FURNESS will be hoping to heap more misery on visitors Workington when they clash at Furness Park today.

The visitors were expected to be up there challenging for the league, but are well off the pace after suffering four straight defeats.

Furness might not be the side of old, but they will still represent a major challenge for a west Cumbrian outfit low on confidence.

Furness themselves are in sixth place and 30 points off the summit, which is not where you normally expect them to be.

However, they clearly have an excellent pro in Matthew Kleinveldt (110no last week) and will expect to substantially improve their position before the end of the season.

Dalton host Egremont, who are bottom of the League and in danger of being cut adrift.

Dalton, for their part, after a very promising return to the Premier Division have lost their last two games and will see this as an opportunity to halt the slide.

Raghav Kupar is proving a sound recruit for Egremont, with bat and ball, but badly needs more substantial support around him if the team is to survive in the top flight.

Millom travel to face a Carlisle side who will be without their skipper and professional Michael Slack.

Slack is ruled out with a damaged knee after being injured while fielding for Cumbria in a county game at Furness last month.

As a result Carlisle will look to their third different sub pro when they take-on the south Cumbrians, and have booked Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Hareen Buddila.

The former Sri Lankan Under-19 star plays his domestic cricket back home for Galle, and he is currently professional with Ramsbottom in Division Two of the Lancashire League.

Millom, with former County batsman Nathan Waterston moving over from Furness as the new club pro, have been involved in some tight games so far, but have won only once, with two of their matches abandoned.

Haverigg, looking to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat at the hands of Carlisle, face a difficult trip to Whitehaven.

Whitehaven have broken into the top three and that is clearly based on a solid professional in Terance Warde, the regular availability of Chase Young and the emergence of their crop of talented youngsters.

They were big winners at Egremont last week and will expect to follow-up on home turf today.