CHURCH skipper Phil Sykes is confident his young charges will have learnt from what has been a tricky season.
The Blackburn Road side finished joint bottom of the table but completed the season on a high with veteran bowler Nick Westwell - who will play on next season - taking his first ever hat-trick against Lowerhouse on Sunday.
But this season, Sykes has given youth a chance - and feels they can only benefit.
"We lost some experienced players like Mark Aspin last summer and it is essentially a young side, taking me and Nick out of it.
"But they have come through strong with Oliver Rigby, who is just 17, getting his first 50 towards the end of the season and making 300 runs in his first Lancashire League season and Ryan North also made his debut and came out with some really good scores towards the end.
"They whole team is learning all the time and hopefully they can kick on from there next season.
"I think the young players did find it a big jump from junior cricket to Lancashire League but they have all got a year's experience now.
"And they know what we expect from them now and what they need to do and hopefully they will carry on improving."
Sri Lankan pro Ruven Peiris, signed for a fourth year next summer, has once again come up with the goods with 1088 runs and nearly 50 wickets.
"He has been tremendous, we can't fault him," continued the skipper. "He is brilliant on and off the field and is always available for coaching.
"Unforunately we got on a losing streak early on and we just couldn't seem to get out of it. We made mistakes - like dropping Nishit Shetty for nought and it was quite a simple catch! - but also a few things went against us.
"Hopefully we will bounce back next year."
