The 2013 Worsley Cup got underway on Sunday, and surprisingly, all of the scheduled games were played to a finish.

Possibly the pick of the matches was at Blackburn Road where Rishton overcame Accrington with just the solitary wicket in hand to end Accrington’s unbeaten run which dated all the way back to August 2012.

Rishton were able to restrict Accrington to 127 from their 49.1 overs, with Afq Sartaj picking up three scalps.

Skipper Shaun Hutchinson was quick to praise the bowling attack, and their impact on the game.

“The bowlers put us in apposition to win the game. We could have actually cleaned them up for a little bit less than 127, but I’m really proud of the bowlers, they were brilliant,” Hutchinson said.

Despite Accrington’s relatively modest total however, Hutchinson conceded that the last five overs of the run chase were tough to watch.

“It was typical Rishton, really. We always make it difficult for ourselves, and I did not enjoy the end I can assure you. But, the game was brilliant, we had a big crowd in, and every run was cheered, it was great,” Hutchinson added.

Despite the club’s early exit from the competition, Accrington bowler Jimmy Hayhurst wasn’t too downbeat after the defeat. “Sometimes, you’ve just got to hold your hands up and congratulate the other team,” Hayhurst said.

Elsewhere, Enfield suffered their biggest loss of the season away at Lowerhouse, as they were beaten by 131 runs.

It means the club are still without a win in their 2013 campaign, but Adam Bracewell insists the team aren’t too

concerned with the current form. He said: “In our previous two matches, we have been really unlucky and only lost by 15 or 20 runs.

“So there are plenty of positives to take from that. Obviously, Sunday was a little bit different, we didn’t play well at all, but I’m sure all the boys can pull together and turn it around.

“The game on Sunday was lost in the first 10 overs.

“We struggled a lot and the bowlers had a lot of no-balls, which of course, now means a free hit. And we were punished.”

Church were also beaten, but they were handed their defeat by Colne, who scraped home by two wickets.

On a rain soaked pitch, Church were able to set a target of 210, a total skipper Craig Fergusson described as ‘fair’.

“Getting 200 plus on a wicket which wasn’t that good was decent.

“But, we didn’t bowl tight enough lines, we didn’t put the ball in the right areas, and ultimately that cost us.

“It was one of those that could have gone either way, unfortunately, we just found ourselves on the wrong side of it,” Fergusson said.