As Keith Jones takes a 'pause' whilst he deliberates over the next few players to make the cut, we catch up with John Winder to hear his take on his Greatest Upton XI...

Having been asked to pick an all-time Sunday 1st XI, I find myself in an unusual position. The normal scenario of ringing round the vaguest of acquaintances on a Saturday night to fill the remaining four places has been replaced by a desire not to offend the hundred plus players it has been my privilege to captain.

As I had two spells as captain, I have decided to pick one team for 2002-2004 and a second one for 2010-2013. A look through the scorebooks will tell you that most of the regulars had changed completely during the intervening period. Some of the players chosen may not be as technically gifted (allegedly) as those selected for other best XIs. However, the very essence of Sunday cricket is providing a platform for players of all abilities and philosophies. I like to think that this 2002-2004 side would have brought in the crowds, played with a smile on their faces and almost certainly boosted bar profits. Like Keith Jones, I have divided the article up into three sections to build the suspense. The side has already been picked so bribery is unlikely to secure one of the remaining berths.

John Winder – In the late seventies there was a short-lived card game called Mike Brearley's Batting Aces. It featured world superstars such as Viv Richards, Greg Chappell, Sunil Gavaskar, Gordon Greenidge, Clive Lloyd and, somewhat surprisingly, ...... Mike Brearley. Getting that card must have been akin to getting the Fiat 126 in Top Trumps. Similarly I make the cut on the basis that it is a team I have selected and I can provide keys, scorebook and a range of match balls of dubious vintage.

Ian Sharrock – No Sunday side would be complete without Ian opening the batting. On his finest days there was no need for quick singles as he dispatched deliveries to all parts of the UCG and beyond, making a number of three figure scores in the process. I am glad we never had to try and set a field to him. He must be one of the most even-tempered people to play the game. On one occasion he was bowled first ball of the match by a Welshman playing his first game for fifteen years. As he walked off, his demeanour was no different to when he had scored 160 odd not out a couple of weeks earlier. Fortunately the low scores were exceedingly rare. Ian always made a great contribution tactically and off the field. He was willing to try anything to help the side although he drew the line at turning his arm over. He would field wherever he was asked although he invariably turned up at first slip again within a couple of deliveries.

Dave Potter – In many ways Dave is the ultimate warrior of Sunday cricket. I remember the first time I came across him. It was a wet Sunday with little chance of play. Prepared as ever, Dave had brought a biography of post-war Labour cabinet minister Stafford Cripps with him. This choice of reading material marked him out as a deep thinker about the game and life itself. Dave can hold court on philosophy, Roman architecture, Tranmere Rovers, Schroedinger's Cat, the history of Berlin or any other cultural phenomenon which might come up during dressing room banter. He made the number three slot his own for many years with his trusty Baronet. There is surely no finer sight than seeing the infield pierced by the blistering Potter cover drive on a sunny summer afternoon. Dave has also pouched some of the finest outfield catches I have had the pleasure of witnessing, unusually leaving the whole team lost for words.

John Huggett – Bolton has long been a hotbed of cricketing talent. Frank Tyson, Roy Tattersall, Dick Pollard and more recently Sajid Mahmood were all born or brought up in the area and went on to play for England. One can only assume that there was a breakdown in Lancashire's scouting policy in the Queen's Park and Heaton areas of the town in the late seventies and early eighties. John was a fearsome paceman back in those days. At the age of thirteen he rapped a nine year old on the pad, appealed loudly and the umpire's finger went up. His victim's name was Ronnie Irani. Sadly his career and John's seemed to go in opposite directions after that. John managed to reinvent himself as a wicketkeeper many years later, always entertaining the crowd with his dazzling gloves. Few people can have travelled more miles than John to play for the Sunday 1st XI. His fifty at Alder CC is firmly embedded in UCC folklore.