KENDAL gave title-chasing Leyland an almighty scare before having to settle for six points from the clash at the Stanning Memorial Ground.

The Shap Road bowling unit all contributed to restricting the hosts to 170 all out from their 50-over allocation, with opener Chris Parkinson top-scoring with 47.

Nick Lewthwaite took four wickets and was at the crease as Kendal fell eight runs short of victory, following sub professional Pieter Malan’s standout knock of 72.

After Leyland won the toss and decided to bat, Jack White continued his recent resurgence with the early wicket of wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Coates, caught by Darren Moore for four.

Daniel Lamb was the next to fall, caught by Malan, as Adam Cowperthwaite got in on the act, which brought former Darwen professional Mohammed Khan to the crease.

Khan and Parkinson added 38, the highest partnership of the innings, before the latter became Malan’s first and only victim when he holed out to visiting skipper Stu Parkin.

Ex-captain Chris Miller was the next Kendal bowler to join the party, snaffling a caught and bowled chance to dismiss Henry Thompson for 19, with the score on 116.

Miller also accounted for former Pakistan first-class player Khan, caught by Lewthwaite, after making a 61-ball 38 with the help of four boundaries.

Leyland failed to generate any form of momentum for the remainder of the innings, losing their final five wickets for just 39 runs.

Lewthwaite finished with four wickets after dismissing Karl Cross, Andrew Markinson, David Markinson and Dale Jones, while Miller accounted for James Rounding.

Jones was last man out, caught by Parkin off Lewthwaite – who recorded figures of 4-36 from ten overs – after smashing two sixes from five balls faced.

In response, Kendal suffered an early setback and had to recover from the loss of Darren Moore, who was bowled first ball by Cross for a duck.

Ryan Nelson and Malan set about rebuilding the visitors’ reply, putting on 81 for the second wicket – the highest partnership of the day.

Nelson – who averages 27.11 this season – had spent 101 balls at the crease when Khan struck, dismissing the left-hander for 33, caught by skipper Andrew Markinson.

Kendal’s progress was further checked when Terry Hunte and White both fell cheaply to the bowling of David Markinson, Leyland’s most productive bowler with 3-50 from 18 overs.

At this stage, the away side were 104-4, suffering a further blow when South African Malan was trapped in front for 72, with the score on 129.

Vice-captain Gary Baker was the next to go, caught by Cross off the bowling of Tayyab Afsar for a 39-ball 20, with Kendal still requiring 32 for victory.

However, Lewthwaite and Cowperthwaite, who have joined forces to good effect with the bat this season, were left stranded on 13 and eight respectively as Kendal ran out of overs.

With the points gained from this fixture Kendal remain sixth in the league standings, while Leyland are now two points adrift of Barrow at the summit.