Cricket - Calculator brought into play with Field teetering on the brink (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Cricket - Calculator brought into play with Field teetering on the brink

11:02am Thursday 12th May 2011 in Sport

SIX Netherfield first-teamers - all of them batsmen - were available for Sunday's ECB National Knockout match at Morecambe, which ended in the hosts winning on run-rate.

The afternoon started promisingly with Morecambe reduced to 22 for three in the eighth over as the strikefroce of Matt Clinton and Stuart Dixon both took early victims.

But Morecambe recovered thanks to a sixth-wicket stand of 99 from Danny Welbourne (63) and Ryan Pearson, who batting at No7 finished unbeaten on 72, hitting nine fours and a six off his 86-ball innings.

Pearson and Tommy Clough added another 48, enabling Morecambe to set a challenging target of 208 for eight off 44 overs, with only one over lost to rain.

Netherfield's fate was soon evident when they lost three wickets for six runs and the cause was all but lost at 19 for four.

John Mason went against the trend with an unbeaten 41 but wioth the side on the brink of defeat at 88 for nine in the 28th over, the rain came and no further play was possible.

G Martines took 5-34 as the star of the bowling.

Morecambe won on run-rate after applying the Duckworth-Lewis calculation.