Nantwich CC made it a hat-trick of Phoenix 15 Finals Day wins as they defeated hosts Hem Heath in a closely-fought final.
Nantwich and Hem Heath had earlier beaten J&G Meakin and Norton-in-Hales respectively in their semi-finals played out on a glorious hot day in front of a sizeable crowd.
In the first semi-final, Nantwich won the toss and invited Meakins to bat which proved a good decision as Meakins lost opener Karl High on the third ball of the first over.
Meakins couldn’t get into the swing of things and lost wickets regularly with the top-scorer being Joshua Tittensor on 16.
They were all out for 75 with Simon Till taking 3 for 15 for Nantwich.
Nantwich made short work of their reply passing the required total for the loss of three wickets with James Rowland the pick of the batsmen with 38.
The second semi-final was a higher-scoring affair and the crowd was treated to some big hitting by both teams.
Norton-in-Hales elected to bat and opener Jack Furnival smashed 97 before being the last man out in an innings which reaped 152 runs.
Hem Heath opener Callum Leese virtually replicated Furnival’s feat scoring 99 not out as they reached the winning total with seven balls to spare.
In the final, Ben Rogerson (38) and Tom Hodson (33 not out) were the pick of the Hem Heath batsmen as the team reached 131 for 6 off their 15 overs having been invited to bat by Nantwich with Harry Newton taking 3 for 18.
During Nantwich’s reply, the balance of the game swung between both sides almost on an over-by-over basis.
But Nantwich made it three championships in three as a wide ball went for 4 to take them past Hem Heath’s total with three balls to spare.
League President Roger Machin presented the Sam Gleaves Trophy to the Nantwich captain and Harry Newton received the Glennis Sant Trophy for his Man-of-the-Final performance.
The league’s chosen charity “Ashton’s Leg 4 Life” will receive a donation in excess of £600 raised by donations, entrance money and the proceeds from the raffle.
Match details:
Semifinal 1 – J&G Meakin 75 lost to Nantwich 76-3 (J.Rowland 38)
Semifinal 2 – Norton in Hales 152 (J.Furnival 97) lost to Hem Heath 156-4 (C.Leese 99no)
Final – Hem Heath 131-6 (B.Rogerson 38, T.Hodson 33no) lost to Nantwich 133-4 (P.Marsh 30)
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