Cumbria are through to a third successive NCCA Trophy final and will meet Berkshire who have beaten them in the two previous showdowns.
Cumbria produced a superb performance yesterday to beat Oxfordshire by four wickets while the holders got through by 88 runs against Dorset.
Chapter three of the Berkshire v Cumbria saga will be played on Sunday, August 28 at Wormsley.
Cumbria, who had tied their Trophy Group game away to Oxfordshire in June had to travel again for the semi-final.
It was played at the Great and Little Tew club, which had not hosted the county for five years.
The home county had elected to bat after winning the toss and Liam Grey, a late inclusion for Cumbria after a three-year absence, struck an early blow.
In his second over he had Jamie Harrison caught by opening bowling partner Brodie Glendinning for five.
Then in his fifth over Glendinning clean bowled the other Oxford opener Harrison Smith for 17.
The admirable Matthew Siddall had Freddie Smith caught behind by Finlay Richardson while Zach Lion-Cachet was trapped leg before by Ben Walkden.
At 47-4 it wasn’t the start that Oxfordshire had been looking for but a half century stand between the dangerous Jonathan Cater (28) and Oliver Clarke (36) took them to 99.
Walkden then had Cater caught behind and Siddall struck again to remove George Tait for one.
Clarke and Luke Charlesworth (34) figured in another fifty partnership before Nico Watt dismissed both in successive overs.
With eight down for 160, Cumbria would be disappointed that they could only take one more wicket and that Oxfordshire reached 212-9 at the end of the 50th over.
The gloriously named Maximilian Mannering was unbeaten with 32 off 24 deliveries which included four fours and a six.
The wickets were shared around but Siddall was particularly economical with 2-21 from his ten overs.
Watt had 2-44; Glendinning took 2-45; Walkden finished with 2-49 and Grey claimed 1-45, all from ten overs.
Cumbria needed a good start and they had it from the Furness pair of Sam Dutton and Nathan Waterston. They had put-on 44 in 10.1 overs when Waterston, the Cumbria League’s top run-maker, was caught behind off Luke Charlesworth for 14.
The next six overs produced another 32 runs before Dutton was bowled by Prav Chahal for 44.
Marcus Stables was third out for 15 by which time Cumbria were well up with the rate on 106-3 from 21.1 overs.
J.J. Fielding and Walkden come from a Lancashire Academy background and their partnership proved invaluable.
They put on 77 for the fourth wicket before Fielding went for a big hit off Mannering and was stumped by Cater for 71.
He only faced 79 balls, hitting 11 fours and two sixes in an hour and 41 minutes at the crease.
His father Jonathan played 16 Trophy matches for Cumberland between 1997 and 2006 and had a top score of 30 not out, although he did take 29 wickets!
Cumbria were in the driving seat and although acting skipper Matthew Sempill perished quickly only 30 were needed off 12.1 overs.
Walkden went for 37 in sight of victory and, in fact, it was the two opening bowlers Grey (16no) and Glendinning (0no) who saw Cumbria over the line with four wickets and 2.5 overs to spare.
In the 2019 final Berkshire won by one run but they were decisive winners by 151 runs last year. COVID ruled out the 2020 competition.
