By Charles Randall
13 August 2015
Blackheath, one of the successes of the National Club Championship in the early years, will have another chance for glory if they beat Bath at Rectory Field on 30 August. The winners meet Northern or the 2009 champions Chester-le-Street in the final on 13 September.
Blackheath won this competition, now sponsored by Royal London, in 1971 before any of the current team were born, beating Ealing, though they reached the final again in 1981 and lost to Scarborough.
An appearance in a modern-day final, at a venue to be confirmed, would be fitting for a club that has contributed so much to London-Kent cricket through wide-spread youth schemes and Saturday matches for so many adult players – the number of teams rose above 10.
The familiar faces of James Hands, left-arm spin, and Tom Mees, the former Warwickshire seamer, helped Blackheath squeeze past visiting Swardeston, from the East Anglian League, by 10 runs. Dipayan Paul's 56 off 52 balls helped the home side reach 230-9, bolstered crucially by 16 wides and a no-ball.
Blackeath's bowlers were much less accommodating as Swardeston slipped to 220 all out. Hands picked up 3-26 off his nine overs, including the wicket of Matthew Taylor for what could have been a match-turning 56 off 47 balls. Mees bowled the last man with the first ball of the final over, finishing with 3-34.
Bath won well at the Sussex champions Roffey, with Seb Benton smashing 98 off 95 balls. A total of 221-9 proved well beyond the home side in a 24-run defeat, despite a rapid 59 from Rohit Jagota.
Bath's three national finals, all lost, were relatively recent. And, lying second in the West of England table, they would start favourites at Blackheath, third in the Kent League.
In the Davidstow Village Cup the Cambridgeshire club Foxton have reached their first final and will meet three-time champions Woodhouse Grange at Lord's on 13 September.
Foxton beat Goatacre, visitors from Wiltshire and past winners in two finals, by five runs. Foxton's prolific opener Cei Sanderson hit a third successive century in the tournament with 103 in a total of 245-8. Goatacre needed 14 off the last two overs, but the turning point came when Edward Wilkins caught off a skier for a rapid 115.
13 August 2015
Blackheath, one of the successes of the National Club Championship in the early years, will have another chance for glory if they beat Bath at Rectory Field on 30 August. The winners meet Northern or the 2009 champions Chester-le-Street in the final on 13 September.
Blackheath won this competition, now sponsored by Royal London, in 1971 before any of the current team were born, beating Ealing, though they reached the final again in 1981 and lost to Scarborough.
An appearance in a modern-day final, at a venue to be confirmed, would be fitting for a club that has contributed so much to London-Kent cricket through wide-spread youth schemes and Saturday matches for so many adult players – the number of teams rose above 10.
The familiar faces of James Hands, left-arm spin, and Tom Mees, the former Warwickshire seamer, helped Blackheath squeeze past visiting Swardeston, from the East Anglian League, by 10 runs. Dipayan Paul's 56 off 52 balls helped the home side reach 230-9, bolstered crucially by 16 wides and a no-ball.
Blackeath's bowlers were much less accommodating as Swardeston slipped to 220 all out. Hands picked up 3-26 off his nine overs, including the wicket of Matthew Taylor for what could have been a match-turning 56 off 47 balls. Mees bowled the last man with the first ball of the final over, finishing with 3-34.
Bath won well at the Sussex champions Roffey, with Seb Benton smashing 98 off 95 balls. A total of 221-9 proved well beyond the home side in a 24-run defeat, despite a rapid 59 from Rohit Jagota.
Bath's three national finals, all lost, were relatively recent. And, lying second in the West of England table, they would start favourites at Blackheath, third in the Kent League.
In the Davidstow Village Cup the Cambridgeshire club Foxton have reached their first final and will meet three-time champions Woodhouse Grange at Lord's on 13 September.
Foxton beat Goatacre, visitors from Wiltshire and past winners in two finals, by five runs. Foxton's prolific opener Cei Sanderson hit a third successive century in the tournament with 103 in a total of 245-8. Goatacre needed 14 off the last two overs, but the turning point came when Edward Wilkins caught off a skier for a rapid 115.