ENFIELD will again bid to overcome the absence of pro Gary Brent as they look to complete wins over Todmorden on successive weekends in the Worsley Cup.

The Zimbabwean paid man is unavailable on Saturdays this season due to work commitments at Rugby School so Theo Doropoulos again deputises at Centre Vale.

And Enfield skipper David Bracewell hopes his side’s 18-run win on Sunday will give them the psychological edge as the high-flying Dill Hall Laners look to build on their crushing 96-run first round win over Burnley.

Following an early defeat, Enfield have embarked on a fine run of form with six league wins and a positive start to their 20:20 campaign, but Bracewell is wary of false dawns and has called for more from his bowling attack, one of only two yet to gain a bowling bonus point.

He said: "We are normally strong starters in the league but tend to slip up in June so we’re not getting too carried away. I don’t know if we tend to get a bit complacent but we will just keep going this year.

"The only thing separating us from Accrington at the top is that they’ve bowled out five teams more than we have. That makes a big difference, the extra two points here or there."

Brent, who should be back available for Sunday‘s league visit of RISHTON, contributed 54 as Enfield were restricted to 223 on Sunday, despite bright early headway from Chris Maudsley (34) and Craig Fergusson (42).

But, despite grabbing three wickets in a 24-over bowling stint, Brent was left cursing after bringing up the dreaded three figures in his bowling analysis as the Tod openers unleashed some brutal early hitting.

Bracewell said: "We were about 20 or 30 short of what we could have got, and they got off to an absolute flyer - it was like playing a 20:20 game. The ball was disappearing everywhere so to claw it back was fantastic really. I guess we could put it down to getting used to winning.

"Gary said he was gutted because it was the first time he has gone for over 100, but he will run through a brick wall if he has to."

There were also two handy wickets for 16-year-old paceman Hassan Fazal while Simon O’Loughlin was the pick with 4/50 as the Tod innings ran out of steam.

CHURCH are clinging to the hope that New Zealand pro Luke Woodcock will finally have been allowed into the country this week in time to play some part in this weekend’s cup and Lancashire League double header with Lowerhouse and Haslingden.

The Kiwi was forced to return Down Under after being held in a cell at Heathrow Airport by border officials due to complications with his work permit.

Church squandered a promising position on Sunday to lose by 17 runs to table-toppers ACCRINGTON at Thorneyholme Road, with Kashif Siddiq filling in as sub pro with 23 runs and 3/42.

Skipper Phil Gilrane confirmed that Siddiq is unavailable for tomorrow’s cup trip to Lowerhouse, and admitted Woodcock’s continued absence is disrupting the team.

He said: "We still haven’t heard anything but I can’t see it being that much longer. Kashif Siddiq last week was really good for us but we need to find a different pro every week. It‘s very difficult when the team is not set."

Graham Lloyd (49) was the mainstay of the Accrington total of 179 all out, a score Church were confident of chasing down - but their reply was undermined immediately as both openers were removed for ducks by pro Roy Silva.

Levi Wolfenden (38) and Andrew Bentley (29 not out) provided the main resistance, but the chase was doomed by three run outs.

In Sunday’s other game Rishton notched their third win of the campaign by defeating struggling East Lancashire by 45 runs at Blackburn Road. Craig Smith’s 60 was the mainstay of the home side’s 193 which was never seriously challenged as only three East Lancs batsman reached double figures. John Seedle and Richard Rostron grabbed three wickets apiece.

After their first round Worsley Cup exit, Accrington will look to build on their five-point lead at the top of the Lancashire League as they travel to East Lancashire.

In Friday's opening two Lancashire League Group A 20:20 matches Church fell 10 short in their chase of Enfield’s 126 at Dill Hall Lane, despite a bright opening stand of 51 between Adam Greenwood (33) and Sagawat Hussain (11).

Paid man Gary Brent (4/15) and captain David Bracewell (2/18) inflicted most of the damage. Enfield’s top scorers were opener Craig Fergusson (27) and Mark Burns (26). Mark Gilrane picked up four wickets in a late burst for the visitors, while skipper Phil Gilrane grabbed 3/19.

The exact same target of 126 also proved successful for Rishton, who defeated Accrington by four runs in a nail-biter at Thorneyholme Road.

The hosts looked to be cruising at 96/3 with Graham Lloyd (37) and Stuart Crabtree (30) sharing a stand of 69, but they faltered under fine late bowling from pro Aaron Heal (3/21) and Barry Hamilton (2/9). Rishton had been struggling at 49/4 before 30s from John Seedle and Tiarnan Hamill steadied their innings, with Roy Silva taking three Rishton scalps.