AT Chorley Cricket Club, Keith Eccleshare's name is never spoken, they just call him Ledge, short for the Legend.

That is how high a regard they have for one of the best cricketers Bolton has ever produced.

Last season at the age of 50 Keith finally hung up his pads and his boots after a brilliant career spanning 38 years in cricket and 15 years in football.

I can see the headlines now in the Bolton Evening News in 1965 when Keith was 15 years old. It read "Boy with a problem -- Bolton schoolboy has a difficult decision to make in the next few months, whether he prefers to be another Denis Law at football or Brian Statham at cricket."

As a youngster he was very talented at both sports, but he had a choice to make. Before the 60s a sportsman could play both football and cricket professionally, but when they overlapped too much, Keith chose football, and he signed for Bury FC.

But when the club switched him from centre forward to right back, the next Denis Law he was never going to be.

A lot of people think that had he chosen cricket after playing for Lancashire and England schoolboys, he would have gone on to become the next Brian Statham, and played not only for Lancashire, but for England too.

But has he any regrets about the decision he made back then? "None what so ever," he said. "Given my time over again I would do exactly the same. I have loved every minute of my sports. I have met some wonderful people and have lots of great memories."

Keith was born in 1950, one of four sons to Alice and Albert. His brothers Graham, Ray and Philip all played cricket in the Bolton League. Keith went to Harwood Primary School, and then attended Breightmet High School. His first club was Tonge. He started netting there at 12, then he would watch the under 18s play. He once followed them to Heaton, and when his team was a player short they asked him to play, but he hadn't taken his whites so he played in purple jeans!

He must have been doing rather well because ex-Bolton Wanderers keeper Eddie Hopkinson, who played for Heaton at that time said: "You're not allowed to bowl without whites." He was taken off. However, this did not put him off and he made rapid progress.

On the football side Keith was playing for Marshalls in the Boys Fed. He was spotted by Bury Football Club and they signed him on leaving school at 15 years old.

He represented the England youth team against Belgium, Malta, East Germany and Czechoslovakia but Bury released him at 21 and Keith then went playing semi-pro for Fleetwood, Macclesfield Town, Northwich Victoria and Chorley.

Northwich had a great FA Cup run in 1978 when they reached the Fifth Round. overcoming league teams Rochdale, Peterborough and Watford along the way before Keith finally hung his boots up at the age of 30.

Back to the cricketing career. At the age of 14 he was playing in the first team at Tonge and representing Lancashire Schoolboys. In a game against Hertfordshire he took nine wickets for 11 runs, and he deprived himself of the 10th wicket when he caught the last wicket off his team-mate's bowling. He then went on to play for the North England and England schools, where he acquitted himself with distinction.

In 1971 he signed for Astley Bridge, and helped them to win the league, leaving a trail of devastation with his accurate bowling. After taking seven wickets against Tonge in that season, it was enough for the Castle Hill club to re-sign their number one son. He played there as professional for six years taking 517 wickets at 11 runs apiece.

In 1984 it was back to Astley Bridge. Once again he was skittling teams out, taking 317 in three seasons. He then spent 17 years at Chorley where more success followed. He helped them to win the Northern League twice and two National Knockout competitions at Lords in successive years.

Although Keith was first and foremost a pace bowler, he could bowl leg-spin with just as much accuracy. And in his last eight years at Chorley he concentrated on the spinning art.

The late Jim Gledhill who was 30 years in charge of the Lancashire Federation, was once asked who the best player he had coached. He coached the likes of Mike Atherton, David Lloyd and Frank Hayes. But his reply without a doubt "Keith Eccleshare."

In all he won seven league championships, runner up 11 times, took 2,500 wickets. Appeared in 29 cup finals, won 11, played three finals at Lords, took 100 wickets in a season eight times, played for Lancs 2nds and represented Lancashire CC XI against the West Indies and Pakistan, and most prized scalp Brian Lara.

Keith Eccleshare's days of battering timber may be over, but Legends live forever.