NETHERFIELD batsman Ben Barrow echoes the sentiment that the club’s line-up is ideally suited to the shortest form of the game and is relieved to see a run of T20 matches on the fixture list.

The Parkside Road club have played only once so far this season in the TWP Wealth Twenty20 competition and recorded a commanding nine-wicket win against town rivals Kendal.

Sitting second in the North One group league table with games in hand, Netherfield played Barrow yesterday evening at the Ernest Pass Memorial Ground and host Penrith on Friday.

And while Barrow accepts his batting game is not the perfect match for the hustle and bustle of T20, he believes there is room in the game for a more conservative performer.

“We’re a versatile side and one which contains plenty of players skilled at both disciplines of the game,” he said.

“We are able to play a lot of bowlers but still bat deep with the likes of John Huck, Marc Brown and Saliya Saman all capable of clearing the ropes.

“Sammy is very good at both aspects of the game and that showed in the really strong performance we produced against Kendal in the opening game of the competition.

“It is also a young team which tends to suggest we have plenty of energy in the field so it will be good to get a few games in quick succession to find our range.

“It’s not really my game to be fair as I’m not strong enough to make big impacts but I can do my job if we lose wickets.

“I’m there if the team needs someone to nudge and nurdle the ball around in the middle overs and pick off the odd boundary.”

Before a further Twenty20 fixture with Kendal next Thursday, Netherfield return to Northern League action against Chorley at Parkside Road on Saturday.

Netherfield currently lie tenth in the league standings, and while stopping short of saying the weekend’s clash is a must-win affair, Barrow is adamant results need to start improving rapidly.

“We’re strong at home as a rule but we let ourselves down last time out against Blackpool but we’ve had a good chat and need to be tougher as a side,” he added.

“We definitely need to start putting things right, we’re into the middle of June already and cannot use the excuse that it’s still early because we’re nine games into the season.

“We really need to start putting something together if we want to get up the table.

“Things have been a little fragmented of late with the bad weather but a lot of teams are beating each other so it’s key not to get left behind.”

Netherfield Teams

Netherfield v Penrith (TWP Wealth Twenty20, Friday, June 13)
Marc Brown (c), Saliya Saman, John Huck, Ben Barrow, Ben Phillips, Craig Walmsley, Joe Atkinson, Brad Earl, Mark Clarkson, Nathan Chambers, Tom Williamson

Netherfield v Chorley (Northern League, Saturday, June 14)
Marc Brown (c), Saliya Saman, John Huck, Ben Barrow, Ben Phillips, Joe Atkinson, Brad Earl, Brendan Herron, Mark Clarkson, Nathan Chambers, Stu Dixon