FIRST ROUND
(all matches to be played on Thursday May 29th or Friday May 30th)
Old Xaverians v Ainsdale
Upton v Wallasey
Birkenhead St Mary's v Fleetwood Hesketh
Hightown v Parkfield (Wallasey)
Formby v Liverpool Manweb
Mossley Hill v Prescot and Odyssey
Cheshire Lines v Southport and Birkdale
Aigburth v Maghull
Wigan v Widnes
St Helens Recs v Sutton (St Helens)
Chester Boughton Hall v Leigh
Ormskirk v Huyton
Sefton Park v Newton le Willows
Port Sunlight v Orrell Red Triangle

SECOND ROUND
(all matches to be played on Thursday June 19th or Friday June 20th)
Birkenhead Park v Rainhill
Haydock v Oxton
Northern v Ormskirk
Sefton Park v Liverpool Nalgo
Liverpool v Wigan
Port Sunlight v Irby
Hale v St Helens
St Helens Recs v Neston
Wallasey v Ainsdale
Wavertree v Bootle
Rainford v Leigh
St Mary's Old Boys v Formby
Highfield v Southport and Birkdale
Hightown v Maghull
Fleetwood Hesketh v Skelmersdale
New Brighton v Mossley Hill

THIRD ROUND
(all matches to be played on Thursday July 10th or Friday July 11th)
Oxton v Fleetwood Hesketh
Southport & Birkdale v New Brighton
St Helens Recs v Leigh
Bootle v sefton Park
Birkenhead Park v St Helens
Formby v Maghull
Wigan v Wallasey
Irby v Ormskirk

FOURTH ROUND (QUARTER FINALS)
(all matches to be played on Thursday July 24th or Friday July 25th
Bootle v Oxton
Formby v Wallasey
New Brighton v St Helens
Ormskirk v St Helens Recs

SEMI-FINALS
(matches to be played on Thursday August 7th and Friday August 8th
New Brighton v Wallasey
St Helens Recs v Bootle

FINAL
Wallasey lost to Bootle

Richard Hignett provided another swashbuckling epic as Bootle retained the Liverpool Echo Invitation Knockout Trophy in convincing style against Wallasey at Wadham Road today. The Cheshire county star makes a habit of taking attacks apart and put Leigh to the sword in last season's final.

Even one as good as the Wirral club's had no answer as he cracked 4x6s and 4x4s in an outstanding 79*.

That first innings onslaught, after Wallasey elected to bat first in the two innings of 20 overs per side, effectively put paid to the visitors' hopes of winning the Trophy. Bootle's lead, after restricting their rivals to 118-6 in their first knock, was 30 - and it proved the decisive factor.

Paul Strang (32) and Dave Hadden (22) looked positive but the latter's dismissal, one of two stumpings for Graeme Jones, slowed them down. Skipper Phil Luxon and Dave Conlan added useful runs, making 20 and 19* respectively, but no one dominated the attack.

Hignett showed them how it was done with cracking shots all round the ground. He and Paddy McKeown (26) set the tone with 44 for the opening wicket. Graham Lloyd and John Hitchmough went cheaply, but skipper Ian Cockbain's 27 helped put on 63 for the fourth wicket before he holed out off the last ball at 148-4.

Wallasey needed a swift start second time around, but it just didn't materialise. Rob Turnbull and Strang were soon dismissed, and the 30 run deficit was only cancelled out in the ninth over, by which time five wickets were down.

Dave Conlan (29) and Chris Bourne's 28* boosted the total to 99-8 at the close, leaving Bootle just 70 to win.

Two dropped catches - one off Hignett - proved costly. McKeown went for 20, but ex-Lancashire star Lloyd (16*) joined forces with Hignett (33*), who inevitably had the last say with a towering six to finish off the game and give Bootle victory by nine wickets.

It was their twelfth appearance in the final and their sixth victory. Victorious skipper Cockbain was presented with the trophy by Liverpool Echo Deputy Sports Editor, David Jones.