First we have a friendly midweek on the eve of the season disrupting managers’ preparations, then three games in we have the Euro 2012 qualifiers.

The duo were recruited by Link4Life to teach Tri Golf to children aged from three-to -14-year-olds at various venues across the borough, including Bowlee Park Community Centre, Woodland Community School, Heywood, the Middleton Arena and Springhill High School, Rochdale.

Having been managerless for the past two and a half years with a number of senior players retiring, Ian Cornet took the reins over the summer and he has drafted in some young fresh faces.

Both 19-year-old Cook and Stevenson are ranked number one in the world in their respective weight categories.

After posting 207 for five, Boro dismissed the visitors for 162, although they had to wait until the last over to clinch the maximum five-points.

In their first game, they faced Division One newcomers Runcorn Town, following their promotion from the West Cheshire League.

Sinny was showing off his British title belt while also giving advice to the Manchester boxers who will be entering the senior novice ABA championships next month.

Welcoming clubs from all over the North West including Manchester, Liverpool, Oldham, Rochdale, Blackburn and Chorley, the event saw teams competing in a six-a-side tag rugby tournament, with fantastic displays showcasing the sport.

The Reds, who won last season’s cup competition and play in a higher league, were much fancied however they came up against a Manchester Storm side who were determined to make their mark.

On the Manchester board, Ernie Faulkner struck a 15-slip-up, the best so far in the Cheetham Hill and District League, but it was only consolation for his Cheetham Hill Cricket Club team beaten by the odd leg in seven by the Alliance B.

Their double header started with a home game against Milnrow and Middleton skipper Steve Davey decided to bat on winning the toss.

And it turned out to be a case of North versus South to see who would be crowned netball champions.

They lost the aggregate in their top of the table match at Nimble Nook but their five individual winners haul was enough to ensure promotion back to the A Division.

The 30-year-old Indian professional, who smashed an unbeaten 155 the previous week at Radcliffe, made a determined 55 not out at Oldham on Saturday then crashed 127 the following day at home to Crompton.

Heywood Cricket Club first linked up with Biwater Services Ltd, the national water treatment company whose local operation is based at Gregge Street, back in 1992.

Defeats of Oldham by 80 runs and Crompton by six wickets have cemented Heywood’s place in the top four. And while catching leaders Rochdale may be just too much to ask, they have a real chance of coming second.

In the opening game, former Middleton skipper John Punchard won the toss and decide that Royton would bat on a wicket that was green and damp due to the rain during the week.

Farrell was scheduled to fight in February but his show was cancelled and a split with former trainer Bobby Rimmer has prolonged his wait.

Howard shot a two under par 68 in the qualifying round of strokeplay to find himself in a tie for second place, just one shot behind the lead.

Clair has signed up for the Women’s Leadership China Challenge for The Prince's Trust in October, aiming to raise over £3,500 to help change the lives of disadvantaged young people for the better.

Play started on time at Towncroft despite the week’s rain, and all credit went to groundsman Rob Bennett for again producing a perfect playing surface.

Tonge collected 11 points at home to Prestwich CC to retain first place with two games in hand over Rhodes B who kept up their challenge with a 12-4 win at Cheetham Hill CC A.

The winner of the last coaching week was Joshua Thomond in the seniors (over 12s) and Michael Brindley in the juniors. Michael is only 10-years-old and travels from Stockport every week for his lessons.

The visitors were apprehensive about a track which had taken a lot of afternoon rain and caused a delayed start while puddles were cleared.

A hat-trick from Michael Cahill and one from Stephen Hamlet secured a 4-2 victory.

Added to her individual title were the Captain’s Cup and the Landlady’s Cup.

Crompton skipper Carl Taylor won the toss and chos bat on a very green and damp wicket following a heavy downpour the day before.

The Euros kicked off in Budapest yesterday but Stockport Metros star Keri-Anne has decided to swap the pool for the commentary box after landing a role with the BBC.

Harris was disqualified from the second of his five heats for causing the race to be stopped but won his other four rides in brilliant style to finish on 12 points with Stead and Screen. Then he stormed to victory in an exciting run-off for the title after exchanging places with Stead.

The popular event, which is always well supported by both club and unattached runners and spectators, starts and ends at Bowlee Country Park. The majority of Middleton Harriers were busy with race marshalling duties so did not compete.

It’s a Rest of the World side made up of League Pros including the current West Indies Test player Brendan Nash, Clinton Perren, Aaron Heal and Luke Procter against a league XI includingformer Middleton player Barry Hamilton, Mo Bux, Lee Wolstenholme, Dexter Fitton, Ian Walker, Dominic Ayres.

Paul Tarry, who comes from Middleton, gained his first win for the visitors by taking the opening set and, even though Wigan went into a 2-1 lead, Newton Heath fought back to gain the day through John Kurpas, Peter Ward and John Downs.

Steady rain had started to fall during the second half of the game when 30 overs had been delivered. At this point Rochdale were ahead on run rate, but by the time conditions were considered too bad to continue, with 42 overs gone, Middleton were on 168 for six and seven runs ahead of their target score.

The first wicket to fall was Davey, pictured, caught by Werneth captain Andy Walker off the bowling of Joe Taylor for two, with the score on 10.

Tonge’s Ged Smedley, with a 21-3 win, was the best of their six winners, but Steve Squire maintained his 100% record for the home team.

He was presented with the trophy by David Hughes of competition sponsors Hughes Gas Wisely, but not before two intriguing matches which saw him beat Alan Rushton 21-18 then Matt Dwyer 20-17.

The super-bantamweight stopped his opponent with a flurry of devastating lefts at the Bolton Arena on Friday night to edge closer to a shot at Jason Booth.

The teams were well prepared for this event with hours of practice.

The start was delayed start due to the morning rain and Middleton captain Ste Davey won the toss and elected to bat.

After two third places in 2007 and 2008, they danced to the top prize in 2009 and did it again this year in the Street Cheer section - which is a mixture cheerleading and street dance,

Raquel used to play professionally and did her training at the New North Manchester Golf Club under Jason Peel, a PGA professional.

For the pool team, they need a minimum of eight to ten people and, for the darts team, they only have half a team and want five or six more players.

The 16-year-old has been a regular at the English Schools’ for the past three years but a maiden medal has proven elusive with McAslan’s best finish eighth in the 800m in 2008.

Smith included scores of 170 and 171 in his vital victory while 180s came from John Downs and, in defeat, Tony Poole.

Monton skipper Chris Hindle won the toss on a warm and humid day at Welbeck Road.

Only Stuart Cameron and Steve Blaymire returned winning cards for Prestwich with Steve’s Squire’s 21-7 the best for The Grove who took the extra three points for the aggregate win (186-143).

The event, sponsored by local housing company and principal Manchester Storm sponsor Eastlands Homes, takes place every pre-season between these two clubs on either side of the Pennines.

Ladyhouse captain Paul Winrow won the toss at Ladyhouse and decided to bat with a view to giving his batsman practice for the Wood Cup semi-final against Littleborough the following day, a game Milnrow also won to secure their first final appearance in seven years.

It is a unique 5k race where competitors from all ages above 14 years negotiate a series of obstacles that reflect the environment in which it is run – both man-made and natural.

The two had only just gone ahead with a commendable 16-darter. The Evans brothers defeated John Dervish and Terry Birkett (Gardeners Arms) 2-1 in the semi-finals, the stage at which Murray and Blakey overcame another pair from the Nelson A, Tony Daniels Jr and John Gaffey.

Disaster struck in the first over when Davey was bowled by overseas amateur, Jonathon Fowler without troubling the scorers, and when 2 overs later Scott Stanworth was caught behind by Barlow off Fowler Middleton were 13 for 2.

]]> cricket http://menmedia.co.uk/middletonguardian/sport/cricket/s/1279653_middletons_fivepointer?rss=yes#comments 2010-07-14T15:27:31 http://menmedia.co.uk/middletonguardian/sport/s/1279654_pavlina_a_pioneer_for_northside?rss=yes Northside ABC were celebrating a first last week when Pavlina Zubacova became the club’s first female boxer to win a national title.

Pavlina won the women’s national 54kgs class championships in Portsmouth.

]]> sport http://menmedia.co.uk/middletonguardian/sport/s/1279654_pavlina_a_pioneer_for_northside?rss=yes#comments 2010-07-01T08:01:23 http://menmedia.co.uk/middletonguardian/sport/s/1279656_youngsters_lifting_langley?rss=yes Langley Rangers’ annual presentation night was held at the Crown Inn on Long Street, Middleton on Saturday evening and was combined with a fundraiser which raised hundreds of pounds for the club.

Formed on the Langley estate in 1965, and playing in the Middleton Sunday league for 45 years, the club has won the Middleton League premier division more than any other team.

Commonwealth light-middleweight champion, Watson, takes on Mark Lloyd in a British title eliminator next month, which could lead to a mouth-watering showdown with Jennings later in the year.

The key moment of the game came when stand-in Middleton pro Peter Fulton, a New Zealand Test player, who was going well on 36, edged a ball from Kuldeep Diwan to wicketkeeper Denny Hulme.

The opening bout proved a cracker with Fox junior William Crolla taking on Jack McDonagh of Northside and ermging the winner on a unaminous decision.

The inaugural event was held at Littleborough Sports Club, Rakewood to mark the sporting achievement of partner schools, Cardinal Langley School Sport Partnership and other partners in their commitment to sport and PE.

The 23-year-old was been sidelined since pulling up in training with the injury back in February which has meant the Trafford AC star has yet to compete outside in 2010.

It was a memorable cup final with the scores level at 1-1 by the end of extra time.

However, the form book was turned right on its head as Thornham produced a scintillating display to thump the side from The Heys by 70 runs.

Dominic Ayres, the Rochdale skipper, won the toss and decided to bat, opening the innings along with professional and former Kiwi star, Craig Spearman.

Any girl aged between 8 -12 years of age interested in playing for the all-girl club is invited to attend their free open coaching evening. This is taking place at 10 Acres Lane Sports Facilities on Friday 2 July between 6-7pm.

Ste Davey won the toss and chose to bat. Stanworth and Davey opened the innings and with the score on 14, Davey went for six.

After winning the Divisional Cup and the Stretford Victoria Tournament final, they arrived at the Parkwyddn in bouyant mood and both Tigers A and Tigers B teams did well in the group stages with the A team being undefeated.

Both are light welterweights and compete for the Mancunian Boxing Club, which was set up last year by head coach Kenny Dobson.

A 21-10 win from John Chamberlain was one of six individual winners as The Grove took the aggregate 189-164.

But it turned out to be their only solace on the weekend with the club suffering defeat in the Lancashire Cup to Little Hulton and narrowly going down to neighbouring Heywood in the Twenty/20.

Middleton Harriers’ John Cox and Mick Bull joined Radcliffe AC’s Sheila McNulty for the 48-mile Joss Naylor Challenge and they were the first trio to complete the daunting circuit.

All four players who competed in the Lancashire Ladies Championship at a very windy Pleasington Golf Club, Blackburn did the club proud.

He was inspired to take part in this event in support of Manchester Golf Club members who are affected by cancer related illnesses.

Fay Pye decided to shorten her putter on the eve of the event and ended up winning a VIP trip to the Ryder Cup, along with partner Pam Evans.

Werneth captain Andy Walker won the toss and elected to bat, and when the score had reached 14 Werneth’s professional, Darren Shadford, drove the ball into the hands of Mark Buckley off Raz Hussain.

]]> cricket http://menmedia.co.uk/middletonguardian/sport/cricket/s/1241765_polished_display_from_middleton?rss=yes#comments 2010-06-03T08:01:57 http://menmedia.co.uk/middletonguardian/sport/s/1241768_tense_double_for_the_lads?rss=yes Middleton Lads Under nines Red teams emphatic season ended with defeat - but they still clinched the North Bury League title, sharing it with Bridge FC Hawks.

Middleton had played seven games in three weeks with the backlog of fixtures due to bad weather and matches missed while successfully lifting the North Bury league main cup.

Maximums came from Gary Bentley, Anthony Cooper, John Downs and, in defeat, from Dave Skelton. Other victories were supplied through Andy Gourlay, Peter Ward, Steve Bateson and Dave Cullen.

]]> sport http://menmedia.co.uk/middletonguardian/sport/s/1241769_blackley_in_push_for_top_?rss=yes#comments 2010-06-03T08:02:02 http://menmedia.co.uk/middletonguardian/sport/s/1241770_delamere_girls_get_revenge?rss=yes Delamere Rangers Under 12s girls took revenge on Hough End Girls with a 3-1 South Manchester Challenge Cup final win.

The week before the Delamere girls had lost to the same Hough End team in another cup final, but the tables were turned this time with the Rangers girls bossing the match.

The Rebels had an extraordinary season by going unbeaten in the league, winning 18 games and drawing two.