There’s something of interest about all Saturday’s round of games in the Premier Division of the Cumbria Cricket League.
Take leaders Cockermouth, who have defied the handicap of losing four front-line players, to win their opening four games.
They travel to surprise packets Dalton, just promoted from Division One, and already showing they mean to stay in the top-flight – currently third with three wins in four games.
Last Saturday’s win came at Workington and was a severe jolt to the home side’s ambitions as it followed a derby defeat at Whitehaven the week before.
Reigning champions Carlisle, despite that opening day defeat to Keswick, are up to second with three subsequent victories to follow-up with.
They are at Edenside on Saturday against a Furness team who got off the mark last week in emphatic fashion beating Cleator by 228 runs.
Despite losing two county batsmen in Sam Dutton and Nathan Waterston, Furness rattled up 340-7 led by new pro Matthew Kleinveldt (90) who looks as though he’s going to score a barrow-load of runs.
Carlisle will have to go into action without their all-rounder and captain Michael Slack who suffered a serious knee injury fielding for Cumbria – at Furness – last Sunday.
Keswick are joint third alongside Dalton with three wins and a rain-off on their unbeaten record, and they face a Workington side hurting from two successive defeats.
Injured Carlisle skipper Slack had picked-out Keswick as the biggest contenders and stumbling block to the Edenside team registering a hat-trick of titles before they move to the Northern League.
It’s another interesting contest, though Keswick will be without Glenn Weightman as he will be on County RU Championship duty in Chester with Cumbria.
If Workington are looking to respond from damaging defeats, their recent conquerors in Whitehaven also need to show bounce-back-ability.
The Playground side went down at Cockermouth in a high-scoring game in which home pro Shrikant Mundhe took the game away from them with a magnificent 155not out as he batted for 50 overs.
Whitehaven had runs at the top of the order, with pro Terance Warde (79no) at the end but it was still a chastening defeat after a promising start.
They will believe that victory in the follow-up game is vital and that they will fancy their chances against a Wigton side who have not made the best of starts and are currently third bottom.
But Wigton, as they showed last season, are better than that and are capable on their day of pulling off a shock or two and are not to be taken lightly. Of the bott0m four they are the only ones to have won a game.
Stuck at the bottom with only five points to their name and after four straight defeats are Egremont.
It’s quite clear that they have appointed a good overseas player in Raghav Kupar, who batted through to the end last week with 53no but there wasn’t anyone to stay with him as nobody else reached double figures.
Admittedly that was against Carlisle but they do need to find support for the new man when they travel to Haverigg on Saturday.
The south Cumbrians got off the mark last week with their first win at Wigton and currently lie seventh with 22 points on the board.
Meanwhile at the J. D. Campbell Memorial Ground two sides go into action struggling without a win in the bottom four. Cleator (10) host Millom (15) with both sides anxious to get those first ten points onto their record.
Cleator were well beaten at Furness while Millom lost at home to Keswick to keep the pair in the danger zone.
After four games using a sub pro Cleator expect to have their new man in the side to face Millom.
Rishabh Tiwari, 30, has sorted-out his visa problems, is due to fly in today and will be picked-up and brought back to west Cumbria.
Cleator have signed 30-year-old Indian batsman Rishabh Tiwari for the 2024 season.
Their new recruit was able to celebrate his career-best score in the prestigious Ranji Trophy over the winter. Tiwari hit 17 fours and a six in compiling 138 off 237 deliveries for Chhattisgarth in their Trophy game against Hamachel Pradesh.
Tiwari bowls leg breaks but is only rarely used in the first class game in India, although he is expected to turn his arm over for Cleator.
Millom were unlucky to have their first two games abandoned without a ball being bowled and have since suffered two defeats in low-scoring games.