Mens Lancashire Knockout Cup Semi-Final Line-up Confirmed
The semi-final line-up for the 2026 Lancashire Knockout Cup has been confirmed following an entertaining weekend of quarter-final action, with Horwich RMI, Leigh, Northern and Royton all booking their place in the last four.
Horwich RMI cruise into the semi-finals
Horwich RMI produced a professional performance to defeat Rainford by eight wickets.
Rainford were dismissed for 135, with Sam Little (3-27), Jack Berry (3-26) and Louis Johnson (2-23) sharing the wickets. Despite Matthew Bailey's 22 and Dominic Hayes' 18, the visitors were unable to build any significant partnerships as Horwich's disciplined bowling attack kept them in check throughout the innings.
In reply, Horwich recovered from the early loss of two wickets to dominate the chase. Evan Williams finished unbeaten on 75, while William Shuttleworth anchored the innings with an unbeaten 50 as Horwich reached 139-2 with almost ten overs to spare.
Karl Brown century sends Leigh through
Leigh booked their place in the semi-finals with a five-wicket victory over Garstang.
Garstang posted a competitive 201-9, thanks largely to an outstanding unbeaten 104 from Lahiru Madushanka, who struck nine fours and four sixes. Madushanka also threatened to swing the contest in Garstang's favour by claiming 4-22 with the ball.
However, former Lancashire batter Karl Brown produced the innings of the day, finishing unbeaten on 125 from 121 balls. His match-winning knock guided Leigh to 203-5 with nearly seven overs remaining, securing their place in the last four.
Northern too strong for Kearsley
Northern progressed with a convincing 72-run victory over Kearsley at Moor Park.
Half-centuries from Louis Bhabra (58) and Shivy Gautam (63) helped Northern post 222-9, despite Dhanraj Patel returning impressive figures of 4-66 for Kearsley.
Kearsley found themselves in early trouble at 43-5 before Dhanraj Patel launched an impressive counter-attack, making 79 from 64 balls. However, Northern continued to take wickets at regular intervals, with Daniel Wilson (3-27) leading the attack as Kearsley were eventually dismissed for 150.
Royton continue impressive run
Royton completed the semi-final quartet with a convincing 64-run victory over Settle.
After electing to bat, Royton amassed 276-5, thanks to an unbeaten 89 from Hareen Buddila. James Maurice-Scott added 52 at the top of the order before Buddila accelerated the scoring with six fours and five sixes to put Royton firmly in control.
Settle looked to be mounting a serious challenge as Gautam Waghela struck an excellent 98, supported by Sunny Singh's 44. At 174-4, the visitors remained in the contest, but Royton claimed the final six wickets for just 38 runs, with Bilawal Iqbal and Joe Jackson taking three wickets apiece to secure their place in the semi-finals.
Semi-Final Draw
The quarter-final victories have set up two exciting semi-finals:
- Leigh v Royton
- Northern v Horwich RMI
Both semi-finals will be played on Sunday 19 July, with the winners progressing to the 2026 Lancashire Knockout Cup Final on Sunday 30 August.