KNOCKING big guns Workington out of the Higson Cup last weekend can do wonders for Dalton’s prospects this season.

That’s the firm belief of everyone at Ulverston Road after an opening few weeks which have seen some promising displays in the North Lancs League without the end result.

Dalton head to Cockermouth tomorrow aiming to get their first Premier Division win of the season at the fourth attempt, having lost to Cleator, Keswick and Wigton.

Liam Curwen’s side have been competitive in all those games without finding the winning formula, but their confidence levels have been boosted thanks to that shock cup win against Workington – last season’s league and Higson Cup double winners.

“It’s good to finally get the season up and running,” said opening bat Jack Singleton. “We were unlucky on Saturday (against Wigton) but the win on Sunday should give us a bit of belief going into this weekend and hopefully we can kick on from that.”

Singleton and his Dalton team-mates have been delighted with the contribution of their new professional Madawa Warnapura. The Sri Lankan scored 65 in the narrow defeat to Wigton and then hit 66 and took 3 for 14 as they toppled Workington the following day.

“We are over the moon with him,” said Singleton, of the talented right-hand bat and right-arm off-spin bowler, who scored a century against England A a few years ago.

“He is just what we needed. He is very solid with the bat, a more than handy bowler and very good fielder. He interacts well with the lads and he is good on the training field, so everything is spot-on with him.

“When we were looking for a pro we come across him and we saw his First Class record back home is very, very good.

“He was over here last year with Sri Lanka A last year and he got a hundred a few years ago against an England A side with (Liam) Plunkett, (Chris) Woakes, (Adil) Rashid and (Moeen) Ali in it. So we knew he had the pedigree and he was a very good batter. Now he has settled in, he looks fantastic.”

Singleton believes the fact that Dalton have a strong batting line-up - with lots of firepower in the middle order - can help them get enough big totals to keep them in the top flight.

“We’ve got our batting order right now and its solid all the way through," he said. "The openers’ job is to see off the new ball and try and get us to around 40 overs and we’ve got some big hitters to come in from 35 to 50 overs.”

These ‘big hitters’ include skipper Curwen, Dan Sharpe and all-rounder Adi Malik, who is also proving a very economical off-spinner, and those three could all have big roles to play at Cockermouth tomorrow.

“It’s never easy against Cockermouth,” said Singleton. “I don’t think they have won a game yet but I think that is a bit of a false reading because they have already played Furness and Workington. I don’t expect them to be down there come the end of the season, they’ve got some dangerous players.

“But hopefully we can go there with momentum on our side and pick up ten points.

“We play Workington and Furness on the Bank Holiday weekend so it doesn’t get any easier!

"But cricket is a funny sport and on the day anyone can beat anyone.

“We have just got to hope from our point of view that we perform to our best and if that isn’t good enough on the day then it’s not good enough. But as long as we give 100 per cent on the field and play to the best of our ability, then I think we will be okay.”

Looking ahead, Dalton are preparing for one of the biggest days in the club’s history in September when they will take on the mighty Lashings World XI.

Friday September 1 promises to be a fantastic spectacle for local cricket as many famous faces will be in T20 action at Ulverston Road. Look out for a more in-depth look at this match in the Evening Mail soon.

The big game in Division One tomorrow sees West Indian stars Kenroy Peters and Dalton Polius lock horns again as Lindal Moor take on Haverigg at Pennington Lane, just six days after the two sides met in the Higson Cup. It was first blood to the Poolsiders last weekend as they won the first round tie by 55 runs on home soil.

A posse of Furness players made the trip to Ireland this week to watch their popular club professional Seth Rance help New Zealand beat Bangladesh by four wickets in the third match of the Tri-Nation Series.

Rance - who took 1-44 in the victory over Ireland earlier in the week - didn't take any wickets in his nine-over spell against Bangladesh at Clontarf, Dublin, but he did take three catches in a game the Kiwis won by four wickets.