HORWICH are flying high, and so is Lewis Haydock – just a bit later than originally planned.

Horwich’s continued success, highlighted by Sunday’s quarter-final Lancashire Knockout victory over Lancashire League side Walsden, has given the new-ball bowler a welcome headache with his holidays.

“I’d booked a holiday to Portugal for this week,” he explained after taking two cheap wickets in the 19-run win.

“I originally booked to go from Sunday to Saturday, but I changed my flight to Monday when we got through in this.

“Then we qualified for the T20 final against Lostock on Friday, so instead of coming home Saturday I’m now coming home on Friday morning to play in that.

“It’s a lads’ holiday. I don’t have a missus.

“I’m not that good looking! It’s cost me a fair bit, but it’s all been worth it.”

Haydock insists he will be having a quiet night on Thursday in preparation for Friday night’s home T20 final.

But there was nothing quiet about the win against Walsden.

Horwich were under serious pressure at 64-5, having chosen to bat, but Dean Morris (53) and star of the show Jack Berry, who hit 62 and later took four wickets with his left-arm spin, put on 88 for the sixth wicket to help secure a 45-over total of 195-8.

In reply, Walsden were 22-4 before a recovery led by professional Umesh Karunaratne.

Thankfully, however, Horwich took wickets at crucial times and bowled the hosts out for 176.

It sets up a last-four meeting against another Lancashire League side in Darwen at home on August 4.

Cricket manager David White was full of praise for his players, who recovered from losing two of their last three league games, including against title rivals Farnworth on Saturday.

He said: “We lost a game which we should have won on Saturday, but that’s cricket.

“The lads bounced back and showed so much character because Walsden are a good

side.

“Everybody was quiet in the dressing room on Saturday.

“But we said: ‘Look lads, we’ve achieved so much up to now and have to take games like that on the chin, move on and go again. We need to take what we’ve learnt into the next game’.

“And that’s what we did. You could see some of the lads had learned. Marcus Haydock, for example.

“I think he was out for a duck on Saturday, but he was more positive and got us a very important 17.

“The wicket wasn’t great. It was tough at times, but Dean and Jack batted really, really well.

“It was starting to get away from us a bit at one stage of their chase.

“They were 22-4 and then came at us a bit.

“But we took wickets at just the right times.

“It’s Darwen at home now. We’ve done it tough because we played the first two games with no professional and then beat Formby away and Walsden away.

“It will be nice to have a game at home.”

Friday’s T20 final against Lostock is a repeat of last year’s decider and starts at 6pm.

On Sunday, Horwich also travel to North Yorkshire side Richmondshire in the last 16 of the National Club Championship.