AN old bugbear of mine resurfaced this week in the LCB Knockout quarter-finals when Josh Bohannon scored a match-winning half-century for Ormskirk in their victory over Prestwich.

By all accounts the game was not actually that close, but Ormskirk did have a bit of a wobble at the start of their innings when they lost three quick wickets chasing 130-odd.

It took young Josh, who I played against when he was at Farnworth Social Circle, to steady the ship for the home side.

After the game the Prestwich skipper said he looked head and shoulders above the rest.

Well he should do, he is a Lancashire player, albeit a second-teamer.

Now I know these young lads have to play somewhere, and I relish the chance to play against any county player, you want to test yourself against the best, but they are professionals playing as amateurs.

How can that be?

Matt Parkinson is another young lad who has been allowed to turn out as an amateur for Egerton in the GMCL Premier Division this season, yet he was recently picked to play in the Lancashire Lightning squad and has been doing very well by all accounts.

Now I always understood there was some kind of rule that allowed county players to play for the club team where they started. I think Jimmy Anderson would be allowed to play for Burnley if he fancied a run out.

That is something I would pay to see, and if England’s leading wicket-taker of all time didn’t stand out head and shoulders above the rest then there would be something wrong.

There are, of course, another set of county stars who have been welcomed into club cricket recently without the bat of an eyelid.

Our Red Rose women cricketers have been honing their talents in first and second teams across the North West and the results were there for all to see at Lord’s.

What a fantastic advert for women’s cricket that World Cup final was.

The fact it was such a close game just added to the spectacle and I think it will have a real impact.

A sell-out 26,000 crowd watched the game and many more thousands were tuning in. For me, as much as I think women playing in club cricket has added to the game, for both sexes, I hope it grows fast enough now for local women’s leagues to really take hold.

I certainly feel it has captured the imagination and if the powers-that-be really grasp the nettle then maybe you will see a GMCL Women’s League running alongside the men’s league in the near future.