Experienced Castleford batsman Andrew Bourke came to Pudsey Congs with a big reputation.

After all, in 2003 he broke the Yorkshire League's record aggregate for a season with 1,421 runs, ousting a certain David Byas (1,394) from the record books.

However, what the 30-year-old former Yorkshire League skipper calls "some novel ways of getting out", plus a series of injuries, have prevented him from getting into his stride.

In fact, Bourke has only scored 55 runs in ten innings for his new club or, as he prefers to call it "about 1,400 runs less than when I broke the record!".

If Bourke is depressed about his lack of runs, the former Yorkshire Academy player isn't showing it.

In trying to explain his poor form, he said: "I have had tendonitis in the knee, which has caused me to have heel and foot problems.

"I haven't really been free of injury since May 19 when I made my top score of the season so far - 19 at Idle - and I have missed four games because of my injury.

"It is quite debilitating and I probably should have had a rest but you want to prove yourself when you are at a new club.

"It has affected my footwork but hasn't been bad enough to have me ask for a runner."

Bourke, a former England Schools' player at under-13, under-14, under-15 and under-17 level, added: "It has been frustrating because I was playing so well in the nets, but I have managed to find some novel ways of getting out once I have got into the middle.

"I don't feel I am playing that badly but it wouldn't really be any good me dropping into the second team - and no-one has suggested that to me - because the standard is so different.

"Hopefully things will come right for me in the second half of the season."

Bourke, who is a Castleford lad, has been at his local club since he was ten and made his first-team debut when he was 13, so what made him sever his 20-year link with Saville Park.

He said: "I have been close to coming to Congs for the last three seasons since Matthew Doidge approached me, and I just decided last season that I was getting a bit stale at Castleford.

"I needed a fresh challenge and I have always admired Congs as a club, and for years they have been doing the business on the field.

"I knew Alexis Twigg and Tom Glover from the York-shire League, and Nathan Bromby was a talented opening bowler at Morley.

"We have made a lot of chan-ges as a team over the winter but have gelled really well.

"Last year's team knew each other's games inside out and we have had to learn that about each other."

Bourke added: "There isn't much difference in standard between the Yorkshire League and the Bradford League.

"The Yorkshire League is played on bigger grounds and better wickets but the Brad-ford League is more intense.

"If you are a side near the top of the table playing a bottom-of-the-table side in the Yorkshire League, you would be virtually nailed-on to win a contest but that wasn't the case with our match against bottom club Hanging Heaton on Saturday.

"Maybe that is because they are fighting against relegation - a threat that isn't there in the Yorkshire League."

Saturday's game at the Brit-annia Ground was washed out without a ball being bowled, and there was no play in the other six Division One games either.

Division Two was also a non- starter as were all the second-team matches.