Rain prevented the first of Cumbria County Cricket Club’s scheduled two T20 games in this year’s National Counties Cricket Association T20 competition on Sunday at Keswick Cricket Club, writes Roxine Beaumont-Semple.
Then they narrowly lost the afternoon match, not least because of a brilliant boundary catch by Northumberland’s Callum Fletcher.
The ground was very wet in the morning, and more showers prevented the first match, which was scheduled to start at 11am.
However, it unexpectedly brightened and a breeze across the pitch from the football ground side started to dry things up. Thanks to sterling efforts by the groundsmen the 2.30pm match was able to go ahead.
Cumbria won the toss and elected to field.
Freddie Fallows (Kendal) opened the bowling from the Pavilion end, conceding 8 off the first over. Freddie’s Kendal teammate, Sam Sharp, launched his first delivery from the river end with the accuracy of an Exocet missile! Stumps flashed red, bails went flying.
The batsman sent back to the hutch was John Oswell (5 from 5), who so far this season has scored 5 centuries: three for his club side (Burnopfield) and two for Northumberland in the NCCA Trophy. The slowest being 103 from 97 balls.
Second ball of the 4th over the other opener Alasdair Appleby (10 from 9) launched the first 6 of the day, then with his next ball Sharp got instant revenge with a superb one-handed return catch.
Ben Walkden (Newton-le-Willows) took over from Sharp. He had been brought in to replace skipper Michael Slack (Carlisle), who has damaged his hamstring, so had big boots to fill. Walkden did not disappoint, bowling Jonny Bushnell (2 from 7) with his 5th delivery.
The home team’s third seamer, Louis Backhouse (Kendal), bagged the wicket of Harry Crawshaw (5 from 12), caught by Nico Watt backpedalling to a lofted ball at point. 48 for 4 off 8.3 overs.
Eight balls later Ross Whitfield extracted a bit of revenge for the catch, launching a 6 off Watt. Then, echoing Appleby, Whitfield (28 from 23) was out next ball by hitting a ball straight to Walkden’s chest at cover.
Watt also dismissed the other Oswell brother, Matthew, clean bowled in the 12th over.
Chris Youldon and Oli McGee put on the highest partnership of the innings (31 off 34 balls) before McGee (12 from 20) was bowled by Sam Sharp with the second ball of his second spell.
Six balls later Youldon (20 from 22) followed his captain back to the changing room, having been caught by Matthew Sempill (Cockermouth) at mid-off, off the bowling of Backhouse.
The return of Sharp really restricted the runs, with the visitors adding only 9 runs for the loss of those 2 wickets in the last 3 overs.
Sharp was the standout bowler, posting figures of 4 overs, no maidens, 3 for 12, economy 3.00.
107/8 seemed like it would be a difficult score to defend. However, opening paceman Jonny Bushnell had been the joint most successful bowler in the NCCA Trophy, with 13 wickets. He limited big hitter Fallows to just 2 runs in the first over.
Third ball second over Fletcher trapped Fallows (2 from 8) lbw. Will Fraine (York, 2 from 3) was stumped by Youldon off Bushnell. 2/3 off 2.1 wasn’t the ideal start.
Acting Skipper Sempill joined Sam Dutton (Barrow) at the crease, but all to soon Dutts (2 from 4) hit a ball straight to Fletcher at midwicket off Bushnell.
Sempill and Ben Davidson (Carlisle), selected for a T20 match for the first time since 2019, put on a steadying partnership of 24 off 32 before Davidson (12 from 18) was tied in knots by the left arm spin bowling of McGee and clean bowled.
With the day’s highest partnership of 47 off 43, Sempill and Walkden made good inroads into the required total. That included a 6 from Walkden off Max Williamson in the 13th over which crunched into the pavilion at wide long on.
Then in the 17th over Walkden (23 from 24) launched what seemed like another certain 6, this time off Matthew Oswell, to deep forward midwicket. But it seemed to be held up by the wind and Fletcher caught it, threw it in the air as he skipped over the rope and back, and managed to pouch it again.
At 85/5 off 16.5, Cumbria were still favourites for the win. Sempill rode his luck twice, being dropped at point, and then at fine leg when an attempted scoop flew up. To add insult to injury he then scored a 6 over midwicket.
With just 8 runs needed from a scheduled 9 balls Sempill’s luck ran out. He was caught cover by the ubiquitous Fletcher off Matthew Oswell. Sempy posted the best batting figures of the match: 54 from 53 balls, 4 X 4s, 1 X 6.
Sadly Glen Weightman (on his home ground, 1 from 6, bowled Fletcher with the penultimate ball of the innings), Finlay Richardson (Kendal CC, 3 from 3) and Watt (0 from 1) were unable to get the sausages over the line.
This was Cumbria’s first loss in Keswick since 2005 (a three-day championship match), when they were also beaten by Northumberland. 104/7 was the lowest total in the T20 by Cumbria, and the 3-run loss was the narrowest defeat for Cumbria in the history of the T20 competition.
Given that Cheshire is the only unbeaten team in NCCA T20 Group 1, Cumbria are by no means out of the competition.
They continue in NCCA’s T20s with the following fixtures:
- Sunday 15 June v Shropshire at St George’s Cricket Club, Telford
- Sunday 29 June v Cheshire at Barrow Cricket Club
- Sunday 6 July v Staffordshire at Wolverhampton Cricket Club
