A personal view by Peter Stafford WALKING off the Horwich ground last Sunday I was asked by a spectator whether or not Saeed Anwar's outstanding figures had ever been equalled in any previous Hamer Cup final.

Judging from the expression on his face and from his general demeanour I would say he lived closer to Greenmount than to Tonge, and so I can now tell the broadly-smiling gentleman from Brandlesholme Road that, somewhat to my surprise, only four players during the course of the 61finals have hit a half-century and taken five wickets in the same game.

His memory is excused, as each of these examples of all-round excellence took place long before Greenmount was even a gleam in the Bolton League's eye!

The relevant research tells me that, of the four players concerned, the first two were also professional footballers (one an English international), the third a then current Test player of great repute, and the last, 19 years ago, a fellow countryman of Saeed Anwar's.

So now the more knowledgeable among you can put down your paper for a while and see how many of them you can come up with! Answers later in the article.

Sunday's final, while never reaching the heights, was, at the same time, never less than interesting.

Tonge's dreadful start meant that, in all probability, they were never going to set their opponents a Herculean task after tea, and so it proved. Any would-be partnerships were nipped in the bud, and three run-outs, especially that of Northrop, did little to help the general cause.

Kurshid had his moments, but too often his ambition overreaches the bounds of his natural ability, which he has in abundance. If only he would learn to match the right delivery with the correct shot, he would be twice the player.

Theoretically, 133 should never have been anywhere near enough, but Sikander and Taylor have bowled plenty of sides out for much less, and the general tea-interval opinion was that, if they could get rid of the overseas element before a grip had been established on the innings, then Tonge might just become favourites.

They did half the job, sending O'Rourke, Chadwick and Williams packing for a joint 15, but Anwar had the final say. This wasn't the swashbuckling, set-the-game-alight Anwar of Adlington -- this was more your committed professional 'this-is-what-I'm-paid-for' kind of display, and, with the talented Jimmy Horrox playing the ideal supporting role, this was the period of play during which the game was won and lost.

Much was made of the League rule which prevented Ian Taylor from bowling more than 10 overs, and there is no doubt that it weakened Tonge's chances in this particular game, the moreso when Steve Shepley bowled what must have been one of his worst overs of the season to Anwar.

But in the three previous cup-ties, Shepley, one of the League's better first-change bowlers, had taken 8 for 66 from his 30 overs, not exactly the bowling figures of a ball-wiper!

The same rule, let it be remembered, also worked against Greenmount, preventing as it did the in-form Mark Stewart from bowling as much as Gary Chadwick would probably have liked, once Anwar had been identified as the chosen one. Stewart is currently twice the bowler he was earlier in the season, when he mustn't have known where his next wicket was coming from.

As I walked and chatted around the ground, it seemed that most uncommitted spectators were favouring Greenmount, partly because of a 'Tonge-have-won-enough' kind of attitude, but mainly, I suspect, out of sympathy for a thrice-beaten Hamer Cup Final club.

I was torn between wanting to see Gary Chadwick lift the Cup, and wanting to see Iqbal go out on a high, if go out he must. To a certain extent, I was rewarded in both directions, thanks to Mike Hall's excellent tribute to Iqbal during his presentation speech and the Tonge pro's wonderful reception as he appropriately collected the runners-up trophy.

So now, as a result of Sunday's events, Astley Bridge are once again the only club never to have won the old trophy, a fact brought home at the last League meeting when Ron Fallows, during the discussion on arrangements for the final, requested that a photograph of the Hamer Cup be sent to Sharples Park "just so we can see what it looks like."

To return to the matter of the four Hamer Cup Final heroes of the past. The first was Reg Halton for Horwich in 1948, who hit an unbeaten 55 and then took five Eagley wickets for 47.

He was followed four years later by fellow-footballer Harold Hassall, still the only amateur to achieve the feat. His 50 and 6 for 59 was largely responsible for Walkden's win over Bradshaw, and, in 1964, West Indian fast-bowler Charlie Griffith, again for Walkden, devastated Westhoughton with 61 not out and 7 for 26.

Walkden had something of a strange year in1964 was a strange year for the Walkden club. They had originally signed Northants all-rounder Des Barrick, but he was carried from the field in mid-May with a bad foot injury, and was never seen again that season. His replacement was the Pakistan Test all-rounder Saeed Ahmed, but he could only play at weekends, so for the four evening cup-ties Walkden engaged Depeiza, Sobers. Griffith, and, for the final, Griffith again.

The most recent all-round final performance was that of Parvez Mir at Eagley in 1981. who took 6 for 80 against Bradshaw before guiding Egerton to victory with an undefeated 72.

A final word of thanks are due to the Horwich club, whose organisation and management on Sunday couldn't have been bettered. It was all very reminiscent of their neighbours, Adlington, the week before, and I really can't find words of praise higher than that. The only real difference was that, somehow, and I wish they'd share their secret, the Adlington officials seemed to know how to arrange the weather!