CATTISTOCK 118-5 beat DEWLISH 109-9 by nine runs

JAMES England was the star of the show as Cattistock lifted the Dorchester Evening League Knockout Cup for the very first time.

The top-order batsman plundered 56 runs, including three sixes, and claimed three stumpings to lead his side to a nine-run victory over fellow Division One outfit Dewlish, who fell at the final hurdle for the second successive summer.

England’s exploits also earned him the man of the match award and captain Billy Wallbridge was full of praise for his leading light.

He said: “James is in great form at the moment and his last few knocks have all been over 50.”

Wallbridge, who himself returned impressive figures of 3-22, went on to add: “Martin Langford started very well with the ball and took 2-13 off his five overs and Ben Golledge (2-22) also bowled really well, so it was a good all-round performance.

“It was a good game and it was quite a close one. They didn’t really get going in their innings and before they knew it they had some work to do and couldn’t quite claw it back.

“We had a lot of support at the Rec and I would like to thank those people as well. It was a proud night for the club, especially with it being the first time we have ever won the cup.”

The skipper opened the batting alongside Steve Oliver and both men contributed 15 runs apiece before falling in quick succession.

However, England arrived at number three and set about leading Cattistock, in their maiden final, to treble figures.

In the end, Cattistock saw out the allotted 18 overs and closed on 118-5 – Alex Chutter (2-18) being the pick of the bowlers.

Dewlish made a similarly steady start in reply before two quick dismissals left them on 29-2.

Tom Hewish (22) pushed last year’s finalists past the half-century mark but wickets began to fall at regular intervals.

Lewis Chutter (24 not out) bucked the trend to keep his side in contention, but by the close of play they were 10 runs short of glory and once more forced to settle for runners-up medals.