Lancaster CC skipper hoping for T20 win after league disappointment

Lancaster face Carnforth at Lune Road for the second time in six days as the two clubs meet in the Moore and Smalley Palace Shield T20 Division One North group.

It offers Steinson’s players a chance to bounce back from league defeat when they played each other last Saturday.

Should Lancaster avoid losing, it will see them take their place in the last eight of this season’s competition.

A win would also be a welcome boost for Saturday’s league match at Thornton Cleveleys.

The Lancaster captain said: “It’s a crucial game because, if we win, we’re guaranteed to go through to the next round and that will be a big thing for us.

“It’s another step in the right direction, given it’ll be progress in a cup competition, and we can take some confidence going into Saturday’s game.”

Seven days after impressing with the bat in chasing down 245 to beat Morecambe, Lancaster’s batting again failed to fire last weekend.

Having batted first, they collapsed from 30-1 to 47-6 before eventually recovering to 122 all out.

They scented victory when reducing Carnforth to 54-5 in reply, only for Tom Parkinson’s 47 to give the visitors a four-wicket victory.

It means Lancaster sit fourth, 14 points behind Carnforth in second, as this Saturday marks the halfway point of the season.

Leaders Euxton have a comfortable advantage over the rest despite defeat against Great Eccleston last time out.

Steinson admitted: “I know we beat Euxton earlier in the year but you can see why they are top of the league.

“They have a couple of really good batters in Hakeem Perryman and James Bone, backed up by nine other players who are all at the same level.

“Everything is still to play for though. If we win at the weekend, we’re back on track, but we have to do as well as we can until the end of the season.

“We might slip up a couple of times but we have to drum up some consistency so that, when the season comes to a close, we’ve done everything we can to make sure we’ve got the best possible chance of going up.”