Thirds maintain promotion hopes with comfortable win over Gamblesby.

A patient half century from Chris Hayes provided the bedrock for what proved to be a winning total against promotion rivals Gamblesby.

Batting first, Hayes had to watch as partnerships proved hard to sustain with a succession of top order victims back in the hutch.

Eventually, young all-rounder, Taryn Reay added impetus with a series of fine shots in an impressive 29 as Carlisle set their sights on a competitive total.

Poor judgement between the stumps also handed the visitors some soft wickets, leaving skipper Lee Hogarth to hand out some harsh words at the interval with just 133 on the board.

Chairman, Mike Rayson even had to be summoned from his Sabbath slumbers to fill in as 12th man after an injury to a scoreless number 4 left the side depleted.

Hogarth needn’t have worried.

Macca’s capture of visiting captain Darren Coleman from the first ball of the innings set the tone as the team immediately above the Thirds crumbled to just 47 all out.

An 86-run victory leaves Hogie’s men in fourth, one point behind Gamblesby with games in hand, and a crucial encounter with second placed Carleton to come in a fortnight.

Next weekend sees the return fixture at Gamblesby before the EVCL Junior Cup Final on Sunday at Wetheral.

For the club’s record keepers, the Big I begins his next spell on a hat-trick after polishing off proceedings today with two in two.

Great times for the Thirds. Lets hope Hogie is wearing a smile on both days next weekend.