By the end of the second night, the game was evenly poised with Bradshaw 131 for 4. On the third evening, against such formidable opponents as Fred Hartley, Joe Gerrard and Roy Tattersall, Farnworth had advanced to an almost unassailable 309 all out, whilst Bradshaw had lost two more wickets for the addition of 23 runs. Billy Baines had made 57, with useful contributions coming from Hartley and Billy Fletcher.

With the score at 154 for 6, and the match clearly as good as over, there was a sparse attendance at Bridgman Park on the Friday evening, even one or two of the Bradshaw players considering the journey as not being worth while. Johnny Isherwood, whose score had stood at one overnight, held very different views. Losing his partner, who failed to add to his score, he unleashed a furious attack on the bowling, and within an hour, had 91 runs to his name, having added 107 runs with a nineteen-year-old Arnold Hamer. It was then, with the freedom of Bradshaw in his grasp, fate took a hand, maliciously decreeing he be run out off a no ball. Although Arnold received some support from the remaining two batsmen, he was undefeated on 41, with the score a heart-breaking 5 runs from the Farnworth total, when the last wicket fell.

On the 1st December 1941, the long awaited trust-deed conveying the cricket ground to the club was signed by the club's first trustees, Col. H. M. Hardcastle, Sir William Clara Lees, Bart., C. S. Parker Esq and T. Lomax Esq JP A new constitution was now considered necessary, and a Management Committee was formed in the proportion of three cricket members to one from each of the tennis and bowling sections. Although in the past there had been committees formed from representatives of the three sections in order to keep in touch with each other's affairs, the control of the club was now vested in the new committee, and any major decision taken by any of the three sections had to have their stamp of approval. The Management Committee in turn obligated themselves to the wishes of the Trustees.

On the playing field, the club twice won the Hamer Cup and the Championship once during the war years.

In the first Hamer Cup year of 1941 Tonge, Horwich and Heaton were all beaten on their own grounds, before Westhoughton, who could muster only 64 runs, lost in the final at Green Lane. Bradshaw lost only 13 wickets in the whole competition, four of these falling in the suspended score of 134 in the final. Ronnie Ashcroft took 5 for 29 in this game and completed his only full season for the club as leading amateur wicket-taker with 40 victims to his name. He was to play only twice more for Bradshaw when home on leave in 1943. A highly promising young cricketer, he was killed serving his country.

The consolation for Fred Hartley was that he captured the two wickets required to pass Frank Harrison's total of 127, acquired in 1936, when professional for Westhoughton. Also, in the final reckoning, Charlie Sedgeick had created the still-standing league record of 30 stumpings in a season, no doubt the vast majority off Fred Hartley, yet astoundingly he did not win the league prize. Anglesea of Westhoughton with less than half these stumpings, had held 15 more catches. Charlie rectified this matter in 1943 when keeping to Ellis Achong, who also took the professional's prize.

1945 was a milestone in Bradshaw Cricket Club's history, when the club had the distinction of being both League Champions and Hamer Cup holders. 18 matches were won in the season; then, as now, an all-time high for the club.

It is difficult to imagine how this was accomplished, with only one half-century coming from an amateur batsman, even taking into consideration that runs were not so easily come by 40 years ago as today.

The championship was probably clinched at Heaton. The home side were two points clear of Bradshaw, with seven matches to play. The crowd was one of the Bolton League's largest and the Buff reported "Spectators occupied all vantage points" and "Treasurer Ken Redfern came in high glee to tell me £50 was already 'in the bag' and the spectators were still coming in, 'look at 'em, hundreds of cricket folk enjoying a good match in perfect weather'." Heaton scored 151. Bradshaw passed the score with seven wickets down, but not without some heart-stopping moments, the score slumping from 140 for 5 to 140 for 7, when Hartley was out for 64, and another wicket fell four balls later. Hartley's collection was £21, about four or five times his match fee. Envisage that in relative terms to today.

Little Lever must have fancied their chances in the cup-final, having dismissed Bradshaw for 33 in the league match, 10 of these runs being byes. Hudson the professional who had taken 5 for 16, was also to have figures of 7 for 35 in the return league match at Bradshaw. Little Lever were responsible for two of Bradshaw's three defeats, Heaton having already won at The Rigbys earlier in the season.

The cup-final was a different story, seventeen-year-old Frank Tattersall taking 5 for 9, to add to his haul of 7 for 22 in the first round at Eagley, and 5 for 30 in an exciting semi-final against Westhoughton at Tonge. Fred Hartley had denied him in the second round match at Tonge, by helping himself to 8 wickets. When Little Lever's total of 68 was overtaken by Lloyd Messado and Hartley, two wickets were down, and they had scored 45 and 25 respectively.