Colne gained sweet revenge for last week’s defeat at Accrington when they achieved a comfortable victory against the same opponents on the Horsfield on Saturday.
The ground’s drainage was tested to the full by the deluge on Friday, but even with a brief downpour just after 1 p.m., the game started half an hour late.
Accrington won the toss, and put Colne in to bat on a very wet wicket.
With Justin Nutter away, 15-year-old Joel Duerden opened with Sam Tillotson, and acquitted himself well.
He played with a straight bat and did not take risks, and although his score of nine will not make headlines, it was encouraging.
By the time he was caught at slip, Tillotson had departed for nine and Khurram Nazir for seven.
Professional Shadley van Schalkwyk (pictured) followed for six, and Colne were in trouble at 55-4.
Nathan Whitehead (42) and Matthew Wilson (41) made the best stand of the day, putting on 57.
Paradoxically the wet wicket may have helped, because it made it clear to the batsmen that playing straight was the safe way to get runs.
Wilson played several of his trademark drives, two which avoided the problem of a slow outfield by sailing past the sightscreen for six.
Whitehead kept pace with the type of innings we have not often seen for Colne recently, pushing the singles, not risking too many big hits, but finding the gaps in the field and keeping the score moving.
In spite of three brief rain delays, Colne moved the score along to 161-8 from 42 overs.
Van Schalkwyk opened the bowling from the Grange End, and bowled unchanged through the innings.
His first two wickets were caught behind, then lbw, bowled, and another caught behind to leave Accrington 44-5.
The only dangerous partnership of the innings, between Stuart Crabtree (26) and Simon Hanson (31), was worth 39 before Hanson slipped turning for a second and sent Crabtree back, but too late – Crabtree was run out.
Van Schalkwyk bowled Greenwood, then gave Tillotson behind the stumps his fourth catch of the day.
Nazir took the other two wickets, and Accrington crashed to 101 all out, 60 runs in arrears, with eight overs left.
Van Schalkwyk produced his best figures this season, 7-37 from 17 overs.
The first XI travel to Bacup on Sunday.