MASTER blasters Furness claimed an unprecedented fifth South Cumbria Twenty20 Cup triumph in six years as they dominated finals day.

Scott Pearcey lifted his first trophy as club captain as the Rams beat Dalton in the semi-finals and then disposed of Lindal – a club Pearcey used to play for – in a one-sided showpiece at Furness Park.

Youngster Ryan Griffiths took the man-of-the-match award in the final after claiming the key wickets of ex-Furness men Mark Daly and Paul Wilcock, before cracking an unbeaten 28 with the bat.

Lindal were bowled out for 73 in the final over, with only Daly (21) Lee Hogg (16) and Callum McDougall (11) reaching double figures.

Furness made the perfect start as Pete Lawson cleaned up Sam Beckman with the first ball of the innings, before Griffiths, New Zealand professional Seth Rance, Ryan Tyson and Garry Thompson all took two wickets. Lawson and Sam Stephens ended with one apiece.

Griffiths and Rance (31 not out) then made short work of the chase as they reached 75 for 0 in 12.1 overs.

Furness did not have it all their own way in the semi-final against a determined Dalton outfit before eventually winning by 31 runs.

The hosts lost Pearcey early on to Marc Gibson and Liam Steele claimed both Rance (26) and Nathan Waterston (19) to keep the pressure on. It took a superb half-century from big-hitting Thompson (three sixes, three fours) supported by Lewis Gribbin’s 22 not out to get Furness up to 137 for 6 in their 20 overs.

Rob Jones, with 20, and Jack Singleton (21) made a decent start for Dalton but when they were dismissed another few quick wickets followed to put Furness in the driving seat.

Joe Braund-Smith batted well in the middle order with 31 but there was not enough in the middle order as the Furness attack put the squeeze on, with Lawson, Stephens, Tyson and Griffths all taking two wickets.

Furness skipper Pearcey said: “We are really happy to have won the first piece of silverware on offer this season and hopefully we can kick-on and add to this over the next few weeks. Sunday was a great day to be a part of and a great event run by all at Furness Cricket.

“We didn’t get off to the best start in the semi-final, but Garry Thompson played the situation fantastically well and scored a great 50 to get us up to a competitive score. We then bowled and fielded well to defend 137.

“In the final we got off to a perfect start with Peter Lawson getting a wicket with the first ball of the game and that set the tone for the whole of our bowling innings. Again everyone bowled and fielded brilliantly and we managed to restrict them to 73. Ryan Griffiths and Seth Rance did a great job in the run chase and did a professional job seeing us home. Ryan was a well-deserved man-of-the-match with two key wickets and a good knock to win us the game.”

Lindal’s route to the final saw them beat Haverigg by six wickets. Left-arm spinner John Atkinson claimed the vital scalp of West Indian pro Dalton Polius, clean bowled for just five. And with Jake Woods taking 4 for 28 the Poolsiders could only muster 102 for 7, Drew Postlethwaite top-scoring with 28.

Daly, with 34, and Ed Waind, with an unbeaten 20, saw Moor reach their target at 103 for four with eight balls to spare, youngster Connor Penrith taking 2 for 18.