SCOTT Pearcey is hungry to add another piece of silverware to the Furness CC trophy cabinet as they prepare to face Carlisle in the Higson Cup final.

Pearcey's men have already successfully defended their South Lakes Twenty20 title, and are now aiming to go one better than last year in the North Lancashire and Cumbria League's premier knockout competition.

On that occasion, Furness suffered a narrow two-wicket defeat to Cleator, and with one trophy already in the bag and memories of the 2017 final spurring them on, skipper Pearcey and his team are feeling in a confident mood ahead of Sunday's match at Cleator.

“Everyone at the club is looking forward to the Higson Cup final,” said Pearcey. “Apart from the league, this is the cup everybody wants to win, and I’m sure it’ll be a great occasion.

“Having one piece of silverware in the bag already is good, but it makes us hungry for more and after last year's disappointing result, the lads are looking to bounce back and make this year our year.”

It is not just in cup competitions that Furness have excelled in this year, with the team still in with a chance of winning the Premier Division for the first time since 2015 if they can keep up the pressure on the top two of Cockermouth and Cleator.

A victory over leaders Cockermouth at the Raymond Denham Cricket Oval in the league tomorrow would go a long way towards doing just that and Furness will again be looking to overseas player Rishi Dhawan to continue his excellent good all-round form since arriving in June.

But while Dhawan has made most of the headlines recently, there have been plenty of other players contributing to the team's success as well – including up-and-coming bowler Josh Shaw, who starred in the Higson Cup semi-final win over Millom.

“We are on the back of some good performances and have great momentum going into our biggest weekend of the season so far,” said Pearcey.

“Rishi has hit the ground running with both bat and ball so we’re hoping for another big performance from him.

“Young Josh Shaw took his maiden five-wicket haul in the semi-final, so he’ll go into the weekend full of confidence.”

Final opponents Carlisle sit just below third-placed Furness in the Premier Division standings and have already beaten them once this year, winning by 22 runs on their own patch back in June.

And Pearcey is well-aware of the dangers posed, knowing Furness will have to be at their very best if they are to lift the Higson Cup for the first time since 2014.

“Carlisle will be a stern test,” said Pearcey. “They’ve performed very well in the past two seasons since getting promoted and they’ve beaten us this year,”

“We’re not sure who they’ll have as professional, but they also have some good amateurs in good form – so anything below our best and they’ll be there to take advantage.”

Tomorrow's other Premier Division fixtures see an all-important clash at the bottom of the table when Dalton host Haverigg.

A win would lift the home side further away from the relegation place, while the visitors are looking for only their second league victory of the year in an effort to climb away from the foot of the standings.

Elsewhere, Lindal Moor face a difficult encounter away to Carlisle and Millom are on the road as well, making the long journey north to face Wigton.

In Division One, Kirkby will aim to keep their promotion hopes alive when they travel to Furness Park to play Furness' second team, while Vickerstown play host to Ulverston. Barrow's seconds are away to leaders Egremont and Hawcoat Park head to Seascale.

In the Northern Premier League, Barrow face a league and cup double-header away to league leaders Netherfield tomorrow and on Sunday.

Tomorrow sees the two Cumbria sides go head-to-head in Division One and then they clash again in Kendal in the quarter-finals of the Benchmarx Kitchens And Joinery Trophy.