The day kicked off with skipper Ben Paine winning the toss and electing to bat first. The lads were off to a flyer, with Ewan Hughes-Rowlands and Chana Ruwansiri putting on an absolute clinic—blasting the opposition bowlers out of the game. Ewan smashed 69 off 32, while Chana lit up the ground with an unbeaten 91 off 37. The pair powered us to a massive 215-3 off 20 overs.

Carrying that momentum into the field, the boys struck early—3 wickets inside the first 5 overs. Despite a solid partnership from the Peterborough batters, we held our nerve. Key breakthroughs came courtesy of George Earl (3 wickets), Chris Law (2 wickets), and Jack White (1 wicket) to seal the win and book our place in the final.

In the final against a strong Oundle Town side, we were asked to bowl first—and once again, the boys delivered. We took 3 key wickets in the powerplay, including their overseas pro, thanks to a brilliant boundary catch by Chana off George’s bowling. Tight fielding and disciplined bowling restricted Oundle to 151-9 from their 20.

Ewan opened the batting again with intent, striking it cleanly and setting the tone. He led the chase with a brilliant 73 off 43 balls, anchoring the innings at the top. After 9 overs, we were 80-2 and cruising, but some tight bowling from Oundle made things tense. With 11 needed off the final over, Charlie Searle stepped up—ramping his second ball for four. With 2 needed off the last delivery, Charlie and Jordan Baxter scrambled a single—and an overthrow sealed the win.

Ewan, quite rightly, was named Man of the Match in the final for his match-winning knock.

Victory sealed. Trophy lifted. Short Stocks has silverware again.

A massive thanks to Geddington Cricket Club for hosting, and to Peterborough Town and Oundle Town for two cracking games of cricket and finally to Finbarr Carroll for capturing some amazing shots.

We’re immensely proud of the lads and their efforts across the day. Next up: Regional Finals Day, hosted at Rushden on Sunday 2nd August, where we take on the T20 champions of Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, and East Anglia. Come down and support the club!

Next stop: regional domination!

Thanks to Humza Ali for the match report