A former regional press journalist who has now left the industry has had his first novel published.

Peter Aspinall, who worked for the Lancashire Evening Post and Wigan Evening Post, has written The Tour – a comedy drama about the adventures of a northern cricket club who embark on a tour in Somerset in the 1980s.

His book, published earlier this year, tells the fictional tale of the arrival of a dashing young Australian at Crawford Cricket Club and the impact this has on the team and others.

Peter was a known as “Wigan’s voice of rugby league” for a quarter of a century as a journalist working for the two titles and has also written several books on the sport.

He said his novel was not entirely fiction and was partly based on a real-life cricket tour he went on in 1981.

Peter said: “I have spent a large part of my life writing. I have written a few factual books in the past but never a novel before.

“I stopped working at the newspaper about three year ago and decided to take on the challenge. I always thought there was at least one novel in me.

“The book isn’t a sports book and there’s very little cricket in it. It’s a comedy drama about the surreal adventures which befall the members of a northern cricket club who embark on a tour down south back in the early 1980s.

“The book has received many positive, encouraging reviews and comments.”

His style of writing was influenced by Peter Tinniswood, author of I Didn’t Know You Cared and A Touch of Daniel.

The Tour is published by Matador Books and available from Amazon.