Last updated at 12:34, Tuesday, 30 March 2010

Cumbria team manager Mark Richardson is excited about the initial squad that has been put together for this season’s County Championship Shield.

Over 40 players will be written to by the team secretary Kevin Johnston asking if they will be available for the training sessions and the Shield programme in May.

This season only players below a certain level will be involved in the Championship and as far as Cumbria is concerned they can pick from Penrith (National Three North) down to the Cumbria League.

Richardson said: “Although we will obviously miss any input from Kendal I’m very pleased with the players we still have to choose from. If we can get the players we want from this particular squad to make themselves available then I think we can make an impression.”

This season Cumbria will play in Pool Two - at home to Staffordshire on May 8 and away to Notts, Lincs and Derby on May 15. The four Pool winners then contest the semi-finals and the final is at Twickenham on May 30.

Team secretary Johnston said: “It’s a real county based squad and from what we saw last year I think it has a better chance of gelling together. In the past we have had four or five players from bigger clubs, mixing in with the Cumbria-based players and it hasn’t really worked.”

Richardson, who lifted the County Championship Trophy in 1997 when Cumbria played at the top level of the competition, will be team manager; Dan Bowman, who captained the side last year and who will again be in the squad, will be in charge of the forwards and the county is in discussions about a backs coach.

The backs who will be invited are: Paul Newton (Penrith), Jack Clegg (Aspatria), George Graham (Carlisle), Matty Roper (Keswick), Steve Wood (Penrith), Glen Weightman (Carlisle), John Hine (Keswick), Joe Nattrass (Penrith), Tom Armstrong (Penrith), Mike Hawley (Penrith), Sandy Kerridge (Penrith), Gavin Cartmel (Penrith), Chris Harris (Carlisle), Lewis Boyd (Carlisle), Tom Gardner (Wigton), David Barton (Kirkby Lonsdale), Jamie McKenzie (Keswick), Martin Armstrong (Workington).

The forwards are: Graeme Andrews (Aspatria), Andries Venter (Furness), David Cooper-Dunn (Kirkby Lonsdale), Steve Stamper (Carlisle), Glen Carr (Penrith), James Thornton (Penrith), Neil Hastings (Workington), Ben Lanigan (Workington), Tom Graham (Carlisle), Stephen Carruthers (Wigton), Ian Gowing (Upper Eden), David Todhunter (Workington), Richard Miller (Aspatria), Rob Dawson (Penrith), Drew Quarry (Upper Eden), Carrick Wharmby (Keswick), Simon Dowker (Kirkby Lonsdale), Ryan Johnson (Penrith), Mike Raine (Penrith), Mike Stephens (Penrith), Dan Bowman (Workington), Matthew Atkinson (Wigton), Andrew Bowe (Workington), Tom Voke (Kirkby Lonsdale).

FIXTURES

County Championship Shield

May 1: Pool 1 - East Midlands v Oxfordshire, Leicestershire v Essex; Pool 2 - Staffordshire v Notts, Lincs & Derby; Pool 3 - Dorset & Wilts v Buckinghamshire, Berkshire v Sussex.

May 8: Pool 1 - Leicestershire v Oxfordshire, Essex v East Midlands; Pool 2 - Cumbria v Staffordshire; Pool 3 - Dorset & Wilts v Berkshire, Buckinghamshire v Sussex.

May 15: Pool 1 - East Midlands v Leicestershire, Oxfordshire v Essex; Pool 2 - Notts, Lincs & Derby v Cumbria; Pool 3 - Sussex v Dorset & Wilts, Buckingham v Berkshire.

May 22: Shield Semi-finals - Pools 1 & 3 have home advantage

May 30: Shield Final at Twickenham

First published at 11:28, Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk