SETTLE have thrown down the gauntlet to the Jennings Ribblesdale Cricket League rivals by opening up a four-point lead at the top of the Senior Division table and insisting that they have the ability and the determination to stay there.

Saturday sees the Marshfield men entertaining Oswaltwistle Immanuel in the first round of the Ramsbottom Cup and having beaten the Lancashire side by 88 runs last Sunday at New Lane, skipper Andy Davidson is bound to be confident of progress.

That said, he will not want a repeat of a start which saw his side on the rack at 8-3, although the kind of batting performances given by Tom Canaway, Paul Ridgway and Paul Taylor turned a spell of anxiety into renewed confidence of better things ahead.

"We were staring down the barrel of the gun against 'Ossie', but a superb partnership between Ridgway and Taylor put us into a winning position. The track was soft and unpredictable early on and we struggled, but young Tom Canaway played a dour, sensible innings to pull us away from trouble and Taylor followed up his 37 at Harwood with an unbeaten 52, his maiden league 50.

"The win also showed for the third week running that we are now capable of posting large totals rather than struggling to get out of double figures.

"There is a real sense of determination in the camp and now that there is clear water between us and the rest we intend to ram the advantage home. We are now a bunch of winners rather than a delapidated group of players who only knew how to lose.

"This change is psychological and boils down to belief in the ability of the team and individuals, but winning becomes habitual and that is now starting to appear. Having asked the players to get the team out of the blocks quickly, their response has been magnificent and now we do not intend to surrender our lead."

Confidence was further boosted by the rain-affected draw against Clitheroe on Saturday, when Davidson's embarrassment of bowling riches was brought into focus.

"The first 10 overs from Stuart Hornby and Paul Ridgway were as good as I've witnessed at the Marshfield." says Davidson.

"They could easily have been at 1-6. They beat the bat nearly every ball and as a pair they are complementing each other and have got a good rhythm going. The only problem now is that they are bowling so well that it is difficult to take them off and the other bowlers are not getting an opportunity to get any overs under their belts."

While Settle collected nine points from the weekend, their Craven rivals Earby and Barnoldswick both had to be content with a couple of points from washed out games on Saturday. Barnoldswick never got underway against Padiham, but on Sunday they went down by five wickets at Cherry Tree after posting a modest 141-8 after batting first.

Professional Jeevantha Kulatunga did his bit with a knock of 73 that included four sixes and four fours, while Michael Scothern (21no) helped with a 50-stand for the fifth wicket, but the total was not quite enough as the home side triumphed with three overs in hand.

Earby suffered a similar fate, being washed out when they had restricted Ribblesdale Wanderers to 86-9 and then finding themselves short of runs when they posted a 115-9 total the following day at Great Harwood and went down by five wickets.

In tomorrow's cup programme, Barnoldswick visit Baxenden, while Earby entertain Cherry Tree.