THERE WASN'T a smile to be had around the Hyndburn cricket teams over the weekend as not a single side won in the double header.
It was a disastrous weekend for title-chasing Church whose usually reliable batsmen failed miserably and Sunday turned out to be a deja vu of Saturday as they made just 141 runs all weekend.
They fell apart against last season's bottom club Burnley on Saturday making a disappointing 66 in reply to 169. Their top scorer was Phillip Gilrane with 19.
And it didn't get any better on Sunday as 117 looked like an achievable target on a damp wicket against East Lancs in the 45-over game.
Church needy a steady start but opener Phil Sykes was soon back in the pavilion with one - after a duck the day before - Mark Aspin survived a couple of scares before being caught and Church were soon 35-3 and panicking after the big loss of professional Ruven Peiris (18) after 17 overs.
The runs were painfully slow - in contrast to last season when the two sides made a cominbed total of 600 in red hot conditions.
There was wayward batting with several easy catches for the East Lancs field despite the windy conditions and Church couldn't handle the bowling of Meadows pro Loots Bosman, who finished with 8-25.
Sam Holt did give them a slight glimmer of hope with 10 off the 34th over, but they ended 41 runs behind on a miserable, cold day.
Church are taking heart that they didn't have a good start last season and still finished runners-up but they will be hoping their batsmen hold their nerve this weekend.
Enfield were unlucky on Sunday as they slipped to a one wicket loss to Rawtenstall in another low-scoring game.
The day before they had been undone without much fight by Ramsbottom pro Kartik Murali although four run-outs added to their downfall.
But they made Rawtenstall work harder as they set a target of 140 in difficult conditions. Pro Alviro Petersen did his bit - hitting a quick-fire 50 including three successive sixes. But a late ninth wicket stand in a nervy finish gave Rawtenstall the narrow win.
Accrington, too, struggled with the bat all weekend, making 72 on Saturday against then unbeaten side Lowerhouse. It was disappointing after Tariq Hussain took a career best 8-44 to restrict the Worlsey Cup holders.
There were easy catches, though, for the visiting fielders and Accrington are still looking for their first win.
But they were desperately unlucky not to get it against Bacup on Sunday in a reduced target game. Bacup were struggling at 8-4 and then 36-5 but a late rally gave them 133-9.
Accrington opener Mohsin Ahmed made 26 and sub pro Doug Watson, after taking five wickets, amassed 39 but the rain came and, chasing a new target, they fell an agonising 17 runs short.
It didn't get much better for Rishton who were undone by Nelson's former pro Joe Scuderi on Saturday. He made 73 of their 125 in tricky conditions. With Peter Sleep out early on, paid man Kumar Dharmasena soon followed and the Blackburn Road side were bowled out for 68.
They improved their score on Sunday at Burnley, making 102, with Shaun Wyse top scoring with 40.
But the Turf Moor side are re-finding their form and only lost one wicket in their chase to make it a bleak weekend in for the Hyndburn sides.
