CRICKET: ENFIELD captain David Bracewell is beginning to dislike June.

Last year, his side started the season off at a canter but then, come the summer month, they stuttered.

And it is deja vue for the Dill Hall Laners this time around as they have lost their last three League games and now have to make up ground in the Lancashire League title challenge.

There is still plenty of time to bounce back - but Bracewell is just glad the sixth month will soon be out of the way.

"If you look at last year the same thing happened. We do not seem to want to perform in June for some reason and I don't know why," said the captain.

"At least the month is nearly over and we can hopefully turn a corner in July.

"We are just not getting enough runs all the way down. That's the difference. At the start of the season, we were chipping in from one to 11 and, although we weren't battering anyone, we were managing to win really close games. Now we are just not doing that.

"You can't defend scores of 100 every week which is what we are trying to do and we are just not applying ourselves.

"And the pro Brandon Hiini has been really unlucky in the last three games.

"The only good thing is that everyone is beating each other in this league and we are still not too far away from the top.

"But we need to make sure that we start putting in good performances and get scores we can defend if we bat first or, if we bowl first, make sure we give ourselves a chance with the score we are chasing."

The one high point in the month, though, has been Enfield's 20/20 shows as they reached the semi-final of the league's recently-introduced competition on Friday.

They have a 100 per cent record from their four games and are looking to steal the crown off neighbours Rishton - who play East Lancs tonight in their final 20/20 Group A clash and need to win to finish runners-up and stand any chance of reaching the last four stage.

"We didn't play in the 20/20 tournament two years ago and last year did not win a game," said the Enfield captain.

"So we would have been happy with a couple of wins this year but four out of four is great.

"It has just kicked on really and we get quite a large number watching so it is good for the club to get to the semi-finals to get money into the club.

"The only bad thing now is that we lose Keith Barker who has been the backbone of our 20/20 side with around 200 runs."

Barker was released from Blackburn Rovers FC at the end of last season and the striker is on the hunt for a new football club.

"He has played his last match for us as he is going for football trials," continued the skipper. "I think he is going to Scottish Premier League side Gretna and then he will see what happens.

"I suppose it gives the other batsman and bowlers a chance and Neil Holmes is back after missing the last couple of games."

He admits the weather - which wiped out last week's local derbies which will be replayed on 1 September - is playing havoc with the season.

"We haven't been able to train on the practise wicket at Enfield for weeks. It is really frustrating. It has just been so wet."

Bracewell, though, is hoping the weather eases off tomorrow as Enfield make the trip to Lowerhouse. And one bonus for them is that the Liverpool Road side's prolific batsman Chris Bleazard is out for two months with a calf injury.

"If he is missing, it is good news for us as he always seems to get big scores against us year after year," said Bracewell.

"He seems to save them for our games and his runs have changed the games over the last three or four years so it gives us some hope."