What a weekend for Cockermouth captain Matty Sempill – he just couldn’t stop scoring!
After losing young opener Reegan Scott early, Sempill and Alex Grainger (34) put on 72 for the second wicket before a mammoth partnership took the game away from Millom.
Sempill hit seven fours and nine sixes as he shared in a mammoth stand of 176 with sub pro Chirag Khurana. He had faced 119 deliveries.
The Indian batsman finished agonisingly close to a century on 98no off 105 deliveries, hitting 13 fours and a six.
In reply Millom were eventually bowled out for 184 in 45.1 overs with Josh Brown celebrating his senior Cumbria call-up by taking 4-36 from his ten overs.
Michael Wilson (51) and professional Nathan Waterston (28) were the main batsmen for Millom.
Cockermouth are still level at the top with Carlisle as the champions accounted for Workington by 54 runs at Edenside.
Ben Davidson (54) and the in-form Zephania Arinaitwe (40) were the main contributors to the Carlisle total of 212-9 in their 50 overs.
Thomas Fox with 3-31 was the most successful bowler for Workington who were heading for their sixth defeat of the season.
Fox was also the top scorer for the West Cumbrians with 29 and down the order Regan Jackson chipped in with 20 as they were bowled-out for 158 off the penultimate ball of their innings.
Johnny Westgarth took 4-36 and sub pro Daniel Salpietro took 3-9 off 4.5 overs to finish off the innings.
Keswick stayed third with an eight-wicket win over Haverigg at Fitz Park after Ben Sharp had produced a career best 7-12 off his eight overs.
The visitors had elected to bat first after winning the toss and it looked a sound enough decision when they passed 60 without loss.
But from 69-1 they tumbled to 126 all out as fourth change Sharp proved devastating.
Haverigg pro Akshay Chandran hit 66 and was second out at 87 but then the visitors, who included several youngsters, slipped to their all out total in 47 overs,
Kewick were two down for 39 but then Glen Weightman (52no) and pro Risith Upamal (50no) saw them through to victory in the 24th over.
It was a half century from another club professional Terance Warde which saw fourth-placed Whitehaven over the line in a low-scoring game at Dalton.
The home side had been put in to bat and only skipper Joe Braund-Smith (58) made any sort of impression on the Whitehaven bowling.
No other batsman reached double figures and 21 extras helped them reach three figures – all out 107 in the 42nd over.
Opening bowler Billy Thompson had his best League return of 6-30 in 8.3 overs.
Whitehaven didn’t find it easy batting either and it needed a patient 50no from Warde to see them home on 111-7 at the start of the 40th over.
Lewis Woodend was the best of the Dalton bowlers with 3-24 from his 10 overs.
At the other end of the table the big match was at Cleator where the hosts beat bottom side Egremont by eight wickets.
Skipper Coady Scott opened for Egremont when they were put in to bat and he top-scored with 16 in a disappointing total of 72 all out in 30.5 overs.
James Rogers turned in his best bowling figures of 6-11 from 8.5 overs.
Cleator won on 73-2 in the 23rd over with returning professional Rishabh Tiwari unbeaten on 29 – and helped by 21 extras, 14 of them wides.
There was a remarkable game at Furness where visitors Wigton looked to be heading for victory – only to be denied by a masterful performance with the bat by home pro Matthew Kleinveldt.
Chasing Wigton’s 191-9, Furness were in desperate trouble at 31-5 but Kleinveldt found capable allies in Gareth Smith (36) and George Smith (17no) to steer his side to a three-wicket win with 4.4 overs to spare.
Kleinveldt scored 125no off 130 deliveries, hitting 16 fours and two sixes.
Lewis Little, who had caused the early problems for Furness, finished with 3-58.
Brother Kieran Little had top-scored in the Wigton innings with 65 with help from Flynn Manihera (30) and George Johnston (28).
Veteran Peter Lawson took 4-34 for Furness and Garry Thompson had (3-44).
