A FEW weeks ago, such was Walshaw’s dominance that I wondered whether they could go through the whole season unbeaten.

Beaten by Norden in the Lancashire Knockout, and by Blackrod last Saturday in the league, Walshaw required all their reserves of determination and all of Jonathan Fielding and Steve Holt’s skill to overcome Edgworth in the Cross Cup on Sunday, after they had been bowled out for 70 on a crumbling pitch which deteriorated as the game went on.

There is no doubt that Walshaw are wobbling at the moment, with their batting a cause for concern. A tricky trip to neighbours Elton tomorrow won’t be easy.

200 runs for 20 wickets in a weekend (250 runs for 30 wickets if you include the Lyddon Trophy Twenty20 match against Egerton on Friday) is not the form of champions.

Normally a good surface where batsmen get full value for their runs, the pitch is not helping the batsmen.

I didn’t see how the pitch played on Saturday, but on Sunday the first three Edgworth wickets came off balls that exploded via the gloves or bat handle to close fielders, and bowlers from the bottom end found alarming bounce and movement from a good length throughout the match; by the end of the game, balls were misbehaving in a similar way from the other end too.

Not good when no one was above medium pace.

The Walshaw team is packed with batsmen with an aggressive outlook — Jamie Pilling, Gav Nicholl, Jon Fielding, Darron Foy and Danny Holland all like to play their shots at all times — and it is these kind of players who will quickly lose confidence should the wicket continue to play badly.

Given the usual high standard of wickets at Sycamore Road, I’d suggest last weekend was just an aberration, perhaps brought on by the pitch sweating under covers for a few days.

Darcy Lever have had major problems with its pitches over the past couple of seasons, but the surface has improved dramatically this year.

Nick Fawcett certainly seems to be enjoying it — he has only failed to reach 50 on a handful of occasions, hitting two more half centuries at weekend to take his total for the season to a cool 580 runs.

The team do too, as they continue to win comfortably in the league, although they fell victim to that perennially dangerous cup team, Atherton, in the Cross Cup on Sunday.

Only four points separate Walshaw, Darcy Lever and Little Hulton at the top of the league which makes for a fascinating season ahead.

One would think that the three remaining head-to-head games between these teams are going to take on an even greater importance, but it is equally important that teams avoid defeats to the chasing pack.

It is safe to assume that the league is now a three-horse race.