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Penrith seconds continue to lead the Eden Valley League’s Premiership with their fourth winning draw of the season, as the last Appleby II pairing clung on for a point.
Second place is now being contested between Caldbeck, who also accrued five points at Braithwaite, as well as Scotby and Carlisle seconds who beat Stainton and Staffield respectively.
On a calm and sunny afternoon at Tynefield Park, visitors Appleby won the toss and invited Penrith to bat on what looked to be a very good wicket.
However, Penrith lost their first wicket with only ten on the board as Nick Birtle was caught and bowled by Joe Nattrass.
This brought former Penrith first team stalwart Martyn Challoner to the crease, finding himself playing his first second team game for some time on the back of some dreadful form for the senior side.
Penrith stumbled their way to 97 for 5, although importantly, Challoner had weathered the storm and was looking set for a long, watchful and sleep inducing innings.
A mature knock of 25 from 15-year-old Jordan Ruddick and a scratchy ten from captain Mark Osborne, along with Challoner's contribution of 82 meant that Penrith reached a competitive 192 for 6.
This left Marcus Todd stranded in the pavilion, padded, waiting and not required for the third game in succession. Thank God for small mercies!
Appleby's reply got off to a reasonable start, thanks largely to some wayward bowling from Jonathan Osborne, reaching 21 without loss.
However, Penrith tightened-up and soon redressed the balance, reducing Appleby to 32 for 3. However, with Colin Westgarth still at the crease, Appleby were still in with more than a reasonable chance of attaining their target.
Appleby got to 73 for 3 and were beginning to look comfortable but young Ruddick removed Westgarth for 32 and in the process his off stump!
He then dismissed James Eckersley with his next ball leaving himself on a hat-trick. However, after 71 years of playing Eden Valley cricket, Derek Gate is no stranger to such situations and ensured that Ruddick would stay out of the EVCL history books for the time being.
Gate's resistance continued against a steady flow of wickets to ensure that Appleby gained a point in their survival bid. He finished unbeaten on 23no as Appleby closed on 153-9. Ruddick took 2-20 from seven overs.
A mention, however, should go to Appleby's number 11 Nattrass who smashed 30 with consummate ease, although to be fair to the league’s other rabbits, 24 of these were from six particularly erratic Mark Osborne deliveries.
As in previous years the match between Braithwaite and Caldbeck was blessed with perfect weather conditions. Kev Pepper had prepared a bowlers’ graveyard for both sides so the potential for a serious run feast was very good.
Caldbeck batted first and Braithwaite managed a rare early wicket, as Taz Burbury, attempting a “quick single” took on Ian Dixon’s arm - only one winner there.
Despite the early loss Jamie Brownrigg (48) looked in good touch and well set for a half century before chipping the ball to point as Gilbert “Golden Arm” Pyke produced a wicket maiden in his first over. Lee Zaninetti bowled Rob Benn (2) before Pyke senior took his second wicket as Braithwaite began to re-address the early dominance from the Caldbeck batsmen.
Kev Pattinson strolled to the crease and batted the way that only he can - needless to say singles are rarely part of his scoring make up.
Crucially to their peril the Braithwaite fielders dropped KP on two occasions as he blazed his way before holing out to one of three awaiting fielders in cow corner for 65.
Mike Strong (40no) and Chris Edmondson (28) put the finishing touches to the visitors batting performance with an unbeaten stand of 58 as Caldbeck finished with 210/5. Pick of the Braithwaite bowlers were Pyke, with three wickets, and Zaninetti.
Braithwaite started the run chase well, despite losing an early wicket as Ian Plant and Mark Oswald shared in a 79 run stand. The home side looked well on top reaching 109/2 and well up with the run rate.
As has been the case this season so far Braithwaite then lost wickets at key times, which certainly livened up what had been a surprising quiet Caldbeck fielding cordon.
Mark Oswald had reached 79 when he picked out Taz Burbury with pin point accuracy and young Harry Rigby (29) looked in great touch until he jogged in, what he thought was an easy two, only to see the ball come into his end, and was consequently run out by a country mile.
All part of the learning curve Harry, as dad Andy Rigby suggested he would probably need to be on suicide watch that night.
Caldbeck then saw the opportunity to go in for the kill as four quick wickets fell when Braithwaite pushed for the win.
With the loss of the ninth wicket and 30 needed of the final three overs common sense prevailed as Pyke senior and Zaninetti, who have rarely batted this year, held on for the point.
For Caldbeck Rob Benn took 4-35 and Lee Todhunter had 3-56.
Batting first at Scotby, Stainton made the worst possible start losing Kay in the first over to Driver and he was quickly followed by Worth, Greenwood and Ruddick as the visitors collapsed to 12 for 4 after 12 overs.
A slight recovery led by Adam Jakeman and Jack White was brought to a halt by the introduction of Nick Rigg into the attack who removed both batsmen in his first over and it was left to Martin Hall (19) and Rob Dawson to grab some late runs to get the score up to 94.
Mark Vasey was the most successful Scotby bowler with 3-15.
In reply Illidge and Bowen batted well against a very good opening spell and the home side appeared to be cruising, but the loss of two quick wickets saw the score become 54 for 3 and Stainton sensed an opening.
Then Vasey and Taylor began to find the boundaries and Scotby got home comfortably with 15 overs to spare.
Having started well at Staffield Carlisle seconds were slowly pegged back by the slower Staffield bowlers on a slightly unpredictable Kirkoswald wicket.
At 112 with 10 overs to go the home side were looking to keep the total under 160 but a late innings flourish by Darryl Servis (66) and Trickett (28 not out) took Carlisle to a very respectable total of 193-5. Nicky Whitfield had earlier made 39.
The Staffield reply floundered from the very first ball with Nick Whitfield snapping up Pete Armstrong at second slip. Things didn’t improve with both Nick Lane and Steve Thomlinson being removed inside the first four overs without a run on the board.
Only Chris Tuer (39) and number nine Robin Smith (33) got to grips with some tight Carlisle bowling and when those two were out the inevitable end arrived with 57 runs still required and just over six overs to go.
For Carlisle Gavin Foxton took 4-18 and Ian Hutton had 4-44.
In the other Premiership game Edenhall beat Nunwick by 68 runs after David Marshall (61), Phil Holliday (41) and Mark Taylor (40no) had boosted the home side to 223-4. Adam Collin took 2-32.
Matthew Williamson (46) and Neil Sands (42) led the Nunwick response but steady bowling from Stuart Davison (3-52), Andrew Gate (2-21) and Jamie Armstrong (2-33) saw them dismissed for 155.
In a truncated First Division programme wins for Carleton and Cockermouth seconds cemented their positions at the head of the table.
Another bright and sunny day greeted the Shap side when they arrived in Cockermouth and, despite the heavy rain earlier in the week, another bouncy pitch had been prepared for the bowlers to use. Cockermouth won the toss, and Shap were asked to take first use of the Sandair strip.
This decision seemed correct when Dean Platten opened with a miserly spell that not only reversed the Shap openers’ hopes of another high score on their second visit in a week, but also resulted in the wickets of two of the top four batsmen.
His hostile efforts were in contrast to David Skilbeck’s gentler pace and nagging length, which once again brought him a wicket. These opening exchanges were ably supported by Andrew Davidson and the returning Tom Morgan who was back in the side after touring with the Cumbria Hockey Team.
Mark Middleton’s first ball was a perfectly pitched and wickedly turning leg break, which took a glove and then went short of Zahid Mahmood who took a very impressive catch diving forward from slip and holding on one handed.
Angus Carruthers came on to bowl late in-swinging deliveries on a good length to clean up the tail as Shap closed on 90. James Horrocks top-scored with 20 while Davidson was Cockermouth’s most successful bowler with 3-21 from six overs.
In reply Liam Jackson’s maturing batting took the game by the scruff of the neck and his big hitting quickly took his personal score to 55, and the team total to 78 before he was deterred from further big shots by boundary riders and rather tamely cut a short ball from Carson to point. Dean Platten calmly stroked three fours to win the game on 91-3.
Cockermouth thirds weren’t so successful in their home match against Carleton as they went down by nine wickets.
David Pearson took 6-14 for Carleton when Cockermouth were bowled-out for 104 and Richard Bamber made an unbeaten 54 in the winning reply of 105-1.
At Kirkby Stephen the visitors Wigton seconds were bowled-out for 133 as Jim Pike put in a good spell which earned him 5-50. The Wigton innings revolved around Richard Mattinson (52) and Billy Ray (40).
In a good finish the home side got to 172-6 led by Robert Hook (53) and Mark Elliott (46). Stuart Martin took 2-6 from his ten overs.
In Division Two it took a great recovery for Arthuret and Esk to clinch victory against Great Corby for at one point they were 40-6 chasing 120 for victory.
Tony Steele and Paul Halliday put on a 7th wicket stand of 70, with Steele being the main contributor. With 55 not out. Matt Shore and Sam Pagan had earlier put Arthuret and Esk in trouble as each claimed three early wickets.
In the first innings of the match Great Corby had set the target with Shore (25) and James Swann (24) doing best. David Steele (4-29) and Paul Booker (3-32) were the most effective bowlers for Arthuret and Esk.
This result may have also been a lot different had Great Corby not contributed 36 extras to their opponents’ total.
Wetheral and Appleby thirds drew after the home side had posted a very impressive 222-4 from their 40 overs.
Alan Oliver (107) and Matthew Slack (38no) were the main contributors for Wetheral and they always had Appleby on the back-foot as they could only manage 134-8 in reply.
Chris Thompson was the top-scorer for the thirds with Graeme Campbell (2-28) from ten overs the best of the Wetheral bowlers.
Penrith thirds drew at Lowther after being set a fairly modest 120 for victory.
The home side had made 119-4 with Paul Cullen (38no) and David Holme (26no) figuring in an unbeaten fifth wicket-stand.
At the close of their 40overs Penrith were on 107-9. Cullen featured with the ball, taking 4-23 while Steven Titterington had 3-27.
Richard Kelso fired 112 for Patterdale at Threlkeld but it wasn’t enough to force a win. The century lifted Patterdale to 212-8 and he had best support from Sam Iredale.
But Threlkeld were 178-8 at the close as Mike Metcalfe (34) and Tom Partington (32) did best with the bat. Alan Housby took 4-50 for Patterdale while Oliver Dunn had 3-23 for Threlkeld.
In the other Division two game Temple Sowerby’s run came to an end when they went down by three wickets at home to Edenside thirds.
Adrian Thompson (43) held the Temple Sowerby innings together but they only managed 125. Grant Whitehead was Edenside’s most successful bowler with 4-22.
In reply Edenside got to victory on 126-7 with one over to spare. Matthew Trickett (31no) and Lee Hoggarth (30) were the main batsmen while Tony Morland took 5-23 from his ten overs for Temple Sowerby.
In the Third Division Rockcliffe maintained their advantage with a painless victory over Penrith Wanderers, although they can be joined by Stainton seconds if they win their spare game, following a close win over Caldbeck seconds.
The Wanderers were rolled over for 67 with Robert Wharton taking 4-10 and Richard Johnston chipping-in with 2-14. Nigel Fowles (28) was virtually on his own for the Wanderers.
Rockcliffe needed 15 overs to reach 68-3 and claim the points.
Irthing Vale got off to a great start at Nunwick seconds removing the home side’s top three cheaply. Unfortunately for them, this brought Ed Swale and John Mounsey together. The pair were involved in a great stand of 114 which put Nunwick in command.
Swale (51) scored his maiden half century and after he had departed Mounsey started to open his shoulders up and got Nunwick to an impressive total of 201-8. Mounsey finished unbeaten on 94.
Irthing Vale’s reply got off well and at 62 for 1 scoring runs quickly it looked like it was going to be a close game.
Then Phil Kania (29) departed to Mounsey, and, with Mark James taking three wickets in his first two overs the challenge faded.
The father and son combination of Duncan and James Miller did offer some resistance with a good 50 partnership and gave Vale an outside chance of a point, but once senior Millar departed for 42 it was not long until Nunwick wrapped-up the rest.
Stainton seconds took to the field in confident mood after a good start to the season, but Caldbeck seconds came out with attacking intent and were finding the boundaries with ease.
The fast outfield ensured that the batsmen wee getting full value for their shots. Caldbeck scored briskly and were 121 for 4 after 18 overs with good contributions from Mike Bargh (50) and Steve Edmondson (43).
However, with two quick wickets before drinks Stainton established a bit more control with the visitors 124 for 6 at the midway point. Callum Donald (24no) marshalled the tail so they reached 178-5. Pick of the Stainton bowlers was Jack Mitchell with 4-29.
Stainton began their innings with skipper Roger Holliday again battling injury after trying one too many pull shots at Irthing Vale three weeks ago.
With his ribs strapped up using green horse tape, that would normally be found around the legs of Grand National winners, he made 19 as the hosts slumped to 48 for 4.
The Stainton innings than came to life with Mike Wallace and Arran Pamphilon taking Stainton from the brink of defeat through to victory with over five overs remaining with two superb unbeaten 50's and a partnership of 131.
Both Wallace (63no) and Pamphilon (55no) maintained their composure from a difficult position to see Stainton home.
On a hot day at Blennerhasset a stop start game developed for just when it appeared the batsmen were cruising a couple of wickets would fall and, on a wicket full of runs, no batsmen made a half century.
In fact only half the batsmen in the match made double figures and neither team got close to batting their full 40 overs.
Visitors Penrith Academy were inserted and Will Brough struck in his first over. There followed an injury to the keeper Jeff Wallace in the seventh over and play only resumed after a lengthy delay.
The batsmen seemed happy enough as they cruised to 46-1 before Andrew Smith struck twice in an over (both caught by Gary Stewardson) to reduce the Academy to 46-3.
Chris Birtle (42) and Mark Cameron took the score 88 before Birtle fell to a stunning caught and bowled, while Cameron was dismissed at the same score.
Again the Academy had to rebuild and Paul Andrews (31) dominated a stand of 47 before he was bowled by John McGuffie.
Joseph Thwaytes (23no) hit out, but literally ran out of partners and Baggrow were happy to have dismissed the opposition for 167 with seven overs to spare.
Cameron conceded only one wide in his first four overs and the pattern of the match continued as Baggrow slipped from 34-0 to 34-2 in the eleventh over.
Thwaytes was the beneficiary of some reckless stroke play as the home side slumped to 71-6 from the first ball of the 22nd over.
A 49 run partnership for the seventh wicket was ended by the returning Cameron as he bowled the silent partner of the partnership Peter Turner (12).
With the last of his next over he dismissed McGuffie (30) and wrapped things up with the first ball of his eighth over. So 120-6 had become 129 all out with Wallace unfit to bat, and the home side lasted only one ball longer then the visitors.
Cameron finished with 3-6 off seven overs while Thwaytes took 4-14.
Lanercost seconds beat Wigton thirds by 40 runs after Mike Armstrong had hit 62 in a total of 171-9. Chris Ray had 3-35 for Wigton who were bowled out for 131 in reply.
Stuart Wood (26) and Mike Percival (26no) were the main batsmen for the Lowmoor Road side while Pramod (3-15), Chris Vever (3-16) and Chris Laird (3-33) shared the wickets for Lanercost.
In the Cup Braithwaite beat Great Corby by 28 runs. Mark Oswald had top-scored with 70 out of 177 fore the home side.
Great Corby managed 149-7 in reply as Tom Clark (46no) and Peter Storey (42) led the unsuccessful run chase.
After getting totally outplayed the previous day at Cockermouth against a strong second team Shap were not relishing their trip along the A66 (yet again) for a cup tie verses Threlkeld.
It was decided during the spin to play the game over thirty overs due to persistent rain and after Shap won the toss they asked Threlkeld to bat first.
At the start of the innings Shap maybe regretted asking the opposition to bat first due to John Webster hitting the ball to all parts of the field and with opener Tony Partington batting well too Threlkeld reached 44 off seven overs.
Webster (27) was then caught behind off the bowling off Simon Palmer but good middle order batting by Graham Stephenson (30) and Ian Brotherton (23), plus a quick 20 by Mark Harrison got Threlkeld to a very respectable score of 141-9.
Fielding conditions were not great in the rain but all the Shap bowlers did well, with Mike Allen and Steve Percival getting the majority of the wickets.
Shap’s innings got off to a steady start with 29 before the first wicket fell. Wickets then fell steadily with various run outs due to poor calling and good aiming by the Threlkeld fielders but the middle order of Percival (34), Allen (34no) and Palmer (31) steered Shap to a good win in the end.
One player for Threlkeld to watch in the future was young leg spinner Ben Sharp. After his initial over went for 12 he bowled with confidence and turned the ball both ways to finish with 6 overs for 32. Considering the size of the pitch and heavy conditions this was a good performance by the young bowler.
Staffield completed a comfortable victory over a Gamblesby side missing key players. The match, reduced to 35 overs due to persistent rain, turned on the wickets of Alex Kuzbyt (56) and Ben Crouch (48) within the space of a couple of overs after a partnership of 81. Six wickets fell for 26 runs in the last eight overs to leave Gamblesby on 153-7. Paul Jeffrey finished with 4-22.
After top scoring the previous day Chris Tuer was promoted to open the innings for the first time and took the opportunity with both hands completing a fluent maiden 50 before being caught and bowled by Richard Benson for 74.
With Nick Lane (51no) in fine form, making a third half century of the season the end came with two boundaries from Pete Armstrong with five overs in hand.
Caldbeck seconds lost narrowly to Appleby thirds in a tight game.
Caldbeck were restricted to 108-8 in a 20-over thrash with Scott Forrester taking 3-11. John Blue made 33 not out in a winning Appleby reply of 111-8 as Daniel Bargh took 3-15.
Patterdale lost to Lowther by six wickets after making 130-7 in their 30 overs. Sam Iredale (39) and Paul Renison (31) did best while Steve Titterington took 3-34 for Lowther.
The visitors lost four quick wickets but were carried to victory on 131-4 with ten overs to spare by David Holme (67no) and David Ryding (51no).
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