After the highs of T20 as well as league success the week before, Netherfield came crashing down to earth with a seven-wicket defeat to Lancaster.

Despite a positive start after winning the toss, the hosts lost momentum and wickets as their innings progressed, posting a below-par 199-9 from their 50-over allocation.

And despite only having 16 balls to spare, fourth-placed Lancaster showed their batting strength by chasing down their target for the loss of only three wickets.

Ben Barrow joined skipper Marc Brown at the top of the order and the pair gave Netherfield a solid foundation, bringing up their half-century partnership in the 13th over.

Brown was the main aggressor, striking a number of crisp boundaries and two sixes in a fluent opening stand as the Lancaster attack caused few alarms.

The duo was only eight runs shy of a century partnership when Brown picked out Charlie Swarbrick at mid-wicket following a Scott Sparks full toss.

And the home side suffered a further blow with South African professional Colin Ackermann lasting only six balls before he was snared at short-leg off the bowling of Ben Simm.

Netherfield failed to regain their early impetus with a number of batsmen making starts but failing to push on and convert these to more significant scores.

John Huck made 12 before being bowled by Sparks with Barrow the next man to go for a top score of 51 off 115 balls.

Barrow went the same way as Ackermann, caught by Sparks off the bowling of Simm – the Lancaster skipper leading from the front on his way to figures of 5-74 from 22 overs.

Simm’s off-spin accounted for Chris Parry and Greg Hall for 19 and 25 respectively while Craig Walmsley plundered an entertaining 18 off 15 balls, clearing the boundary rope twice.

In the end, Netherfield failed to make 200 as both Nathan Chambers and Marc Hadwin were run out by Liam Moffat without troubling the scorers.

If the hosts had any chance of victory they required early wickets but Swarbrick and Jamie Heywood made a composed start to the Lancaster reply.

Swarbrick contributed 36 to an opening stand of 72 before his innings was brought to end, stumped by Huck off the leg-spin of Hadwin.

Pakistan professional Jannisar Khan joined Heywood at the crease, with the latter falling to Ackermann for a solid 45 off 85 deliveries – a knock which contained six boundaries.

Khan and Danny Welbourne then put on a match-clinching third wicket partnership of 97 and despite a late wicket for Brown, Lancaster romped home for a convincing victory.