UKAF men's cricketers lose to Lancashire as they fall just short in two midweek thrillers

The UK Armed Forces men’s cricketers have lost to Lancashire 2nd XI by just two runs after another agonisingly close defeat to National Asian Cricket Council the previous day.

On Thursday, Lancashire posted 204/9 in 42 overs, having won the toss and elected to bat.

A half-century from Archie Davies (51) provided the foundation for the innings, helped by 47 by opener S Perera and 40 runs from Oliver Sutton.

RAF star Tom Shorthouse was among the wickets with his off spin, taking 4-24 from his seven overs.

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In a match affected by rain, UKAF's revised target was 210 from 42 overs.

In response, they reached 70-2 before the wickets began to fall – skipper Adam Fisher fell one run short of his 50 and, despite runs from Keddy Lesporis (33) and Jay Boynton (39), they finished on 207/9, just two runs short of their target.

Their disappointment came just a day after losing by a similarly close margin to a National Asian Cricket Council (NACC) Invitational XI on Wednesday.

The military men put on 254/6 in 40 overs, helped to the total by an impressive 96 not out from captain Adam Fisher and 49 from the Royal Navy's Ben Johnston.

In a thrilling finish, NACC knocked off the runs with just a ball to spare, bolstered by a half-century (70) from Yousuf Barber.