Garstang CC ready for a test of their title capabilities

Walling’s players sit second in the Northern Premier Cricket League, five points behind Leyland with eight games of the season remaining.

The first of those comes when they welcome fourth-placed Netherfield to the Riverside on Saturday.

They go into that game, hoping to extend a run which has seen them unbeaten in the league since May.

Garstang have only lost two games this season, one of those defeats coming against Saturday’s visitors.

“They are all big games between now and the end of the season but we have to focus on Netherfield first,” Walling said.

“We’re playing at home and we’re confident about that because we have a good home record.

“Ourselves and Netherfield have played each other a lot over the last couple of years so we know a lot about them and they know a lot about us.”

Garstang go into the game on the back of last Saturday’s win at last season’s champions, Blackpool.

Having made 173-6 in their 50 overs, Walling’s bowlers did their job by dismissing the home side for 147.

“The wicket was really dry and a lot of the overs were bowled by spinners,” he said.

“The wicket took to spin quite a lot but we managed to put a decent score on the board.

“Blackpool is a big ground so, we thought if we got 170 or 180 on the board, they would have to bat well to win.

“We took some early wickets and then put the squeeze on them but everyone keeps stepping up; it isn’t just the same players scoring runs or taking wickets.

“It was a good performance because Blackpool are a strong team and it was great to get the 15 points in the end.

“We knew they were a good team because they had beaten us in the league quite convincingly the first time around, so we knew we had to play well to get on top.”