THE weather conditions last weekend were testing enough for even the hardiest of cricketers to play in, never mind necessitating them to make running repairs to the fixtures and fittings of the ground as well.

That was the case for Haverigg though ahead of their Higson Cup quarter-final against Dalton last Sunday, with high winds damaging one of the sightscreens at their Poolside ground before play could commence.

Ultimately, it was to no avail; the North Lancashire and Cumbria League Division One side going down by seven wickets to their Premier Division opponents after being bowled out for 122.

But Haverigg skipper Drew Postlethwaite did not use the conditions as an excuse – despite the inconvenience caused.

“There was a strong wind coming in off the sea and it destroyed one of our sightscreens before we started, so that was a task in itself,” said Postlethwaite.

“It was head-on for one of the bowlers, but it was the same for both sides and we didn't bat as well as we've shown we can or we know we can, which let us down in the end, really.

“They were Premier Division opposition, so we were always the underdogs going into it, but they are the sort of sides who, if we were to get promoted, we'd like to think we're as good as.

“Unfortunately, we didn't bat out our over and it cost us in the end. We didn't bowl badly, we just let ourselves down in the first innings.”

Haverigg have another chance to reach a cup final this year though when they take on Whitehaven in the Sowerby Cup semi-finals this Sunday, which comes hot on the heels of an important Division One fixture at home to fellow promotion hopefuls Lindal Moor tomorrow.

Postlethwaite's men have already played Lindal twice, defeating them by by 55 runs in the Higson Cup and going down by 23 runs at home, along with suffering a five-wicket loss at home to leaders Whitehaven in the league just under two weeks.

But the captain is confident his team can keep their hopes of a maiden Sowerby Cup triumph alive by reaching the final, where they will play either Ulverston or Millom, and is taking inspiration from other cup upsets – including when his own side lost out to Workington's second team at this stage last year despite being favourites.

“That's how cricket is though and it didn't turn out that way, and we got knocked out and they went on to win it,” said Postlethwaite. “They beat Millom in the final, so it just shows how, especially in our league, anyone is capable of beating anyone on their day.

“This is the cup – and other sides in the league will agree – you fancy yourselves to win and if you're a lower side in the division, you think you can knock a big side out.

“Ulverston beat Lindal in the last round and now they face Millom, so they'll go into that game thinking 'we did it against Lindal, so if we turn up then there's no reason we can't beat Millom'.

“It's the same for us on Sunday; Whitehaven beat us, but there's no reason we can't flip the result around.”

Much of Haverigg's success so far this year has been down to their bowling, with seamer Thomas Hawdon returning to action for the club in impressive style after claiming 21 victims so far at a miserly average of just 7.76.

The off-spin of all-rounder Dalton Polius has yielded 22 wickets as well and while Haverigg's St Lucian overseas star has not yet made quite the impact with the bat he had in 2016, Postlethwaite is delighted with his contributions.

“You look at his stats and people are saying he's not scoring runs, but he's not a million miles away from the other professional who are near the top of the stats,” said Postlethwaite. “There are a few professionals who have got a couple of big scores whereas Dalton has got a few 40s, and it's like that in professional cricket.

“They're good enough and it will come, and once he's in form like he was last year there's nobody better in any of the divisions. He's working hard and his bowling has been exceptional.

“Thomas Hawdon is available all weekend and it has been a massive boost to have him coming back in for us this year.

“He's taken a lot of wickets in the five games he has played, so for someone who has been away and not played for the past couple of seasons, it's some effort to come back straight into the side and perform like that.”

It's also a big weekend at Furness CC where members will celebrate the club's 125th anniversary with past and present players matches and a sportsman's dinner with Cumbrian-born-and-bred former Leicestershire, Kent and England wicket-keeper Paul Nixon the guest speaker.