ON Saturday Settle made their first ever trip to distant Atherton where Archie Phillipson dug in for a characteristic 37 from 94 balls, while pro Ashen Silva celebrated his 100th appearance for the Craven side with a masterful 87 from exactly 100 balls, hitting nine fours and two sixes on the way.

There was brisk strokeplay from Eddy Read (15) and overseas amateur Tremaine Dowrich (10) with Settle closing on 190 all out. Atherton got off to a cautious start but after 18 from nine overs the rain forced an abandonment. Settle lie tenth in the NW Premiership, but have only completed one match out of three.

Settle 2nd XI were considerably weakened by several first team absences plus a couple from their own squad, so the youngsters did very well to bowl out Baxenden and claim two bonus points. Max Seddon struck early with two wickets while Will Tyrer kept a stranglehold at the other end. Gus Ogden then returned a career-best 5-28, his first five-wicket haul, with his left-arm wrist spin, a reward for exemplary control of line and length. Noah Smith picked up a catch and a stumping.

Chasing 170, skipper Elliot Marklew did a sterling job as opener with a top score of 25, but the batting struggled until Seddon, in at seven, put on 24. Settle were all out for 81 with Smith unbeaten on ten.

The Development XI had a much better time of it on Sunday, both with the weather and the result against Baxenden. They put on 165 all out in 35 overs at Marshfield after a confident start from the top order. Callum Mathew fell for 46 after an assured innings, backed up by Alex Dew (37) and Richard Bradley (16). Down the order, Ryan Hewitt chipped in with 18.

The visitors' reply was unfortunately a nightmare for them. They were four down with just seven on the board before a slight revival, crashing out for 49 inside 20 overs. Will Tyrer had his best-ever analysis of 5-6, his persistent off-spin proving too much for the batsmen. Left-armer Dowrich rounded off the innings with two wickets in two overs.

This Saturday, Settle firsts entertain Ribblesdale Wanderers, while the seconds travel to Baxenden hoping for better luck on their patch.