Carlisle Cricket Club are firmly in the driving seat to land their first Cumbria Cricket League Premier Division title.

A comfortable win at Furness on Saturday pushed them 15 points clear of their hosts with just three games to play.

Tomorrow, they entertain the 2016 and 2017 champions Workington, whose form has fluctuated from very good to pretty poor, while Furness visit Keswick, who find it difficult to put out their strongest team at this time of the year.

But ahead of the weekend, the weather forecast is poor, with the prospect of limited play across the county.

Carlisle have to make one change for the visit of Workington. Jonathan Davidson is unavailable, so Jordan Whinn comes in.

After the six-wicket win over Furness, skipper Marc Brown said his side had shown real commitment to come out on top.

“Fraser Conn and Michael Slack were magnificent for us again, really building pressure, not letting Furness build-up any momentum," he said.

"Our fielding was key, too. We took every chance that came our way, and that just shows the team spirit we have, as we go into the final stages of the season."

After a wet week, Carlisle gambled on bowling first on a sticky surface, and Slack and Conn combined to destroy the heart of the home team's batting.

Slack finished with 4-30, while Conn’s 15 overs went for just 31 as he claimed the prize scalps of South African sub-pro Brett Pelser and Mark Daly.

Only Wyll Stanway, with 36, withstood Carlisle’s attack as Henry Walker and James Bell each picked up wickets to leave the home side 93 all out.

Slack and Ben Davidson then laid the foundations for a successful chase, but it was skipper Brown with an unbeaten 39 who ensured a vital victory.

The only disappointment for Carlisle was that they were well beaten on Sunday at Cleator in the semi-final of the County Cup.

A low-scoring contest saw the city side dismissed for 69 as they tried to chase down a modest home total of 116-9.

Champions Cockermouth can still mathematically win the title, but their best hopes of a trophy lie in the final of the County Cup. They will play Cleator at Wigton a week on Sunday.

Cockermouth visit Lindal Moor tomorrow while Cleator entertain Wigton, who are enjoying a strong finish to the season.

They were too strong for bottom side Egremont and got home by five wickets after bowling out the west Cumbrians for 86. Skipper Nico Watt took 4-30 and John Reed and Chris Hodgson both had 3-23.

Reed (37) and Matthew Reed (35) were largely responsible for the winning reply.

Keswick batted first at Whitehaven and made only 88 all out from 32 overs with Habib Baloch taking 5-22 from 15 overs and professional Safyaan Sharif 3-55 from 15.

In reply, the home side eventually made 89-5 from 35 overs with Sharif making 32 as Keswick’s Sri Lankan professional Geeth Kumara took 4/27 from 15 overs.

In the other games, Millom host Dalton and Egremont are at home to Whitehaven.