ENFIELD captain Mas Ahmed admitted it was "soul destroying" after losing an epic Worsley Cup semi-final to Lowerhouse on Sunday.

Most of the Dill Hall Laners thought it was game over after pro Alviro Petersen had hit a staggering 148 in their 310-8 - to take his tally to a huge 296 in the competition this season.

And at 95-3, with pro Peter Fulton out, it just seemed a case of Lowerhouse playing out their 50 overs and getting as close as possible. But amateur batsman Chris Bleazard hit an outstanding 107 as the pendulum swung first one way and then the other.

With Bleazard out, Enfield seemed once more in charge but the Lowerhouse middle and lower order played superbly and a four off the penultimate ball of the game took them past Enfield's score.

Lowerhouse's 313 was the highest ever score by a side batting second in the history of the Worsley Cup.

And the 623 runs on show was a limited overs Worsley Cup record.

But the entertainment factor was no consolation to the Enfield skipper who was still coming to terms with the loss days later.

"I am just so deflated," admitted Ahmed. "I couldn't sleep on Sunday night. But you can't take anything away from Lowerhouse - they batted superbly. It was a brilliant game to win but it was soul destroying to lose. When we had got 310, I still didn't think it was over. It is a flat track, they have some good batsman and the boundaries are close."

"And I admit I made one or two blunders with the bowlers. I should have brought Rob Green on earlier than I did and stuck with the Rob and Kaz (Shazad) at the end so that was my fault - but Lowerhouse did so well."

"Overall it was a brilliant atmosphere, it must have been well worth the £3 to get in and it was a wonderful advert for Lancashire League cricket. If we had won by two runs it would have been the best game ever!"

  • ENFIELD'S Keith Barker has won the Musbury Fabrics Under 23 Player of the Month award for June for two half centuries and 15 league wickets.