EGERTON begin their defence of the Hamer Cup tomorrow when they go to Farnworth Social Circle.

And although on paper they look to be the stronger side, captain Tim Barry admits that they still have a tough job on their hands.

"There is no way we can take Circle for granted. They have a well balanced bowling attack in Kevin Darlington, Dean Eckersley and Ian Nuttall and we know we have to play to our potential.

"We'll be looking to push ourselves all the way and hopefully we can come away with the right result."

The match also represents something of a reunion for the two respective professionals.

Egerton's new pro Gavin Nedd and his opposite number Kevin Darlington are both from Guyana where they were good friends.

They met up again today when the two sides were involved in a league match 24 hours before tomorrow's cup meeting,

It's Nedd's first season in the Bolton League and his captain says: "He's fitted in very well. He's excellent in the dressing room and his bowling his going to be a real asset to us.

"He flights the ball well and when the wickets start to become a little firmer with the drier weather I'm sure he is going to get a lot of wickets."

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