National cup glory for Cuckney as they beat Bexley at Lord's

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Cuckney Cricket Club produced a dramatic last ball win to claim the prestigious ECB National Clubs Championship over Bexley in a sensational final at Lord's on Saturday.

Now captain Tom Ullyott has to focus his players one last time as they try to complete a trophy treble by winning the Nottinghamshire Premier League if they can beat visiting Cavaliers & Carrington on Saturday.

Chasing 219, Cuckney needed two runs on the last ball to tie and win the game on wickets lost.

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Ullyott hit that winning two and said: “To win on the last ball at Lord's in the national knockout trophy – I am still processing it in my mind.

Tom Ullyott lifts the ECB National Championship Cup.Tom Ullyott lifts the ECB National Championship Cup.
Tom Ullyott lifts the ECB National Championship Cup.

“It was all the theatre you can imagine in a final at Lord's. The game had pretty much everything.

“To know you are the best club side in the country is pretty special and no one can ever take that away from you.

“It's been a lot of years in the making with the amount of time and sacrifices that have gone on by so many people down the years in order to facilitate it.

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“We left it pretty late but the scenario of a game like that, it always felt like it was going to go to the wire.

“It was a fantastic achievement by the players but was also very much a club thing for the supporters and members. We had 500 or 600 people down there – and it's not cheap to get down there.”

He continued: “It was a phenomenal achievement and something I don't think any of us will ever forget. I think it was deserved and on the day we just about edged it.

“We would have been kicking ourselves Sunday morning after the position Will and Nick wrestled us back to in that middle period. We almost bodged it up but we got over the line by hook or by crook.”

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Asked to bat, Bexley were 23-2 before a third wicket stand of 84 between Calum Basey (78) and George Haley (23). Matthew Stiddard made 59 not out and Harry Turner 29 with 3-30 for Joe Worrall as they ended 219-9 after the 40 overs.

Cuckney lost Tom Rowe out with two on the board, but William Butler (69) and Nick Langford (59) combined for a crucial third wicket stand of 105. Nick Keast had hit 36 and Ullyott ended 26 not out as they finished 219-5.

“When I was batting with Nick Langford it felt like we were on top for that period and maybe we'd get it over the line,” said Ullyott.

“But then we had a contentious run out and Adam Tillcock came in and hit a six then got out.

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“Adam was only there for five balls but he hit a six and every little contribution helped.

“We knew we only needed two runs from the last ball and it helped knowing I was on strike as I had had a similar scenario with Josh the week before against Papplewick and it was quite fresh in the mind. Thankfully we got them and the all hell broke loose after that.”

He added: “We lost Tom Rowe early on but Nick Keast wrestled back a bit of initiative with a quickfire 36.

“To not score on the day wasn't the world's best feeling for Tom but it's about the previous rounds for him when he scored three 100s. He is a massive part of why we ended up with the trophy.

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“Will Butler and Nick Langford played sensationally well in that middle period and put on 105 runs. Will had cramp and was suffering with a bit of an injury so to get 69 runs was crucial.

“If it wasn't for the mix up between me and Nick with the run out no doubt he would have ended up 70 or 80 not out.

“Such is life and they both got 50s at Lord's which they won't forget in a rush.”

On that dramatic final ball, Ullyott said: “There was a bit of a break in play and we clarified what we needed with the umpires.

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“They changed their field and took a bit of time. I decided the biggest gap was over the bowler's head and I was going to chip it over him. As soon as I hit it quite well I knew it would be at least two, maybe four, and we comfortably jogged the second run back.”

Having won the Derbyshire County Premier Cup last week, Cuckney now focus on Saturday.

With rivals Kimberley Institute winning on Saturday, Cuckney now need to win their final league game to complete a treble.

“I think it will be tricky to get the lads back down from cloud nine but that is part of my job,” said Ullyott.

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“I will leave them soak it up, enjoy it and let it sink in for a couple of days before training on Wednesday as it hasn't really sunk in for me yet to be honest. Then it will be business as usual as we need to beat Cavs.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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