NPL Cricket - Kendal stun Saints with last-gasp Readers Cup victory (From The Westmorland Gazette)

NPL Cricket - Kendal stun Saints with last-gasp Readers Cup victory

3:20pm Thursday 11th August 2011 in Sport

KENDAL edged an enthralling Readers Cup semi-final at Shap Road on Sunday when they had St Annes’ stand-in professional Kiwi George Worker caught off the penultimate ball to seal a five-run victory.

Chris Miller’s side will meet Leyland in the final after those opponents’ four-wicket defeat of Netherfield scross the other side of the town on the same afternoon.

Earlier, Kendal were invited to bat by the league leaders and made 188 for nine. Kiwi professional Jamie How was the lynchpin of the innings with a top-scoring 66 off 77 balls that included four sixes and two fours.

Danger-man Terry Hunte was adjudged lbw for 15 and support for how looked to be crumbling as St Annes removed three other of the top order for single-figure contributions.

As How held the innings together, Kendal rallied from 61 for four to reach 135 for five and they showed character with good late-order knocks from Jack White (31) and skipper Miller (27) and Stu Parkin (13) to reach a competitive 188 for nine, with Ben Dowling (3-39) and Atiq Uz-Zaman (3-29) the stand-out St Annes bowlers.

St Annes were without regular professional Dinuka Hettiarchchi having return home temporarily for family reasons, but they had an anble deputy in Worker, who has been playing in Scotland.

Worker constructed a solid platform for on his way to 89 (seven fours, two sixes) and looked to be in charge.

However, St Annes lost momentum in the middle of the innings and How benefitted, taking an outstanding six for 39 to put Kendal right back in contention.

Worker batted very well but as the run-rate crept up, he was forced to go for boundaries.

It was How who completed a telling contribution on the day when he safely held the crucial catch on the long-off boundary off Miller’s spin to clinch a famous win with five runs still needed and just one ball remaining.