Another fantastic day for Didsbury CC with big wins for our 3s and 4s, both of them one step closer to deservedly taking their respective titles, but the biggest prize of all on the day belongs to Ryan and the 2s, who played some simply excellent T20 cricket in testing circumstances and overcame a potentially tricky hurdle in Brooklands and then Chester BH, current league leaders and a top drawer team in their own right, to win the T20 Trophy for the second year in a row.

I have scored all the 2s games in the T20 this season and it’s not unfair to say they haven’t been especially impressive in their run to finals day. They made hard work of chasing 115 against Romiley, lacked fluency with the bat whilst doing enough to beat Georgians, and although their q/f win was a little more like it, they nonetheless needed quite the scramble in the last batting overs to get the total necessary. As finals day came round, Stuart and Jack, big parts of the cup team, were both to be unavailable, so with a red hot day forecast and either the hosts Grappenhall or CBH to take on in the final, it was quite a task.

I arrived midway through the first semi, with news having come through of a fabulous batting display by Grappers in the first semi that had a large and partisan home crowd in raptures, setting Chester 203 to win. However a spectacular opening riposte by the Chester openers quietened the home support, with quite a number of them helping to find the ball in the adjacent fields after it was despatched there four times in the first 8 overs, a large swathe of Chester members raucously encouraging their side to what became a canter, winning with 7 balls unused and only 2 wkts lost. They were clearly going to be formidable opponents in the final, could we make it.

With finding the ball, the heat of the day and a refreshment break in each innings, the 1.30 start time for the second semi was pushed back 30 mins – of which, more anon. Div 1 Brooklands 2s had actually played on the ground the day before in the league and when they put Dids in I wondered if they had learned things from the previous day that may work in their favour. However, the brilliance of Sam Youds and Harry Rigby meant that Brooklands got a repeated lesson in the impossibility of stopping the ball once it was past you. And of just what fine players these two are, as they hit 19 boundaries between them in the first 10, any number of glorious cover drives wreathing yours truly in smiles. 108-1 at halfway finished up at 198-6, a dashing Dan Ward cameo, 24 off 15 from Max and a quite fabulous soaring six off Tom’s second ball faced the main elements.

Brooklands knew they had to go from the off but that is easier said than done with Matt Laker and Rohan opening up, both really impressive as Brook finished the powerplay 28 runs behind where Dids were and left themselves needing 129 off the last 10, which never looked remotely likely – and so it proved, only two batters breaking 20 and a 57 run win wrapped up before the task of overcoming Chester.

Ryan won the toss and chose to bat first in a 17:30 start, with the heat less intense. I did wonder just how much conditions had taken it out of the players, and when Sam was carelessly run out fourth ball, it did look like a fatigued dismissal. Nonetheless, Harry and Dan regrouped and dealt with some fine, pacey bowling really impressively, 40 on the board in 4 overs, before two wkts in an over had CBH cock-a-hoop and their still strong band of supporters making plenty of noise. Tom went ariel a bit too early and although Harry dispatched the CBH captain for a big six first ball, Mathew tamely poked back a return catch two balls later to leave Dids 89-5 at halfway – decent runs, but too many wickets.

Owen Griffiths had been brought into the side for the final and proved to be the man for the occasion, adding a useful 32 with Harry before the latter was narrowly run out, exhausted I am sure, but two 50s on finals day (in total, 107 runs off 68 bs, 17x4, 1x6) is a fabulous achievement. Owen hit two lovely sixes of his own and with all the batters scrambling runs and not absorbing dots, in the end 168-9 looked a creditable but gettable total. But it was going to need the effort of the season with the ball – and boy, was that ever what was produced!

The two Chester openers, who had banjoed 67 off their powerplay in game one and put on 118 in 10.2 overs in all, strode out, but were immediately pinned down after an accurate first over from Mathew, (and a confident stumping appeal rejected), Rohan then as impressive as in game one as he bounded in confidently and found the perfect line and length. After 3 overs it was just 9-0, and Ben Spaven, having batted so well in their semi, panicked, trying to whack Rohan and gifting a catch to Sam at mid off. What a start! Martin Green (68 off 35 in game one) did at last find the boundary, three times in six balls in fact, but Mathew castled him with a beauty and all the noise was from Dids, well and truly in business as CBH spluttered to 28-2 in the powerplay, just the three boundaries conceded and 20 dot balls bowled. What an effort from the front two!

The other bowlers took their cue and continued the squeeze, CBH not sure whether to stick or twist as it were, and increasingly their batters went too early, which reflected the sheer pressure such super fielding and generally tight bowling was bringing to bear. Max’s first two balls were clobbered for six by Reg Wyatt but then ‘Elton’ (as I always think of him) decided that valour was the better part of discretion and went again, picking out Tom’s very safe hands on his third attempt.

63-3 at halfway and drinks was game still in the balance but with Dids having every reason to believe they could win this. James B joined in, bowling Joe Killoran with his first ball, and seven balls later Olly Griffiths tried also to clear the rope, well caught by his namesake as Dan got a deserved wicket. Alex Townend replied with a big six but when he went for a repeat down the ground off Dan, the moment of the match, and arguably of the day occured, as Rohan chased round at long off, seemed to have misjudged the flight, over-ran the ball, stopped still, seemed to half-turn back to where he’d just run past, stuck his right hand up in the air, and the ball went straight into his open palm and stuck there! Absolutely astonishing and the moment when any lingering nerves or doubts were gone.

It has to be your day when they stick, and Chester knew as much too, as the final few overs were quietly played out before Dids confirmed a 42 run win. It was a magnificent effort, playing back-to-back fixtures in intense heat for the most part, beating one half-decent and one excellent side, both by fair margins.

The stats tell an interesting story too – batting wise, Dids hit 26 fours (and 1 x 6) in their semi, 18 and 3 in the final. In all they ran 98 singles in the two games, and played out 77 dots, whereas they bowled 98 dots, and conceded just 21 fours and 8 sixes across the two games. Dids hit 24 fours in their 12 powerplay overs and conceded just 7 in the same period. Most tellingly of all in the field, they conceded just 3 extras in the semi (2 wides, 1 leg bye) and in the final, one wide – one !! – and a no-ball (which, as it was the last ball of the match, was of no consequence). Ryan didn’t concede a single bye in 40 overs of standing up to almost every ball. These are truly amazing stats and worthy of the highest praise.

And a couple of players worthy of a special mention – Rohan’s combined figures, opening in each match, were 8-0-37-3, while Dan Ward’s were 7-0-34-5, as well as 32 off 24 in the semi and 23 off 15 in the final. Wow! Rohan won the champagne moment for his catch, but Dan could easily have claimed it for his all-round contribution. And a word again for Harry and for Sam Youds, who had batted two hours plus on the Saturday and did such a brilliant job setting the tone for Dids with that big, rapid, opening stand.

Chester were excellent opponents and gracious in defeat, staying on to applaud our lads as Ryan received the trophy. It was a fantastic day for Dids, who were exemplary in their conduct and play throughout, a credit to the club and a team I was immensely proud to score for. Well done to all of you, what an achievement.

It was also a very long day, and I hope that in future the powers-that-be will rejig this whole format of finals day. The last six or seven overs were played out in light that was not great, and arguably too dangerous for pace bowling towards the end, and on another day that could have been a major issue with the day going on so long. With this three-match format, one side had to endure a lengthy wait between games, another has to play back-to-back, neither of which is satisfactory for recreational cricket in my view. It would be far better in future to play the two semis as separate games of an evening in early July, get the 3s T20 competition sorted in the same way, and then have a finals day in August consisting of the 2nd XI final followed by the 3rd XI final. Two matches only, both intense, fair for all sides, no waiting around or playing twice in succession, with the prospect of decent light throughout.

Anyway, that’s for another time. For now, Duncan and co will have to sort more space in the trophy display and arrange for yet another entry onto the club honours board. Nice problems to have! Well done again to a superb set of players.