Enfield captain Adam Bracewell admits he hasn’t looked at the league table as he is trying to take the pressure off his team.

The Dill Hall Laners have had a hit and miss season but a double win weekend has put them up to eighth and towards a top half finish.

Bracewell admitted that getting his players just to concentrate on playing their own match and not a game-plan has been beneficial.

"A few of the players put themselves under pressure but we have been trying to encourage players to go out and enjoy themselves as individuals and we seem to be getting the best out of it," he said.

"I haven’t been playing particularly well and have never really recovered from the knee operation I had in the winter and so, at first, I put pressure on myself but now I am just going out there to have a go and see what happens.

"We have also been blooding a few youngsters into the first team who will be influential in a few years time but we are just letting them bowl a few overs and try it out at the moment."

A high point though has been South African pro Werner Coetsee who has 488 runs on the board and 53 wickets in the bag.

"He has done well for us," said the captain. "I am sure he will finish as one of the top wicket takers in the league and will soon be over 500 runs.

"He has settled in easily as there are other South Arican pros at Lowerhouse and East Lancs and that’s made it easy for him."

Adam has had to drop brother David to the seconds for this Sunday’s clash at Colne but it hasn’t caused a family rift.

"David has been struggling with a bad back so he can’t really bowl for us," said Adam. "There is no point him not bowling and batting lower down the order if he is struggling and so we had a talk about it and decided it was for the best."

While Enfield are 51 points off the top, they are desperate for a solid end-of-season finish and saw off Church in a tight local derby on Saturday.

In a season where spectacular batting collapses have become a routine event around the Lancashire League, Church lost the last eight wickets for 37 runs in pursuit of 157 and ended up losing pace on top three,

The afternoon began sedately with an Enfield opening partnership of 30 in 17 overs before Zahir Afzal edged to Craig Fergusson.

Asif Fazal upped the tempo taking 12 off an Anwar over but he tried one big shot too many when Mohammed Jamil began a second spell and was caught at long-off.

When Jamil bowled Enfield pro Coetsee for just 19, the Dill Hall Lane men were 80-3 and, with Ashley Gowers out soon after, much responsibility lay on Liam Jackson and skipper Bracewell.

The pair added 40 and the stand was only ended when Bracewell, on 18, was well caught by Andrew Bentley.

Kieron Demaine and Jack Cook both fell to Anwar but Jackson pushed the total past 150, hitting an unbeaten 55.

In their innings, Church soon lost Levi Wolfenden, but Fergusson and Anwar took the score to 75 before Coetsee claimed his second catch off the first ball of Alex Whittaker’s spell.

It proved a short spell as Nasser Hussain took 16 off his second and last over and, with Anwar also looking untroubled, the pair took the score past 100, but when Anwar reached 49, the game underwent a change in emphasis.

Anwar became stuck looking for the single to complete what seemed the routine matter of a half-century as he gave Coetsee a return catch.

To that point Coetsee had claimed 0-36 off 11 overs. But 21 balls later he had 6-38 with Church in utter ruins.

With eight balls left, 10 more were required and there was the chance Church could run out of time and fall short.

But that indignity was spared for a different one as non-striker Bentley was run out and Jackson cleaned Gilrane up next ball.

On Sunday, East Lancs set Bracewell’s side 156, and while Enfield looked in trouble at 20-2, Coetsee struck 64 and Sagawat Hussain 24 to see them over the line.