monton cruised to a massive 188-run victory at the Sports Club.

Lilley took two of the hosts’ five wickets to fall, before being dismissed for a duck in Werneth’s reply.