Cumbria’s opening NCCA Championship game is nicely poised after the first day.
Replying to Northumberland’s 177 all out Cumbria were 154-6 at the close.
Winning the toss and electing to bat at Tynemouth, Northumberland lost three early wickets to Cumbria captain Michael Slack.
He bowled Sol Bell (13); had Ben Robinson caught behind by Drew Postlethwaite (19) and caught Stuart Poynter first ball off his own bowling.
At that stage, off 14.1 overs Northumberland were 45-3 and they needed a fourth wicket stand of 78 to get them back on course.
Finlay McCreath and Dale Shaw (47) steadied the ship and at 123-4 Cumbria had work to do again.
Enter stage left spinner Matthew Siddall who then proceeded to remove six of the remaining home batsmen in a remarkable spell.
McCreath watched in increasing frustration as he lost a succession of partners and was marooned on 57 not out when Northumberland subsided to 177 all out.
Siddall, who has switched from Blackpool to Cockermouth this season, finished his spell of 22.3 overs with 6-60 – his county best.
Cumbria’s reply started disastrously as Ben Davidson (12), Alex Grainger (0) and Slack were all back in the pavilion with just 15 on the board.
The recovery was initiated by Sam Dutton and Siddall’s Cockermouth skipper Matthew Sempill who put on 75 for the fourth wicket.
Dutton was only at the crease for 61 minutes and only faced 44 balls but made 57, which included ten fours and a six.
But when he went and Jacques Du Toit (1) followed soon afterwards the game was back on an even keel at 103-5.
Sempill (45) was heading for a patient and well-crafted fifty when he was trapped leg before by Max Williamson but he had added 47 more valuable runs with Nico Watt,
The Carlisle spinner was still there at the close on 23 and had just been joined by Brodie Glendinning who has yet to open his account.
At 154-6 from 43 overs they trail the home side by 23.
