CUMBERLAND missed the chance of a victory with “unintelligent cricket”, says team manager Ian Sharp after the three-day Minor Counties Championship match against Norfolk ended in a draw.

Cumberland were left to make 177 to win the game but came up a mere 18 runs short in their second innings when scraping together 159 for eight.

Sharp explained: “It was a disappointing end to a game which we should have won, having to make 177 runs for victory.

“James Lowe and Jonathan Miles put on 75 for their opening partnership.

“Then there was some poor batting and bad shots. After bossing two-thirds of the match we played unielligent cricket in the last hour of the match and this cost us victory.”

Earlier in the match, Kendal batsman Miles and James Smith both made centuries.

For Miles, who hit a magnificent 134, it made up for missing out on Kendal's triumph on Jamie Heywood Twenty20 Finals Day.

After Norfolk took first use and were restricted to 191 all out in their first innings, Cumberland amassed 369-9 with Miles and Smith featuring in a sixth-wicket partnership of 121.

Miles batted 283 minutes and faced 115 balls, hitting 15 fours and three sixes to make 134.

Smith hit nine fours and three sixes as he contributed 105.

Norfolk's Chris Brown was the pick of the bowlers with 4-90 and they battled back to make 354 in their second innings with Trevor Ward hitting 69 and Richard Gleeson taking 4-81.

Cumberland’s run chase closed at 159-8, with Chris Brown (5-60) the best of the Norfolk bowlers, but the visitors still took 12 points to their opponents’ nine.

n Cumberland start the penultimate fixture of their Minor Counties campaign away to Hertfordshire at Long Marston on Sunday.