Good with the bat; less so with the ball

Batting first on a patchy pitch with tennis ball bounce, Lancaster openers Alex Metcalfe and Charlie Swarbrick made a sedate start, with the odd ball from opening bowlers Nixon and veteran Clement beating the outside edge. 15 for no loss off 10 overs was by no means a thrilling start for the bank holiday weekend crowd, however this approach lay the foundations for Swarbrick to attack. He took 18 from Clement's final over including a beautifully timed straight six. With Swarbrick into his stride, Lancaster were in a commanding position. The entrance of South African professional Colin Ackerman dented the home side's progress. Metcalfe was adjudged LBW for 13, while Swarbrick departed soon after for a thrill a minute, yet unfulfilled 43. Jamie Heywood and substitute professional Ian Prowse, after getting off the mark with a sublime straight drive, steadied proceedings, for the late order big hitters. Prowse departed, bowled through the gate by Ryan Wilson, while Heywood continued to ride his luck. Lee Sparks and Kieran Moffat couldn't push the home side's platform further, but Iain Perrieman and some huge sixes from the heavy blade of Matt White inflated the home side's total, Heywood departing earlier for a gritty 35. The home side finished on a commendable 178-8, but it was to prove insufficient.

The resumption signalled how different the game could've been, as Greg Hall was bullied out by Iain Perrieman short ball for a golden duck. Opener Ben Barrow dug in with Colin Ackerman, seeing off the new ball and picking up the odd boundary. Once again, dropped catches cost Lancaster dearly as Barrow survived numerous chances throughout his innings, the two batsmen took advantage by picking up the run rate and peppering the short boundary towards the pavilion. Matt White put in his most impressive performance to date with the ball, and was the most probing and unlucky of the bowlers, finishing with 0-14 from his 7 over spell. When Ackerman fell to a rusty Simm after a fine catch by Prowse at square leg, the visitors still had a fine platform. John Huck entered and made a quick-fire 23 after his century the previous week. Lancaster were offered a sniff of a chance when Huck was trapped in front of all 3 sweeping Simm before Marc Brown suffered a similar fate to Perrieman. The experienced Craig Walmsley with the ever present Barrow helped shepherd Netherfield as they kept out everything Lancaster could throw at them. They eventually overhauled the total in the 43rd over, Walmsley finishing with 39* and Barrow batting through for an impressive unbeaten 69. Fielding is an issue for the 1st XI of late and lessons must be learned if they are not to cost Lancaster points in the future.

Match Sponsor: Mr & Mrs Newlove.