Pickup aims to go one step beyond

Burnley were beaten by three wickets in last season’s centrepiece by rivals Lowerhouse at Liverpool Road, but Pickup is confident his side can go one better this time around.

The Turf Moor outfit, who claimed the silverware four times in succession from 2013, bypassed Accrington at Stoneyholme Road to reach the final eight.

Openers Liam Bedford (67) and Chris Holt (59) were brilliant with the bat as they put on 132 for the first wicket.

Sub-professional Mark Cosgrove (33), Qasim Shah (23), Pickup (15) and Chris Burton (28 not out) also made double figures as the visitors closed on 278-7.

“Saturday was a tough test against a side that’s been in good form,” said Pickup. “We had a couple of bowlers missing too which isn’t ideal in cup cricket but the batting unit set the game up for us.

“Holty and Bedders were outstanding at the top of the order. It’s nice to be in the last eight, but we’re hungry to go further.”

They then put the record straight against the West Enders, making up for a couple of defeats last term.

Sub pro Daryn Smit was the star of the show in hitting an unbeaten 84 in the derby as Burnley won by 32 runs. The impressive South African all-rounder then took 5-27 in Lowerhouse’s reply.

“They were two strong performances against good sides,” Pickup said. “Sunday was an enjoyable win after being on the wrong end of a couple of derby games last season.

“Daryn had a brilliant game with bat and ball but I thought all of the bowlers were superb and we restricted them well.

“We’ll take a lot of confidence from it but it’s important that we look to build on it next week.”

Lowerhouse are looking to bounce back after a disappointing weekend in which the holders were knocked out of the Worsley Cup at Rochdale, before their Lancashire League hopes were further hit in a rain-affected derby clash at MyProtein Turf Moor on Sunday.

On Saturday, the West Enders’ cup defence was halted at the first hurdle with a three-wicket loss at Redbrook in the second round, despite 52 from professional Ockert Erasmus (pictured) and 45 from Francois Haasbroek.

Then at Burnley, Lowerhouse fell to seventh – albeit only 14 points adrift of leaders Norden – after a third defeat in six league games, as sub professional Daryn Smith hit 84 not out and took 5-27 for the hosts.

Lowerhouse skipper Ben Heap has expected, with the nature of the league, being split into Divisions 1 and 2, that the title winners could lose significantly more games than in recent seasons.

Walsden only lost once in winning the league last year, and Heap said recently: “I think this year, the way the league has been split, the winners will probably lose a fair amount of games, and it’s how you respond to defeats.

“It’s one game at a time, and we’ll try and string a few wins together and see where it takes us.

“But if you look at the league table, everyone has lost at least twice, and, given how competitive it is, it might be a season where the champions lose six or seven.”

Lowerhouse face a tough task on Saturday as they entertain champions Walsden at the Brooks Foundation Ground, and they open their Twenty20 campaign on Friday night, with another home game against Darwen.