IT WAS a bad weekend for Church as they crashed out of the Twenty20 Cup at the semi-final stage and then suffered a big loss to leaders Haslingden in the league.
First up was Burnley on Friday night in the quick-fire competition in a low scoring game.
Adam Greenwood top-scored for Church with 32 as they made 115.
Andy Bentley and skipper Phil Gilrane took two wickets each and it got down to the last over with Burnley needing seven for victory.
It got to three off the penultimate ball but Burnley got there to record a five-wicket win and face Nelson in the final.
The Blackburn Road side were still suffering on Sunday when they came up against Haslingden.
New pro Luke Woodcock is still acclimatising after his late move from New Zealand and is struggling to get a big score.
Sagawat Hussain top-scored with just 17 of their 84 all out and, despite two wickets from Woodcock, Haslingden pro Andy Payne helped to knock off the runs in just 47 minutes.
Defending champions Accrington kept up the pressure on Haslingden with victory over East Lancs but it was a tight eight-run victory.
Lower order batsman Simon Hanson made a vital 34 in Accrington’s 162-9 and then David Ormerod (4-60) and Paul Carroll (3-27) helped to secure the late win in the fifth ball of the last over.
