1:35pm Saturday 15th August 2009
By Gazette Sports
KENDAL put on a smashing show to reach the final of the Furness League Cup on Sunday, even if it could not quite match the aerodynamics in the skies above Blackpool’s Stanley Road ground.
During the afternoon, it must have been all too easy to be distracted as the Red Arrows, a Lancaster bomber and a couple of Spitfires regularly swooped low over the action.
They were making their runs as part of the Blackpool Air Show, but down below Ross McMillan’s side were making the smoothest of landings into the League Cup final on Sunday, August 30 with a 50-run defeat of the seasiders.
Electing to bat, McMillan shared into a century partnership with Terry Hunte that formed the bulk of Kendal’s score of 180 for two off the allotted 40 overs.
It had been a crawl early on with only 26 runs coming off 12 overs when Kevin Howarth, who had made seven, tried to pull a ball that rolled on to his stumps, a delivery entirely down to the vagaries of the dry, cracked wicket.
Hunte was briskly about business and 49 runs were added before Gareth Ashburner was stumped for 25.
McMillan (52 not out) joined Hunte (80 not out) and they put on an unbroken stand of 106 for the third wicket in 16 overs.
Kendal clipped Blackpool’s wings in reply, reducing them to 34 for three after 12 overs, including the prized wicket of substitute Sri Lankan professional Kalatyunga.
He fell for one run to a top edge from an attempted sweep slog off Ben Simm’s spin with keeper Donovan Du Plessis pouching the catch.
Blackpool tried to rescue the semi-final tie and reached 67 by the 20th over thanks to Furniss (24) and Aga (19), but another flurry of wickets - four for ten runs - strangled the hosts’ hopes.
Nick Lewthwaite was a key figure, taking 3-19 off eight overs as his slow seam accounted for lower middle-order, among them skipper Paul Danson bowled first ball.
Andy Dugdale also chipped in with a couple of wickets for his 2-26.
With defeating staring them in the face at 86-8 after 28 overs, Blackpool seemed to accepted their fate, but Gleeson (26 not out) and Tidmas (14 not out) kept Kendal waiting as the tie went the full 40 overs and they closed 50 runs adrift on 130 for nine.
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