Penrith Cricket Club first team won the Meyler Cup with a terrific team performance to round off a weekend on which they also took a huge stride towards their main target of Palace Shield promotion.
An excellent 21-run win over Carnforth in Sunday’s final at Eccleston brought the first XI their first silverware for 14 years. Eighteen-year-old James Ellis took seven for 16 as the Westmorland League leaders were bowled out for 122 chasing Penrith’s 143.
And that memorable win, in front of a large — and vocal — travelling contingent, came a day after Penrith went 19 points clear in the Palace Shield, beating Fylde on a soggy Saturday which saw their rivals slip off the pace. Vernon Carus lost at Croston, while the match between the teams lying second and fourth — Kirkham & Wesham and Barrow — was abandoned.
Penrith captain Ali Craig declared himself “very, very happy” after the cup final win, adding that Saturday’s turn of events “was so much better than I could have imagined”.
But, sounding a note of caution, he said: “We’ve done half a job now this season. We’ve won the cup, but we’ve still got a long way to go. The next three league games are massive because we want to be back in the Northern Premier League. We just need to make sure we keep performing like we do, and we’ll get there.”
Carnforth opted to bowl first on Sunday after winning the toss with the start slightly delayed due to earlier rain.
“We knew it was a slow wicket, and that it was going to be hard. The outfield was slow as well, so there wasn’t going to be many boundaries,” said Craig. “We thought we probably had a good chance of defending 130-ish.”
Openers Nicky Burns (21) and Asher Hart got Penrith off to a solid start with an opening stand of 36. After Burns departed, Hart (42) stuck around and gave other batsmen the freedom to come in and play. Sam Hall (11), Nick Hodgson (19no) and Craig (12) made useful runs as Penrith finished on 143 for seven after 40 overs.
As Carnforth began their reply, Craig said the Penrith bowlers did a “ridiculously good job”.
Leading the way was Ellis, who had only been cleared to play last Thursday after almost a month out with a knee problem. He took two wickets in his second over to leave Carnforth on two for two and with a steep uphill battle.
The old adage of catches winning matches also rang true, with Penrith taking nine in all with Sam Hall holding three — including one stunner to remove Adam Hornby off the bowling of Bruce Glendinning at a key stage just past the halfway mark of Carnforth’s innings. Glendinning also claimed the massive scalp of opener Ryan Nelson (26 off 81 balls), clean bowled.
It remained tense, however, until Ellis demolished the Lancashire side’s tail, completing a personal seven-wicket haul and earning the man of the match award in the process.
“It was a really good day and a hell of a good team performance,” reflected Craig. “I couldn’t have asked anybody to do any more.”
High intensity from the Penrith fielders and some good tactical choices put the Carnforth batsmen under pressure and forced them to take risks to score their runs.
Craig added: “I’m chuffed to get some silverware for the club.”
Ellis, too, was delighted to take a seven-wicket haul and said to do it in a cup final was absolutely brilliant.
“It was just another game of cricket in my eyes. I thought the less I worried about my injury, the better I’d do.”
He added: “It would be good to end the season with promotion and another title.”
Craig, meanwhile, said teenage 12th man Finlay Hansford was unlucky to miss out on a starting spot.
“He’s a very good player. He obviously did very well in the semi-final, taking a five-fer,” said the skipper. “(He deserves) to be up for selection in this squad —we have some really talented players — he’s 16 years old, right on he cusp and he’ll feature prominently now for the rest of the season, I’m sure.”
Penrith had triumphed by 92 runs at Fylde on Saturday. Burns scored 65 and Hart 83 as the visitors declared on 212 after 29.4 overs before bowling out the hosts for 120, Dan Morland claiming four wickets, Greg Cameron three and Finn Harrison two.
They host Penwortham at Tynefield Park tomorrow (1.30pm start) before visiting Croston next Saturday and ending their campaign at home to Barrow a fortnight today (11th September).
