For the first time in 2 years I am the bearer of unpleasant news in that the match against Cheshire was lost by 10 1/2 to 7 1/2 at Stockport, which looked lovely on Friday , but was cold and blustery at times on Saturday.

This was a strong Cheshire side, which was apparently  only slightly weakened when star man Tom Boys withdrew the night before the match but his replacement Sam Conner was to perform pretty well , certainly  in the Foursomes.

The foursomes in complete contrast to every match in 2009 were a disappointment  with only the young team of James Atkinson and Seb Crookall-Nixon and the experienced team of John Longcake and Nev Johnstone chalking up points for Cumbria. John had been a doubt until the eve of this match, nursing an injured hand. We were thus 4-2 down from the morning rounds.

The afternoon started brightly with Will Bowe turning in a spectacular 7 & 6 victory over David Peel. James Atkinson fought a tremendous match against Internationalist and Order of Merit winner Mike Bedford, just to lose on the 18th.

Seb Crookall-Nixon maintained his 100% record for the County beating Sam Connor 3 &2. Nicky Bell went right down to the wire and succeeded in beating Ian Winstanley on the 18th. The scores in the match were now 5 points each.

Stephen Jopson having once been 4 down got it back to 1 down in three holes but could not quite cut the mustard ending the wrong side of a 2 & 1 defeat. Andrew Millray was more than equal to Adam Wills from tee to green but the Wills' putter according to Andrew was on fire as he fell victim to a 3 & 2 defeat.  Geoff Nixon tied his match with Mike Harrington ,so we were now 2 points adrift.

Captain Martin Hand reduced the deficit recording a 2 & 1 win over Phil Bolton but it was now up to the last 4 to bring in the bacon if Cumbria were to do the business, with Cumbria 1 point adrift.

John Longcake fell 2 & 1 to the up and coming Ollie Carr  and this was offset by Craig Morrow's steamrollering 5 & 4 win over Luke Burrows. One point down , 2 matches left. Nev Johnstone was one down with three to play when his opponent virtually sealed the deal with a brilliant approach to the 16th, near enough for a gimme.

The match was over on the 17th when Nev found the trap on the heavily bunkered approaches to the 17th. Grant Little came to the last all square but his putt on the 18th slid past the hole giving the game to his opponent Ashley Sale by 1 hole.

This is a blip in the plans for 2010 but I am sure that Martin will get the troops fired up for the next match against Yorkshire at Penrith, at the end of the month, when I hope the temperature will be a lot warmer than Stockport was for players and spectators alike. I am grateful to the many Executives who turned out to support the team, just a pity the "wrong" team got the points!

Finally I have to say that we received a very warm welcome from the Stockport Club and also from the Cheshire President at lunch, when we were presented with a commemorative Armada Dish by their President Ian  on the occasion of our 100 years as a Union . Such a nice gesture.

• Cumberland News

Martin Hand plans to juggle the roles of Cumbria golf captain and player next season.

Hand has decided against hanging up his clubs after replacing Cliff Heath in the top job.

The role has traditionally been held by a non-playing captain, but Hand is confident he will not be distracted by the dual pressures of running the team and making sure he is at the top of his own game.

The 38-year-old Carlisle player was one of the key players in Heath’s team, which last year won the Northern Counties League and the Northern Counties Championship, and his decision to retire as a county player would have come as a major blow to the team.

Hand, who has a handicap of plus one, underlined his importance to the team as a player during their winter preparations to the new season, starting on Saturday, May 8 against Cheshire at Stockport Golf Club.

On Saturday he won the opening 36-hole Open Scratch competition at Appleby with his one-under-part score of 135 (68, 67) following a card play-off with Nicky Bell.

He also won Cumbria’s winter get-together at Seascale Golf Club and, in a warm-up match against the South of Scotland at Brampton, he won both his foursomes match with Geoff Nixon and his singles match as the county claimed a 13-5 victory.

Hand said: “I will be making myself available for the coming season.

“My game is in good shape and I think the level of golf I’m playing at the moment justifies my place in the team.

“We are going to be at full strength as far as we can be for the first few matches to set us up for the season.

“The first two matches are pivotal and we will have to go for strength and experience. Then we might have a chance to look at blooding youngsters.

“I think it is possible to juggle both roles. It worked out fine against the South of Scotland. I will be wondering how other players are doing but it won’t affect my game.

“I didn’t feel distracted and I was made aware by committee members how other players were doing.

“Deciding whether to continue has taken a lot of thinking about because the captain’s role has to be my priority. I asked the players for their opinions and they want me to play.”

In another boost for Cumbria, teenage star Seb Crookall-Nixon has pledged to continue playing for the county when his England career enables him to.

The Workington member, from Cockermouth, last year won his second success England Under-16 Championship, and stepped up to the England Under-18 team.