Bleazard’s brilliance!

Chris Bleazard for Lowerhouse Cricket club in their game against Church

Bleazard will feature in the 22nd issue of the Wisden Cricket Monthly Magazine, out next week, looking back on a remarkable career at Liverpool Road.

Bleazard, now 52, made his first team debut for the West Enders 36 years ago against Todmorden, and the former Lancashire Schoolboy and English Universities representative has gone on to become the highest scoring Lowerhouse batsman of all time, memorably winning the man of the match award as he helped steer the club to their first silverware, the Worsley Cup, in 2004.

He has since been a member of the 2012 cup-winning side, while winning the Lancashire League title in 2005, 2011 and 2012.

He had a Moorhouse’s ale, Bleazard’s Brilliance, named after him in 2013, and has scored 16,536 Lancashire League runs to date – only bettered by Haslingden’s Mike Ingham (17,177) – with a club record seven centuries.

Meanwhile, Joe Hawke took 6-37 on Sunday as Lowerhouse eased past struggling Darwen by 82 runs at the Brooks Foundation Ground, to stay a point behind Walsden at the top of the Lancashire League table.

Skipper Ben Heap won the toss and batted, and after losing Johnny Whitehead for 14 at 18, caught behind, the captain and pro Ockert Erasmus moved the score on 60.

The West Enders stuttered as Heap (18), Dean Barlow (16) and Francois Haasbroek (4) and then Hawke (7) fell for the addition of 36.

Paddy Martin (7) followed at 109, but with Erasmus holding things together, he shared 20 with Charlie Cottam (14), before being eighth man out at 130 for another useful 43.

John Cordingly took the last two wickets to finish with 6-33 as Lowerhouse were all out for 141.

That proved more than sufficient as Hawke went to work, with 18, for the ninth wicket, the best partnership for Darwen, opener Ammer Mirza top-scoring with 15.

Lowerhouse are at Norden on Sunday.