SWASHBUCKLING Springbok JP Van Aswegen believes the outcome of Dalton’s top-two clash at Carlisle tomorrow could be key to their title-winning chances.

Dalton are eleven points clear of the city club in the North Lancs and Cumbria League Division One table so victory in the county capital will give Dan Sharpe’s side some daylight at the summit.

The sides have met twice already in the league – Dalton winning in north Cumbria and Carlisle getting their own back at Ulverston Road – so Van Aswegen knows how close it could be at Edenside.

“This is one of the biggest games of the season for us at Carlisle,” said the popular South African leg-spinner, whose wickets have played a vital part in his team’s success so far. “They are second behind us, but if we can get a good ten-point win we will go clear, so obviously it’s a massive game.”

He added: “I think in the first game when we won at Carlisle they were not at their best and then in the second game we weren’t at our best. If both teams perform this time it should be a great game and hopefully we can get the win.”

Van Aswegen and his team-mates are still on a high after booking their place in the Sowerby Cup final with a thrilling semi-final victory at holders Millom on Sunday.

The home side must have felt confident of victory after bowling Dalton out for 132, but the visiting attack had other ideas. With the run chase going down to the wire, the skills of Dalton’s bowling unit – led by Tony Butler (4-32) and Adam Gibson (3-21) – saw them squeeze home by two runs to avenge their agonizing South Cumbria Twenty-20 semi-final defeat to Millom.

The nail-biting win – which sets up a final against Workington – left the Dalton camp elated, with Van Aswegen saying: “It was so close. It could have gone either way, so to get the win was brilliant.

“Because the ball was moving around quite a bit I thought if we got to 140 or 150 we would have a chance if we bowled well. With us getting 132 we always knew it would take a big effort in the field, but thankfully we managed to do it.

“At points in the game they were favourites, but we hung in there and it was such a good feeling to win after losing to them on the last ball in the T-20 semi-finals.”

Victory was made possible by an excellent all-round effort in the field – something which Van Aswegen sees as a key factor in Dalton’s productive year so far.

“One of the main things for us this season has been that it hasn’t been just one or two bowlers performing, everyone has been doing a good job,” he said. “Everyone has been so welcoming to me and we have been getting good results which is the main thing. “I’m happy with my bowling but I would like to start scoring a few more runs, and hopefully I can put that right.”

While first and second lock horns in the county capital, the first division’s third and fourth-placed teams, Millom and Ulverston, still have designs on gate-crashing the title race and they face off at Priory Road in another crucial fixture.

Millom can take some consolation from their Sowerby Cup semi-final defeat by the fact the St George’s Road seconds made it through to the Vigodny Cup final and will face Windscale. In the Premier Division, Furness overtook Keswick at the top last weekend, although Mike Gadsden’s side will have to play well to stay there as they go to Workington in what is a curtain-raiser for next weekend’s Higson Cup final.

The Rams beat a dangerous Cockermouth outfit – helped by good knocks from Sam Stephens (48) and Calvin Savage (65 not out) – while Keswick were frustrated by the rain in their game against Workington.

It is looking increasingly like a two-horse race at the top, and the outcome of Furness’s trip to Keswick on Saturday, August 15 could go a long way to deciding the destination of the trophy.

Kirkby took a giant stride towards promotion to Division One with their victory over second-placed Vickerstown last weekend, and Mike Fugler’s men go to Cleator seconds tomorrow full of confidence and with a 23-point cushion.