St Annes' Northern Premier League title defence got off to a good start with victory against Darwen on Saturday with Stephen Twist producing an excellent all round display.

Darwen got off to a good start following St Annes captain Duncan Whalley winning the toss and asking the opposition to bat. St Annes then gained the upper hand following Twist switching ends and taking three quick wickets, including that of prolific Darwen professional Atif Ashraf for 32. The wickets then fell regularly with Twist ending up with 5 for 44, professional Mansoor Ahmed 4 for 37 and 17 year old debutant Greg Whitehead 1 for 9 of his four overs.

The St Annes reply got off to a poor start with both openers dismissed before the total reached double figures. That resulted in Atiq Uz-Zaman and Twist coming together at the crease and they both scored freely to win the game without the loss of any further wickets. Twist ended up 68 not out and Uz-Zaman 52 not out. St Annes travel to Lancaster next Saturday.