Skippers' Say

DAVE: It was a case of the good, the bad and the downright unbelievable - three words that describe our matches on Thursday, Saturday and, of course, the big derby match on Bank Holiday Monday.

It's all been about one word - PRESSURE.

On Thursday against Vernon Carus in the Lancashire Cup we seemed to be facing a lost cause, but had the bowlers, and the bottle, to apply pressure and defend a relatively low score.

On Saturday we were on the receiving end and Preston (who I'm convinced will finish in the top five this year) made us crack chasing not many runs.

History repeated itself on Monday with an almost identical game at Parkside Road to the one last year. It is difficult for players to imagine what it would have been like to watch.

When you are fielding you get caught up in the action and for me it seemed to last all of 10 minutes!

The indifferent weather is affecting the outcome of matches as batters are finding it hard to get any rhythm. And when you combine that factor with a tense situation like the one that developed on Monday, anything can happen.

Firstly, I think our 116 was worth another 25 runs as the outfield was very slow. We then saw both teams fielding extremely well with hardly a chance missed.

Both teams then bowled out of their skins, which makes the batsmen do things they would not normally do.

When the bowler is making you play all the time, it only takes a short lapse in concentration and bang you have lost your wicket.

The intense atmosphere of Monday's game was a credit to everyone involved.

Both sets of lads get on very well off the field, but you would not believe the things that are said on the field and the mind games by both teams, which adds more than a little spice to the contest.

For the key moments in Monday's thriller you have to look to the introduction of Marc Hadwin in to Netherfield's bowling attack, and the taking of Terry Hunte's wicket.

For Kendal, Simon Little's fielding to run-out Chris Parry confirmed our self-belief, but the biggest boost was getting rid of professional Pieter Strydom, which really won us the game.

It is difficult to pick a man of the match as Kabir Khan and Kevin Howarth would be strong contenders, along with Hadwin for his tremendous seven-wicket haul. But for making batting look easy in a low-scoring game I would have to give it to Terry Hunte for giving us the runs to defend!

I suppose at the moment Kendal are proving it is often easier for a willing, dedicated army to defend a small fortress than a big one.

Monday's win just keeps us in touch with the early leaders as none of the top teams won two out of two over the weekend.

Again the team would like to thank all of the supporters who are travelling up and down the M6 to watch us every week.

It does makes a difference to see some familiar faces!

TOMMY: The town's traditional derby fixture came to Netherfield on Monday, and while it offered a great spectacle for those who took a risk with the weather, we did not have much to cheer about from the final result.

Well done to Kendal for their great comeback, but spare a thought for Marc Hadwin. Not many bowlers take seven wickets for 28 and end up on the losing side.

From our viewpoint, we must put a disappointing weekend behind us and hopefully from now on it will be onward and upward.

To be honest we know we can do better than the way we are playing at the moment. The team as a whole feels that more intensely than anybody and we are anxious to improve.

Most of us are not in the best of form but this is no excuse. It does does not help with rain more or less every weekend, making it difficult to find your rhythmn and get out there with plenty of confidence in your ability and that of your

team-mates.

Things can only get better and I expect a positive result this weekend with victory at Leyland and Farrington to get us up and going.

There's no point crying over spilt milk: we are a young team, we must and will get better.

Pressure is a thing which can win and lose you a cricket match, I am learning that fast as on Monday Kendal were 100 for 2 then 116 all out. This all came from five or six overs of dot balls which created pressure and then wickets fell.

Once this happens you can create more and more pressure as Hadwin and Strydom proved as well as Kabir Khan and Howarth.

At present everyone seems to have stronger bowling teams than batting, so they are putting all the batsmen under pressure.

Teams only seem to have one or two half-decent stands then collapse, why is this?

Has all this rain made for poorer wickets, hence making it harder for batters? Yes, I think this is the case.

So a new weekend beckons and we will start again and we must get the positive vibes going.

When we are losing believe me that's bad, but that's still better than losing to Kendal. Ouch!

May 30, 2003 12:01