Lowerhouse beat Burnley to reach Old Trafford finale

The captain led by example in the seven-wicket victory at Turf Moor when top-scoring with 63 after the hosts were bowled out for 132.

And the 29-year-old suggested that a clear the air meeting following their Lancashire League triumph over Nelson 24 hours previous had helped to put his squad in the right frame of mind for the tie.

With Burnley claiming the bragging rights in recent meetings between the two sides, Heap said: “Results haven’t been great against them recently so we sat down and had a chat after the Nelson game.

Lowerhouse celebrate their LCB Knockout Cup semi-final win against rivals Burnley

“We laid our cards on the table and I think that helped. We’ve been a bit intimidated over the last few years but this time we had some clear plans in place.

“We knew we were going to be nervous due to the opposition and what was at stake but we just had to look after our own game.

“We had to play the ball and not the man. We came away from the discussion really positive and really calm and it showed in our performance.”

The West Enders will now compete with Liverpool Competition league leaders Ormskirk to be crowned the kings of the county.

The final will be held at Emirates Old Trafford, the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club, on September 3rd.

“It capped a perfect weekend for us and it feels pretty good,” said Heap. “I don’t think it has really sunk in yet but it was a fantastic day.

“It doesn’t get any better than beating Burnley on their own patch in the semi-final of a competition.

“It was great to win the semi-final on a huge day for local sport.

“To come out on the right side of it was fantastic and it made a lot of people involved with the club immensely proud.

“We went back to the club afterwards and celebrated the achievement.

“I’ve been driven from the start to do well in this competition.

“I’ve just wanted to win and the team has been behind me in that.

“It’s just snowballed from there and we’ve played well in every round.

“When you look at everything as a whole it’s the biggest competition around and possibly the biggest achievement for us.”