Cumbria lost to Lincolnshire at Furness Cricket Club, but still avoided the bottom of the National Counties One Day Trophy Group 1 Table, writes Roxine Beaumont-Semple.
So, another opportunity to win their first ever trophy match at Furness passed by.
Cumbria won the toss and elected to bat.
Evan Williams (Horwich RMI) scored a single off the first ball. Nathan Waterston (Millom), recalled for his first County match since the 2023 One Day campaign, scored a 2 and 4.
Next over Williams faced 2 wides, then spanked Josh Knapton’s third delivery to the Point boundary. Unfortunately, Williams then executed a self-confessedly bad shot, which was edged to gloveman Drew Sylvester.
Incoming batsman Ben Walkden (Newton-le-Willows) scored a single, and Waterston two boundaries to bring the score to a satisfying 23/1 off 2 overs.
Paceman Mark Footitt, the most experienced player on either side having played 96 first class games for Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Surrey, and Knapton then took control. The next 12 overs brought only 17 runs off the bat, and 7 wides.
With Joe Pocklington replacing Footitt, the two Ws managed to steer the ball over the rope at least once in all but one of the next 7 overs, to elevate the score to a healthier 97/1 off 21 overs.
A double bowling change brought spinner Joshua Joy and paceman Tom Currie into the attack. Our double Ws had some joy with Joy, scoring 14 off his first 3 overs.
But Currie (defying his namesake dish) dried up the runs with a maiden to each of our lads.
First ball 27th over Waterston launched a delivery from Currie over the wall behind mid-wicket and into the road, followed by a single through the gully area to bring up his first 50 for Cumbria. Sadly, Currie got his revenge by clean bowling Waterston next ball. So ended the partnership of 109 off 153 balls.
Captain Michael Slack (Carlisle) and Walkden put on the Sausages’ second highest partnership of 45 off 71 balls. Then Slack tried one reverse sweep too many, off Pocklington, and was caught by Pranav Pothula running from point to the Third Man area. 164/3 off 38.2.
14 balls later Matthew Sempill (Cockermouth, 1) launched a delivery from Pocklington towards long off and was caught on the boundary.
Walkden (102 runs off 147 balls, 12 X 4s, 1 X 6) had forged a partnership of 36 off 34 balls with Freddie Fallows (Kendal), and passed his century, when he was run out to a superb direct hit by Currie from mid-on.
This lit Fallow’s touchpaper. In the next 6 balls Freddie cleared the wall into the wilderness at square leg, launched a 6 into the crowd on the terrace, and cleared the roadside wall over square leg.
Sam Dutton (Barrow, 3) and Finlay Richardson (Kendal, 3) marvelled along with the crowd as Freddie put on 63 off 29 balls, 6 X 4s and 5 X 6s. Last ball of the innings, Freddie was caught at long off by Nick Keast off Ben Wright.
266 seemed at least 25 too few, and so it proved. From the 10th over onwards (42/0, compared to 39/1), the visitors were nearly always ahead of where the hosts had been at each point.
Slack opened the bowling with a maiden over. Sam Sharp was the other opening bowler.
The first Lincs wicket was taken in the 11th over by Josh Wills (Netherfield), on debut. His third ball crashed into the pads of Pocklington (31 off 42, 6 X 4s). After an agonising wait, the umpire’s finger was raised.
Another 16 overs passed by before the second Lincs wicket was taken. Another lbw, this time by Nico Watt (Carlisle), earned an immediate raise of the finger to send Ben Wright (69 off 41) packing.
Pothula (42 off 60) joined his teammates in the dressing room 3 overs later, thanks to a stooping caught and bowled by Sempy.138/3 off 29.3 overs.
Slack returned to the fray in the 39th over to take the wicket of Jordan Cook (40 off 35), thanks to a catch at deep mid-wicket by Waterston. This broke up Lincolnshire’s top batting partnership of 77 from 57 balls between Cook and captain Tom Keast.
Two overs later younger brother Nic Keast (12 from 7) took 4 from Slack to the offside, then 4 to the onside.
But another hoick to the onside let the ball through to flatten his on stump. With the very next ball Slack removed the self-same stump to send Sylvester back whence he came.
Slack struck a third time to dismiss Currie (5 off 10) lbw. At 239/7 from 43 overs, Cumbria had an outside chance of claiming the final three wickets, but by the time Sharpy got Tom Keast (59 from 52) caught behind in the 48th over, the visitors only needed 2 runs. Footitt finished off with an edged four from the first ball he faced.
Slack was the top wicket-taker in the match, posting figures of 10 overs, 1 maiden, 52 runs, 4 wickets. Keast was the top scorer for Lincolnshire.
Cumbria’s next matches are in the Twenty20 Cup.
Two fixtures each day, starting at 10am and 2pm:
- Sunday June 8 v Northumberland at Keswick CC
- Sunday June 15 v Shropshire at St. George’s SC, Telford
