The Cumbria League gets underway this weekend, a week later than planned, and it’s difficult to look beyond champions Carlisle completing a farewell hat-trick in the Premier Division.
It will be goodbye at the end of the season as they are moving to join the Northern League for 2025 and after two successive championships will be strong favourites to make it three.
Captain Michael Slack leads a familiar squad of players, with the addition of two newcomers in Matty Brown and Zephania Arinaitwe.
Slack said: “Matty is a wicket-keeper batsman who has been playing at Lanercost but had been playing some cricket in the north east.
“He is a former junior with Carlisle so knows the club and I think he’s going to be a good acquisition.
“Zeph is an all rounder who has shown up well in the nets. He is an asylum seeker from Uganda who has been in Carlisle since January.
“We have not had the pre-season preparations we pride ourselves on because of the weather, which had limited us to one outdoor session.
“We start at home against Keswick and I think they will be a good test because they have recruited well and look a strong side.”
Slack, who is also Carlisle’s professional again, will up against a familiar opposite number with Risith Upamal back again for a third year as pro.
It would appear that two of Carlisle’s usual rivals Furness and Cockermouth might not be as strong as they have been in recent years.
Both clubs have suffered experienced departures. Furness have lost their openers Nathan Waterston and Sam Dutton, along with others, while captain and long serving opening bowler Peter Lawson has retired.
Cockermouth have big holes to fill with Gareth White not playing at the moment along with wicket-keeper Sam Scully, while Sam Sharp has joined Kendal and county spinner Matty Siddall has signed for Fleetwood. Seth Winter has gone back to Threlkeld.
It will be interesting to see their line-ups for the opening games – Furness are at Whitehaven while Cockermouth travel to Wigton.
Whitehaven made progress in the ECB National Cup last season, as did first opponents Furness, and neither struck a bat! They both won the toss of the coin to decide who went through – and both were successful.
Whitehaven have brought back West Indian Terence Warde as their professional and will be looking for aome of their promising youngsters to shine in senior cricket this season.
Shrikant Mundhe is returning to Sandair as professional. Now 35, was pro at Cockermouth back in 2014 when Cockermouth finished fourth in the old North Lancashire and Cumbria League Premier Division behind champions Furness, Cleator and Keswick.
Furness have brought in 34-year-old batsman Matthew Kleinveldt as pro this season. From a cricketing family in South Africa, he was actually born in Southampton and after playing for Hampshire 2nds was offered a contract but could not take it up because of visa issues.
In more recent years he has been playing for Titans in South Africa and in February had a good knock of 132.
Wigton, who made some solid progress last season with a young side, again have Chris Hodgson as their professional.
Nathan Waterston, who has left Furness, is now professional at Millom and looking to build on the improvement that the team has shown over the last two years in the top flight.
They start with a derby clash at Haverigg who have Akshay Chandran in as their new professional. The 30-year-old Indian is a slow left arm bowler and middle order bat who plays back home for Kerela.
In a 2017/18 season Ranji Trophy game he was reported for having a suspect action but re-modelled his bowling style and returned to the game the following season.
Workington could emerge as strong challengers this season and have switched from New Zealand to Australia to find their overseas amateur.
Davis Mills did well last year for them and they are now looking to Jack White to pose a threat in both batting and bowling departments.
They start at Egremont who hope they have secured another Indian gem, Raghav Kapur who is here as an amateur overseas player recommended by last year’s excellent pro Vathsal Govind,.
It hasn’t been a very good start for Raghav. He is in Egremont but his luggage has been mislaid by the airline and is still in transit, but the locals, as expected, have given him a big welcome.
Dalton versus Cleator completes the opening day line-up, with both having new overseas recruits.
Newly promoted Dalton Kagiso Rapaluna, a 32-year-old South African batsman while Cleator have gone for Rishabh Tiwari, a 30-year-old Indian batsman, who also bowls leg breaks.
Dalton’s aim is simply to make sure they stay in the top flight while Cleator will want to improve on last year’s showing when they were looking over their shoulders at the relegation trap door until late on. The form of their new professionals could be key.
