Carlisle Firsts slipped to a six wicket defeat at Furness on a hot day in the North Lancs and Cumbria Premier.

After winning the toss and batting first, Carlisle lost skipper Marc Brown lbw to Kiwi paceman, Seth Rance for a fourth ball duck.

But despite Rance’s menace with the ball, young batters Ben Davidson (68) and James Dawson (33) rebuilt the innings, before Barbadian Justin Greaves completed a fine 71 to lift the visitors’ total to 219-6 on a typically batsman friendly Furness pitch.

Carlisle’s need for early wickets was literally hamstrung by an injury to Greaves who had to hand responsibility to his young colleagues.

They toiled willingly, but the home side’s impressive top order put together a series of partnerships that edged them comfortably over the line with more than seven overs to spare.