Burnley are back claims captain!

Bharat Tripathi was pleased to see Burnley get back to basics in a three-wicket win over Rawtenstall at the Worswick Memorial Ground.
Burnley captain Bharat Tripathi believes the defending champions will improve after getting back to basics in victory over Rawtenstall at the weekendBurnley captain Bharat Tripathi believes the defending champions will improve after getting back to basics in victory over Rawtenstall at the weekend
Burnley captain Bharat Tripathi believes the defending champions will improve after getting back to basics in victory over Rawtenstall at the weekend

And, as simple as it sounds, the Turf Moor skipper believes that could be the key that will unlock the full potential of the defending champions.

“We reverted back to playing simple, solid cricket,” said the quadruple-winning captain, who helped his side create Lancashire League history last term.

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“We were a bit guilty at the start of the season of being too extravagant with the bat and too loose with the ball.

“We just needed to get back to restricting the opposition with the ball and then batting expressively but doing the basics right first. That’s what will get us up there in the table.”

This weekend provides the perfect platform for Burnley to test that theory. A triple-header of fixtures begins tonight against Rawtenstall on home soil in the Twenty20 competition with Rishton up next in the league.

“It doesn’t lighten up at all because we’ve got three games at the weekend,” said the 26-year-old. “It’s going to be very difficult. It all starts off with Rawtenstall in the 20/20, and we’ve recently experienced how dangerous they can be.

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“We’ve then got Rishton in the league who have been playing very good cricket recently. Their pro (Shaun Von Berg) is taking wickets and he’s scoring runs. It’ll be a really good challenge against a leg-spinning pro but we are well prepared for it.”

Burnley then face Heywood in the LCB Knockout Trophy, the only piece of silverware that eluded them next term. However, Tripathi is refusing to be distracted by potential glory and, instead, is fully focussed on the task ahead.

“The tests just keep on coming,” he said. “We’ve then got last year’s finalists, Heywood, in the LCB Trophy to round off the weekend. It’s very intense both physically and mentally.

“It can be quite draining but we know this is going to be one of the hardest seasons of league cricket that we’ll have to play because we’re having to cope with the pressure as well.”

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Tripathi added: “It’s such a difficult trophy to win. You don’t really know what you’re up against on the day from the opposition. It’s foreign opposition because we’re in different leagues.

“Heywood were finalists last year so we’ll essentially be the underdogs. We know we’ve got enough quality in our side to beat a lot of cricket teams though.

“Last year the mindset was to approach whichever game was in front of us. When you start to focus on things further down the line - trophies and titles - that’s when you’re distracted from what’s directly ahead.

“We’ve got to enjoy the journey and piece it together. The odds of winning it aren’t great so we’ve just got to focus on the tie ahead.”

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