Lincolnshire County Cricket Club’s hopes of securing a place in the finals day of the Unicorns T20 competition were dealt a severe blow when they lost both of their matches to Cumberland over the weekend.
In the first match at Scunthorpe Town CC, Cumberland – having won the toss – posted a competitive total of 153-3, principally due to a third wicket stand of 121 by Jacques du Toit (73) and captain Gary Pratt (53 not out).
Alex Willerton, with 2-29, was Lincolnshire’s most successful bowler.
Lincolnshire’s reply began in steady fashion and after ten overs they were 47-2.
The tempo increased after this but, when Louis Kimber was dismissed for 65, the sixth wicket had fallen at 108.
From thereon Lincolnshire were always behind the required run rate and finished on 131-9, Cumberland winning by 22 runs.
Du Toit completed a fine all-round performance with 5-20 from his four overs.
In the second match, Cumberland again won the toss and batted first, and whilst losing wickets steadily throughout their innings reached a total of 139-7.
Du Toit was again their top scorer with 38, while Willerton (3-15) was Lincs’ most successful bowler.
Lincolnshire’s reply suffered from the loss of two early wickets and again they fell behind the required run rate.
Bilal Shafayat, with 60 not out, and Harry Warwick (30) raised hopes for a close finish but it was not to be.
In the end, Lincolnshire closed on 121-5, meaning Cumberland were the victors by 18 runs.
After the double defeat, Lincolnshire would now need to win all of their remaining matches to stand a chance of finals day qualification.
Next up for them is a clash with Staffordshire at Rolleston-on-Dove on Sunday.
