INJURY ruled me out of the match on Saturday, so Steve Mullaney had the opportunity to take charge of the team which faced Ormskirk.

Watching from the sidelines, I was delighted with the positive way which we went about our batting, however, despite scoring at 6 runs per over for the first 12 overs, we were losing wickets.

As has proved vital in the past, without wickets in hand, posting a big score can prove difficult and Saturday was no different, as our middle and lower order was exposed too early to Ormskirk's West Indian star Adam Sanford.

Unfortunately for us, Sandford went on to claim 7 wickets and with only 129 on the board on a decent wicket, it is simply not enough runs for the bowlers to have a go at. Despite a valiant effort from all the lads, which at one point saw Ormskirk struggle along to 30 for 3 from around 20 overs, they had all the time in the world to pick up the pieces and when Sandford hit a quickfire 40, the game was over.

If proof again was needed, it is vital to build up partnerships and keep wickets in hand in order to post totals which are going to prove challenging to any opposition. Hopefully, despite being in mid table, we have the opportunity to put this right next Saturday, secure a decent league position, and cement a place in the 2005 Lancashire Cup.