Euxton have no fear as they target ‘massive’ derby victory
Euxton have the opportunity to emerge from the shadow of their more illustrious neighbours on Sunday in a mouth-watering cup semi-final.
James Bone’s men head to Windsor Park to take on derby rivals Chorley, with a place in the final of the pink-ball 40 Over Cup at stake.
The two clubs, whose grounds are separated by a little over a mile, have lived much of their respective existence in a parallel universe.
Chorley, who were formed in 1909, were founder members of the Northern Premier Cricket League (NPCL) in 1952.
The club achieved national fame in the 1990s when it reached the final of the ECB National Club Cricket Championship for three successive years.
They were crowned national champions at Lord’s in 1994 and 1995, before finishing runners-up the following year.
Euxton, by contrast, were founded in 1978 and have spent the vast majority of their history in the Palace Shield (PS). But in 2023, they won promotion to the NPCL after winning the PS Premier Division title.
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As things stand, they sit just a handful of places below Chorley in the Northern Pyramid System – and could conceivably swap places with them next year.
Third in division two, Euxton are gunning for promotion this summer, while Chorley sit just four points above the bottom two in division one and are in grave danger of suffering relegation.
But all eyes will be on Sunday’s clash as the two clubs come face to face in the cup.
Euxton are the only second division outfit left in the competition – the other semi sees Garstang host Kendal.
"It would be a big scalp to beat them on their own patch,” Bone said. “If you look at us relative to Chorley, in the short time since Euxton has been founded – we’re going to be in our 50th year soon – we’re only going in one direction in terms of the club’s progression.
"It’s a good reflection of where we are at that we are mixing it with these clubs, considering the age of the club and where we have come from.”
‘Notoriously strong’ cup team Chorley will be a huge test, says Bone.
The two near neighbours meet on Sunday in the semi-finals of the 40-Over Cup, with a final spot against either Garstang and Kendal up for grabs.
As the only NPCL Division Two side left in the com-petition, Bone’s men are big underdogs and they face a Chorley team who finished top of the competition’s league stage.
But Euxton have proven to be a tough nut to crack themselves, winning five out of six in the league stages and then beating Morecambe at the quarter-final stage.
“We did really well in the league stages,” said Bone. “Last year, we were the only Division Two side to get out of them.
“We pride ourselves on being able to mix it with the Division One teams and on any given day, we feel there isn’t anybody we can’t beat.
“But Chorley have always been notoriously a strong cup team, but a few of our players were juniors players at Chorley and so there’s certainly a big rivalry between the two teams.”