WITH just 12 points separating the top seven clubs in the Senior Division of the Jennings Ribblesdale League, the second half of the season promises to be an interesting affair, especially if summer eventually arrives and the puddings which have passed for wickets thus far give way to much firmer surfaces.

Bowlers have had the better of the conditions to date and the question that will hopefully need to be answered in the coming weeks is which team will emerge with the most accomplished batting line-up once the ball starts to come onto the bat with a bit more pace.

Leading the way at the moment are Barnoldswick, who recaptured top spot after a low-scoring win over Whalley while Cherry Tree were being beaten on run-rate by Read.

Bowlers have generally been prospering on the soft wickets, no-where more so than at Victory Park on Saturday, when Barnoldswick and Whalley could muster only 120 runs between them.

The home side could hardly have fancied their chances when they were bowled out for 83 in an innings where only two batsmen reached double figures, although in the circumstances, home skipper Mike Scothern had not lost hope at the half-way stage.

"It wasn't an outrageous wicket by any means, but it was certainly a difficult one to score runs on," he said. "It was generally low and slow, but the occasional ball bounced, so that while staying in wasn't that difficult, scoring was.

"Sid Sheraz and myself went through a spell where we picked up a dozen runs from a 100 balls, which shows how well David O'Neill and Simon Gorton were using the conditions. Luckily, they didn't open with O'Neill, otherwise we might have been in every deeper trouble.

"The point to stress at the interval was that if we had struggled so much, we ought to be able to make life difficult for Whalley and that's what we did.

"It's nice to be back at the top of the table and I'd like to be there at the half-way stage on Sunday. I always felt that the league would be wide open this season, with many of the teams able to beat each other and that's how it has panned out. It all adds to the fun."

Matthew Nutter produced the crucial contribution for Barnoldswick with a knock of 35, which included six fours, before O'Neill got to work, while Michael Scothern's pain-staking ten proved to be a significant effort in an innings of just 83.

When James Stead had Martin Davies caught by Clinton Peake off the first ball and then had professional Neil Cordingley caught by Ian Scothern in the same over, Barnoldswick tails were up and they never looked back.

Whalley lost half their side for ten as Stead and Scothern tore their early order apart and at 13-7, they were facing serious humiliation. Only a defiant 16 from Simon Gorton helped to spare the side's blushes to some extent, although an all-out total of 37 will remain among the lowest of the season.

Earby are two points adrift of their arch-rivals after their three-wicket win at bottom club Oswaldtwistle, a situation which leaves skipper Ian Clarkson looking forward to Part Two of the season with keen anticipation.

"The league is wide open at the moment, with no team outstanding, but everything depends on how teams cope when the wickets firm up," he says. "There's all to play for now and I'm pleased with our position and the way things have gone.

"Our objective is to finish in the top four and get a place in the Lancashire leagues knockout next season, although obviously we want to finish as high as we can and made a decent bid for the title.

"What we need now is to get some continuity into our batting. I think batsmen will come to the fore in the coming weeks if things dry out and the team's with strong batting sides will move forward.

"So far our bowlers have done well, but I believe that the onus will shift to the batsmen now and how they cope with the changing conditions."

Settle, meanwhile, continue their progress up the table and are now just seven points adrift of the leaders and well in contention, especially with bowlers Stuart Hornby, Paul Ridgway and David Jolleys one of the strongest in the division.