Church couldn’t end 36-years of hurt as their long search for a cup victory goes on.

The West End outfit lost out to triple-trophy hunting Ramsbottom in the Twenty20 final on Friday night and no one was more gutted than departing Church pro Luke Woodcock.

He has now flown to Brisbane to team up with the New Zealand emerging squad and isn’t expected back until mid-August.

The pro had admitted he was desperate to leave Blackburn Road with a trophy - their first winners one since 1974 - and he needed a decisive score to see off big-hitting Rams.

But getting himself run out on seven - leaving Church on 28-3 - wasn’t the order of the day.

As it turned out, in a low-scoring affair on a drizzly night - a score of around 30 from the paid man could have made the difference as, after making just 97, Ramsbottom made hard work of the chase.

They got to the total with just two overs to spare - former Baxenden paid man Jon Fielding proving the difference with a match-winning 64.

"Luke was gutted afterwards," said skipper Andy Bentley. "He really wanted to leave on a high but he has been brilliant all season so these things happen.

"Although we were all disappointed, we have had a taste of a final now and we want another.

"You have got to take your hats off to Ramsbottom as they played really well - that’s why they are in the Worsley Cup final and challenging for the league as well.

"They are a good side and they never let us get into the game. Unfortunately for us, it was one of those nights.

"But, for Church,there was a big crowd on, the club made a lot of money and we had got over our disappointment by Sunday as we bounced back at Burnley with a win."

This was without bowler Bentley, who was working, and rising star Levi Wolfenden who was playing for Lancashire Under 17s against Durham.

The all-rounder has come through the ranks at Church and there are high hopes that Wolfenden has a big cricket future.

"He is a huge talent," said Church’s Jack Houldsworth. "We think he could go far."

And Bentley admitted: "He is a great lad to captain and we rate him highly. Sometimes I have to tell him not to put too much pressure on himself as he wears his heart on his sleeve when he is playing and always wants to do well.

"We do miss him when he is on Lancashire duty but we can only encourage him as it is a great experience for him.

"The other week, while at Old Trafford, he was bowling at the Australian one-day squad in the warm-up so he is getting experience and hopefully has a big future in the game."

Losing Woodcock - with 663 runs and 28 wickets so far this season - will be a big loss to Church who are waiting for confirmation on a pro for this Sunday’s game but then have Zimbabwean Gary Brent lined up for the following three fixtures as they look to make an impact at the top end of the table.

"The concentration is obviously on the league now and we want to push on," said Bentley.

"Losing Luke is a huge blow but the amateurs have been doing well for us. Craig Fergusson has got a lot of runs since he has returned to us while Mahboob Hussain has come back to the club and has bowled well for us - he was the best bowler in the Twenty20 final.

"We still have East Lancs to play twice, Ramsbottom to play and Haslingden.

"Last season we put a run together of eight wins on the trot and if we do that again then who knows? Haslingden dropped a lot of points near the end last season so you have just got to keep going. We have got close to a trophy and next time, we want to make sure we get it."

For the record, it was a disastrous start to the final for Church with usually strong openers Ammer Mirza and Saggy Hussain falling at 9-2.

When pro Woodcock came in there were high hopes but a run out on seven thanks to quick thinking by Rams fielder Alex Bell left Church reeling and Woodcock gutted.

Fergusson came in to steady the ship, unlucky to be out on 45, but it was slow progress just making 53-3 with eight overs left.

Then they had to go for it and what followed was a succession of boundary catches with pro Francois Du Plessis celebrating three wickets in five balls as he ripped the Church middle order apart.

At 97-8 it was never going to be enough and probably Church’s best hope was that the drizzle got a little heavier throughout the night.

There was a faint glimmer when David Bell and brother Alex were out in quick succession to make it 14-2 and Church were actually in the better position at this stage of the proceedings.

But Du Plessis and captain Fielding played steadily - ticking the score along without doing anything too spectcular.

When the South African did go for it, he was well caught on the boundary by Bentley to make it 59-3 and, while Church celebrated the wicket, they needed a Du Plessis-like bowling spell to really put Rams under pressure.

But it didn’t come and, although Ramsbottom made harder work of it than they needed to, a couple of fours and a six from Fielding, off Woodcock, speeded things up and they lifted the cup with 11 balls and six wickets to spare. Church’s winners trophy wait goes on.