LINDAL Moor went out of the County Cup at the Prelimiary Round stage, going down by 51 runs against Keswick.

Set a target of 220, Lindal suffered a late innings collapse to put a dampener on the first game in front of their new pavilion at Pennington Lane.

The visitors’ top batsmen built the foundations for a healthy total – a half-century by Ben Sharp being the highlight – with Ben Osborne (0 for 39 in his four overs) taking the brunt of the punishment.

Mark Daly took the first wicket when he bowled Aaron Davies for 32 and there was a steady, if not rapid, succession of men back in the pavillion after that as Keswick ended on 219 for 8 from 40 overs.

The best bowling figures came from Jake Woods, the area’s cricket development officer, whose 3 for 32 included the caught and bowled dismissal of the dangerous Sharp. Lee Hogg took 3 for 44 and Harris Woods the other man to fall.

After tea in the nearly-finished pavilion – where the bar and kitchen were finished in quick time to ensure the early-season fixture could go ahead – there was hope for Moor.

Openers Paul Clarke (33) and Chris Brookshaw (34) gave Lindal a promising start to their reply and, although Eddie Waind when cheaply – stumped for five – Daly (37) and Harris Woods (38) steadied the ship and things looked promising until that disastrous collapse.

The middle and lower order six batsmen could muster only 11 runs. Paul Wilcock, Lee Hogg and John Atkinson all went without scoring and the promise of a tight finish disappeared when Lindal were eventually all out for 168, with more than six overs of their innings left.