TWO talented Lancashire cricket teams have been crowned national champions and players from east of the county have certainly played their part.

The LCB County Age Group squads at Under 17s Girls and Under 15s Boys claimed their respective Royal London County Cup national titles to seal a memorable year for the Red Rose county.

Emma Lamb from Hoghton played a key role in the girls glorious season who, apart from the Twenty20 format, went through the entire campaign unbeaten.

The triumphant boys team included Brad Fielding of Ramsbottom, Lewis Pearson of East Lancs, Lowerhouse’s Joe Halstead and Clitheroe’s Charlie Dewhurst.

Lamb was the stand-out performer with the bat as Lancashire marched to the final where they beat Warwickshire.

Ironically, Lamb just scored one in the final but she had more than played her part in the season, the opener scoring an unbeaten 125 in victory over Yorkshire and also 72 not out in the return against their Roses rivals. She also scored 42 against Durham and an unbeaten 52 against Cheshire.

The semi final and finals were both low scoring affairs with Lancashire relying on their bowling rather than batting.

Against Sussex, Lancashire were bowled out for 132 but were dismissed for 106 in reply.

It was a similar story in the final where Lancashire were dismissed for 132 but bowled Sussex out for 106 to secure a 26-run victory - Hannah Jones taking 4-16.

Jen Laycock, LCB’s Women & Girls CDO, who is from Read and played for Rishton Seconds, was full of praise for the team.

“It’s a great achievement for this group of girls, they have worked very hard to get to this position, many sacrificing a lot to be part of this team,” said Laycock.

“Even the distraction of many receiving their GCSE results on the morning of the semi-final, the team still pulled together as a unit and scrapped for that win. This group of girls have made lifelong friends with each other, developed as cricketers and as people through their journey in age group cricket.

“I hope that we see many of these girls pushing for places in the LCB Thunder squad and ultimately England Women in years to come.”

Lancashire Under 15s boys took on defending champions Surrey at Kibworth CC in Leicestershire where the East Lancs quartet played a significant role in their superb victory.

In difficult conditions, Lancashire clocked up 267-9 with Fielding smashing a swashbuckling 54 that included two sixes and five fours.

Dewhurst added a well constructed 41 while earlier Halstead hit a quick fire 14 that included three boundaries.

Halstead then took 2-23 while Pearson also bowled superbly as Surrey finished on 176-9 to give Lancashire victory and keep their impressive 11-game unbeaten run.

Stephen Titchard, LCB’s Performance Manager and Head Coach for U15s, said: “For a group of players to play with this level of consistency, skill and belief in their talent has been outstanding.”