Thanks to strong all-round performances, Cumbria County Cricket Club won both games in this year’s National Counties Cricket Association T20 competition against Cheshire on Sunday at Barrow, writes Roxine Beaumont-Sempill.
The two counties had faced every year in the competition. Cheshire had won seven times and Cumbria four.
On paper Cheshire were stronger, fielding two players with first-class experience: Harry Dearden (45 matches for Leicestershire) and George Lavelle (6 matches for Lancashire).
In the two days since the squad announcement, Cumbria had had to make injury replacements. Captain Michael Slack (Carlisle), returning from a hamstring pull, was not as well recovered as he had hoped, so played little part in either match.
Cheshire also had late replacements losing two experienced bowlers, one with first class experience.
Cumbria won the toss and elected to field. A decision which initially seemed questionable but was quickly vindicated. Dan Newton started with a dot and two controlled 4s. But his fourth shot went straight into the hands of Matthew Sempill (Cockermouth) at short fine leg.
Next ball Freddie Fallows (Kendal) trapped Alex Money lbw.
Freddie and his Kendal teammate Louis Backhouse kept it tight for the next 4 overs, conceding just 22 runs.
The last over of the power play, bowled by Ben Walkden (Newton-le-Willows CC), started well for Cheshire, who took 9 from the first 4 balls. Then Walkden bowled Sam Perry (run-a-ball 17), followed by Dearden, to leave the visitors on 39/4.
Walkden and Cumbria’s coach Paul Hindmarch (Keswick), pressed into service again but reverting to pace, conceded only 7 in the next 2 overs. Second ball 9th over Hindy bowled Lavelle (16 off 21).
Spinners Nico Watt (Carlisle) and Josh Stirling (Newcastle) continued the squeeze on runs. In the 13th over Max Law (7 off 12) was caught at extra cover off Watt by Walkden, who 9 balls later enacted a brilliant run-out of Cheshire’s top scorer Kevin Carroll (20 off 23).
The second ball that Jack Corran faced he hit high but insufficiently long towards mid-on, where Sam Dutton (Barrow) took a simple catch.
At the start of the 18th over three successive balls were steered to mid-wicket, provoking the cry: “give somebody else a go Sempy!”
Three balls later Alexander Selby (5 off 15) was caught by keeper Drew Postlethwaite (Barrow) off Stirling and the next ball finished Cheshire’s innings when Rohan Luthra (9 off 13) was caught at mid-on by Hindy off Fallows. Fallows (3.1 overs, 3 for 26) was the top wicket-taker.
85 all out from 18.1 overs was Cheshire’s lowest T20 score against Cumbria.
In reply Cumbria got off to a slow start, with Fallows able to take only 1 run from the last ball of the first over. Two balls later he was back in the hutch, caught backward point. Sam Dutton (Kendal CC) and Sempill were suppressed for 9 balls.
Then they scored 5 successive 4s to put them well ahead of the required rate at 27/1 from 4 overs.
Six balls later Dutton emulated Corran by hitting high but insufficiently long towards mid-on and was caught. At the end of the power play the hosts were on 41/2. But next over Sempy (33 off 23, 6 X 4s) was out edging to the keeper.
With a mature partnership of 42 off 68 the double Bens, Walkden and Davidson (Carlisle) saw their team home with 11 balls to spare.
By the start of the second match the wicket had dried out and was flatter. Cheshire won the toss and elected to bat. They started off in a more circumspect fashion, but Backhouse took 3 wickets in the power play: Sam Perry (1 off 4) caught behind, Money (6 off 5) and Lavelle (1 off 2) each bowled. 33/3 at the end of the power play.
Three balls later Fred Vaughan-Hawkins (1 off 4) was lbw to Watt. Newton and Dearden then established the best partnership of the innings (52 off 56) before the latter (25 off 31) was out lbw to Stirling.
Fallows topped-and-tailed the 19th over, thanks to Sempill catching Carroll (3 off 6) at point and Watt catching Law (1 off 4) at long-on.
With just 4 balls left in the innings, Newton (64 off 61) was clapped off warmly after his skier was pouched by the keeper.
Given a target of 119 to win, Fallows opened his account with 6s off the first 2 balls, over cow corner then square leg. Each disappeared out of the ground, leaving the openers to lean on their bats and chat nonchalantly.
Fallows (44 runs, 13 balls, 4 X 4s, 4 X 6s, strike rate 338.46!) was bowled by Dearden in the 5th over. At the end of the power play the score was an unbelievable 85/1.
Dutton and Sempill kept the sausages sizzling and the cheeses churning. Having previously announced his retirement from Cumbria after 11 seasons, Dutton swept a magnificent 6 to bring his score to exactly 50 and seal the victory in an astonishing 9.4 overs, with the 3 batsmen between them scoring 10 X 4s, 8 X 6s.
Cumbria currently sits second in the NCCA T20 Group 1 table behind Northumberland, each on 9 points but with the latter having a better Net Run Rate. Cumbria has qualified for the Super-12s on Sunday 3rd August. Venue to be decided by the last round of Group 1 matches.
Cumbria’s final matches in NCCA’s T20s are on Sunday 6th July v Staffordshire at Wolverhampton Cricket Club.
Their following matches are also away, in the Durrant Cricket National County Championship:
- Sunday July 20 to Tuesday July 22 v Bedfordshire at Dunstable Town Cricket Club
- Sunday July 27 to Tuesday July 29 v Hertfordshire at Bishop’s Stortford Cricket Club
