The Third team oversaw another largely successful season this summer, though they were unable to defend their title as League Champions, a second place finish means there are plenty of reasons to look back at their season with pride. As is typical at Burnley, the Third team consisted largely of youngsters showcasing their talent on a weekly basis, continuing to build the pathway that leads into First team cricket as they reach their potential. This year aided by a couple more veterans, which was welcome to give the younger players strong examples to follow.
Burnley won 8 games this season, with 4 losses, as well as the last two games of the summer being rained off. Finishing on exactly 100 points, 18 behind eventual Champions Haslingden. The team was looking towards a title charge towards the end of the season but couldn’t quite string the results together to truly challenge the league leaders.
Squad
A large number of players from the League winning campaign continued into this season. Though there was a bit of turnover, with some players leaving and new faces making appearances. The biggest change over the winter came through the change of captaincy, with David Claire not returning after lifting the League in 2025, replaced by club veteran Gareth Halley. Who made it clear that the aim for the 2026 season was to retain their League title.
Tom Rodger, who took 13 wickets in 2025, also left. Leading wicket taker for Burnley from 2025 Mo Khubaib transferred away midway through the summer and there were no appearances at all from Euan Harris. It was also expected that Jack Brunt and Ishaq Khan would have limited availability given their county commitments and involvement with the first team. The biggest departure however came towards the start of August, when club favourite Aarav Neherkar moved to Australia, having displayed so much skill and endless potential over his years at the club. He will be sorely missed for the future. Several other players also didn’t return, as can be common in Third team cricket.
Given those departures, it was important to ensure other players stepped up and made names for themselves. As mentioned there was a veteran presence around the team this year, not only with Gareth Halley but with the Mitchell brothers, sorry, the Edmonson brothers playing throughout the season. Simon and Phil offering experience in a young batting line-up and often setting the standard in the field for the younger players to meet. Ben Sutcliffe also made occasional appearances towards the end of the season to add some more strength to the side.
Three debutants made their way into the team this summer. Harry Pounder and Milo Kenyon took the step up as 12 year old’s after coming through the junior system and will likely be featured heavily next year. Whilst Hassan Sadaqat joined over the winter and made an immediate impression with his bowling. There was also a special guest appearance from Lewis Gott in his first game for Burnley since 2023. It was also the first full season behind the stumps for Joe Hodgkinson, taking over from Leo Tomlinson as the full time Wicket Keeper this year.
Fixtures and Results
The season started well for Burnley with three wins from their first three games, kicking off with a dominant win of 90 runs away at Clitheroe to start the summer off. Burnley batting first managed to score 219-9 from 40 overs. Aarav kicking off the season with 42 from only 28 balls, whilst Gareth hit the first 50 of the season, finishing 59 from 37. Clitheroe were then limited to only 129-9 in their innings, as a strong team performance with the ball saw all 6 bowlers used claim at least one wicket. A low scoring thriller against Greenmount followed, with Burnley bowled out for 93, they replied by having Greenmount 5-4, then 28-7. before eventually getting them all out for only 68. A bowling effort which was led by Oscar Halley, returning terrific figures of 7 overs, 3 maidens, 7 runs and 4 wickets. Another dominant team victory followed, as Burnley rocked up 177-4 from only 32 overs, with the top four batters all scoring over 25 each, before limiting Enfield to only 82-8 in reply in an innings which saw two run outs, exemplifying the teamwork on show between the lads.
Unfortunately, the winning run came to an end, as Burnley lost the next two games. First came a defeat at Haslingden, as Burnley came close but were ultimately unable to chase down 153, finishing on 137. Though that will likely be a game most remembered for Abel Litto having to go to the hospital, still with a typical big smile on his face, as always. A heavy loss came next against Great Harwood, despite Burnley racking up 220-6 from 40 overs, thanks to 76 from Phil and 60 from Aarav, Harwood made the chase look easy, losing only 1 wicket and winning with 3.4 overs left.
Burnley bounced back from that result with a magnificent 160 run derby victory over Lowerhouse. Jack Brunt(42) Leo Tomlinson(48) and Morgan Shapland(39) made good contributions but the batting plaudits mostly went towards Aarav, who was unluckily ran out whilst backing up for 90 from only 93 deliveries. He led Burnley to score 284-6. Lowerhouse could only manage 124-8 in return, and despite Oscar, Hassan and Mo all taking 2 wickets each, the biggest applause of the second innings came when Simon Edmonson took a wicket as Burnley chased 12 points.
Another nail biting game followed at Greenmount, with several players unavailable, Steve Brunt made his season debut as Captain, whilst Harry Pounder and Milo Kenyon made their senior debuts together at 12 years old. Greenmount managed to score 190 from 40 overs, jack Brunt starred with 6fer whilst Milo also took a wicket on his debut. The game looked out of reach when Burnley were 79-7, but an unbroken partnership between Joe Hodgkinson(29) and Grandad Brunt(83) saw Burnley home with 5 overs left. A heavy scoring game at Littleborough followed, with Burnley scoring 235-6, led by Aarav scoring the first century of the summer for the team, as well as his personal highest score in senior cricket, reaching 117 before being dismissed. Littleborough looked to be close at times, but weren’t quite close enough, as they ended their innings 212-8, losing by 23 runs.
The title charge really got into gear after a low scoring, top of the table clash, where Burnley defeated Haslingden and cut the gap to them at the top. Hassy bowled out for 77, thanks to another 4 wicket haul for Oscar, whilst Burnley chased it down inside 19 overs with 3 wickets left, the gap was down to 24 points after this result, with Burnley also having a game in hand. The Thirds then exercised their demons from the result earlier in the season against Great Harwood, as they chased down 209 with ease. Aarav scored 25 in his last game for Burnley, but it was Leo Tomlinson, who made his highest ever score of 90, along with Ali Syed making a guest appearance and scoring 84, that meant Burnley were victorious and had made it 4 wins in a row as they chased down top spot.
Unfortunately, that would be the last time Burnley would win a game this season in the Third team. A heavy defeat of 198 runs at home vs Littleborough was first, followed by a derby loss against Lowerhouse, falling 32 runs short of their target in a game that saw both Gaz and Aayaan Naveed injured and impacted Burnley’s chances of winning. Those were both huge chances missed, as Haslingden also went on to lose both their games in this period also.
The last two games of what had been a very warm and very dry summer were washed out. First up was a home tie against Clitheroe, where Burnley hit their highest score of the season of 299. Jack hit 41 from only 15 balls, Leo reached 46 from 39 and Gaz scored 65 from 38. But it was Ishaq Khan who starred, smashing 113 from only 61 balls to reach the second century of the season, as well as his first in senior cricket. Burnley needed to win this game to keep the title race alive, but rain meant the second innings never started, and points were shared. The last game of the season was due to be played at Enfield, but was abandoned early on the Saturday morning to bring a damp end to what had been a scorching summer. And a season that will leave lots of memories for the team, the players, and the fans who watched along the way.
Player Performances
Several players stood out during the summer, excellent performances with bat and ball, old and young alike. With nine 50’s and two 100’s recorded with the bat, to go along with one 5fer and three 4fer’s. Plenty of players had time to shine with all the cricket played this summer.
To start with the batting. Aarav Neherkar was the top run scorer in the team, finishing with 445 runs at an average of 44.5, placing fifth in the entire league and well ahead of his teammates this summer. His single hundred of the summer came at Littleborough, scoring 117 from 135 balls, which came with sixteen 4’s and a solo 6. Aarav narrowly missed out on a century earlier in the season against Lowerhouse. Ending up on 90 from 93 when he was dismissed in a controversial manner, a knock which included three 6’s and nine 4’s. His first 50 came against Great Harwood in a innings of 60 from 66, with another 9 fours and 1 six. At a season strike rate of 83, Aarav displayed not only a high level of skill, but attacking and dominant batting too.
Leo Tomlinson finished as next highest runs scorer, with 329 runs to his name at a strike rate of 96, averaging just shy of 30. Despite only notching one score of 50+ this year, it was an important and game winning score at Great Harwood. Hitting four 4’s and four 6’s apiece to make a score of 90 from 93 deliveries, his highest score in senior cricket for Burnley. Leo narrowly missed out on 50’s against both Lowerhouse and Clitheroe at home, his attacking intent often being his downfall, but shows great promise and ability at a young age.
Phil Edmonson, Jack Brunt, Ishaq Khan and Aayaan Naveed all recorded 100+ runs across the season for the Third team. With a score of 50+ each for Phil and Jack. Whilst Ishaq crunched the only other 100+ score towards the end of the summer. Munching into the Clitheroe attack with seven 6’s and eight 4’s, bringing up his first senior century for Burnley to finish 113 from 61 deliveries.
It was a very successful all round season as Captain for Gareth Halley. With the bat he racked up 250 at an average of 62.5, striking over 150 with three scores of 50+. He scored 59(37) in the first game against Clitheroe, 50(45) at Lowerhouse, then enjoyed another innings against Clitheroe with 65(38). Fifteen 6’s hit just in those three innings is a testament to his power. Gaz also took 7 wickets in the year, not bowling himself as much as he could have, letting the younger players often show their skills instead.
In the bowling department it is Oscar Halley who takes the plaudits. Finishing the year with 18 wickets, averaging just under 18. His best performance came in a low scoring affair vs Greenmount at home. Defending only 93, Oscar took 4 wickets in his first three overs to cripple the opposition innings, Greenmount were 7-4 after 5 overs thanks to Oscar. He easily could have had more but simply bowled too well to find the edge on many occasions. His match figures ended 7-3-7-4. His 15 maidens across the season was also a best for the team, bowling just over 84 overs across the season. Oscar also managed a 4 wicket haul in a table top clash vs Haslingden. Taking 4-15 in 6.4 overs.
Jack Brunt followed close being Oscar, taking 13 wickets but at an average of only 8.61. He claimed the only 5+ wicket haul of the season. Taking 6-37 from 8 overs away at Greenmount, he followed that up the next game with 4-27 from 8 overs away at Littleborough, his death bowling preventing the opposition from reaching the target they were looking for.
Aayaan Naveed took 8 wickets, with Ishaq Khan and Hassan Sadaqat behind on 7, then Simon Edmonson who made his return to bowling this year finished with 5, and an average under 20 to go with it. Ishaq and Jack are both able to boast economy rates of under 3, with them both showcasing their immense talent and skill which has driven them into the first team at such young ages. 18 bowlers were used this season by Burnley, with all but one managing to come away with at least one wicket to their name.
Despite not finishing the season with defending the League title, it is another year to look back on at the young talent coming through, getting better with every game and showing off the talent pathway we have at Burnley, as the youngsters chase the success of the many players who have come before them. Thanks go out to Kayleigh, Holly and Helen for the images, as well as Sophie, Rebecca and any others that have helped with providing the excellent teas this summer.
We shall see you all again next year for more fun!