Thanks to batting fireworks from Freddie Fallows, and brilliant bowling by returning players, Cumbria County Cricket Club won both games in this year’s National Counties Cricket Association T20 competition against Shropshire, writes Roxine Beaumont-Semple.
Held on Sunday at St George’s Cricket Club in Telford, the first match started at 11am, to the peal of nearby church bells.
Cumbria had won the toss and elected to bat. Fallows (Kendal) opened the batting and elected to batter the unfortunate opening bowler: 0, 4, 0, 6, 6, 4.
At the end of the 6-over powerplay Cumbria were on 65/0. Fallows was 55 from 23, his 50 having come courtesy of a satisfying square-leg six sent soaring over a hedge. Reece Irving (Netherfield, best view in the house!), was 10 from 13.
With fielding restrictions removed the next 4 overs were calmer, with ‘just’ 32 runs scored. Revenge was sweet for the bowler who had suffered Fallows’ first-over onslaught (George McCormick), who had his nemesis caught on the long-off boundary with the last ball of the 10th over. 97/1 from 10 overs.
The crowd gave Fallows (76 off 34, 35 minutes, 10 X 4s, 4 X 6s, strike rate 223.53) a rapturous send-off.
The opening partnership had been 97 off 60 balls. The next two partnerships were more modest (each 9 off 11). Irving (23 from 31) was out lbw to McCormick and Ben Walkden (Newton-le-Willows), with a run-a-ball 13, was bowled by Joe Stanley. 117/3 off 13.4 overs.
Matthew Sempill (Cockermouth), and his long-time county teammate Ben Davidson (Carlisle, 10 off 13) added 17 before Davidson was caught at long-on. The second-highest partnership of the innings was between Sempill and debutant Max Winskill (Kendal, 10 off 9).
They put on 26 from 18 balls.
Skipper Sempill, the beneficiary of an early drop by mid-off, contributed 23 runs from 20 balls, including a 6 onto the flat roof of the clubhouse.
In reply, Seb Scott and Sahal Malvernkar exceeded Cumbria’s powerplay score by 3 runs, 68/0. Opening bat Scott initially seemed to be twinned with Fallows, with a strike rate over 220, albeit accumulating through 4s rather than 6s. However, his scoring rate tailed off.
Two magpies executed a full circle around the inner ring. Who would get the joy? It was Fallows, who dismissed Scott, thanks to a catch at long-on by Brodie Glendinning (Carlisle CC).
This heralded a spell where the Sausages took at least one wicket per over. Thomas Fell fell quickly, when an attempted scoop to spinner Nico Watt (Carlisle) looped up for a catch by wicketkeeper Finlay Richardson (Kendal). 89/2 off 10 overs.
Next over Glendinning, making his first appearance for the county since 2022, took the wicket of Malvernkar with his first delivery, thanks to his captain’s catch at cover. Four balls later Llyr Thomas was caught by Irving at Point.
Sam Sharp and his Kendal teammate Fallows combined to dismiss Luke Thornton. Fallows barely had to move to take the catch at mid-on. Glendinning bagged his third wicket when Winskill, on the midwicket boundary, pouched a shot from Joe Stanley.
In the 14th over Watt struck the pads of Ben Lees and dramatically sank to his knees, flinging his arms up in supplication. Up went the finger.
Trying to up the run rate, Lewis Evans took a wild swing half-way through the 16th over, allowing Sharp’s accurate delivery to knock over his off stump.
The hosts fell 16 runs short, ending their 20 overs on 142/8. Glendinning posted figures of 3 for 23 from his 4 overs.
Second match Shropshire won the toss and elected to bat. In the first eleven overs Glendinning bowled Scott, Fallows bowled Malvernkar, and Walkden dismissed Thomas.
Then the ball was thrown to an unexpected bowler, with an even more unexpected bowling style! For the second fixture, coach Paul Hindmarch (Keswick) had replaced Josh Wills (Netherfield), who had injured his hand in the first match.
The former paceman, who last played for Cumbria in 2022, bowled Thornton in the 14th over, and then Stanley and Lloyd in the 18th.
Sharp bowled Fell in the penultimate over. The hosts completed their innings on 163/7, all wickets being bowler-only.
Fallows came out to face the first ball, this time accompanied by Winskill. Lightning couldn’t strike twice… could it? Not quite. This time Fallows faced 8 balls before he cleared a hedge. When asking where he should position himself on the midwicket boundary, a fielder was advised by a teammate that the church spire looked favourite.
First ball 3rd over Winskill (3 off 7) was c & b Dan Lloyd. Five balls later a Fallows shot went very high. Mid-off and the keeper had a classic Bumble’s “After you, Claude” moment, and the ball dropped lamely into the modest gap between them.
In the 10th over Fallows (61 off 34, 34 minutes, 8 X 4s, 2 X 6s, strike rate 179.41) was caught at long-on by Evans off Stanley. 84/2 off 9.4.
Captain Sensible (sorry… Sempill) joined Walkden for some Happy Talk, and the pair saw their team home, with no great drama. Nevertheless 16 runs were needed from the last 2 overs. They took 11 from the 19th, relieving the pressure, and finished the match off with a single and a four. A win by 8 wickets (which sounds impressive), with just 4 balls to spare (which sounds a lot tighter).
Hindy posted impressive figures of 4 overs, 3 wickets for 16 runs at 4.00 an over (the second lowest economy rate of the whole day for either side).
Cumbria currently sit second in the NCCA T20 Group 1 table, with 5 points, behind Staffordshire on 8, but with Staffs having played two more matches.
Cumbria continue in NCCA’s T20s with the following fixtures:
- Sunday June 29 v Cheshire at Barrow Cricket Club
- Sunday July 6 v Staffordshire at Wolverhampton Cricket Club
