Finchampstead swept through T20 Finals Day unbeaten, dismantling Harefield in the semi-final before holding off a spirited fightback from hosts Oxford Downs to lift the Home Counties Premier Cricket League T20 title.
The win sends Finchampstead through to the Area Final, hosted this year by the Southern Premier Cricket League on Sunday 16th August (reserve day 23rd August) at St. Cross Symondians CC.
The day began with hosts Oxford Downs booking their place in the final at the expense of Gerrards Cross. George Sandbach was the standout performer with the bat, top-scoring with 79 from 55 balls to anchor Oxford Downs to 153 for nine after they were sent in to bat.
James Pannett and Harry Spear shared four wickets between them in a tight Gerrards Cross bowling effort, but it proved a total too far. I
n reply, Ed Snushall’s 33 and Henry Walsh’s 28 kept Gerrards Cross in touch for a time, but Joe Thomas’s 3 for 20 halted any momentum and Gerrards Cross fell 22 runs short, finishing on 131 for nine.
Finchampstead’s semi-final against Harefield, by contrast, was over as a contest almost before it began. Electing to bat, they posted a formidable 227 for eight, with James Isbell’s explosive 56 from 30 balls – including four fours and six sixes – setting the tone before Ben Salter added a fierce 54 from just 29 deliveries, and Jed Crerar chipped in late with 26 from 12.
Harefield’s chase never got going: Lewis Sharp took 3 for 19, while Liam Dudding, Abdullah Iqbal and Ethan Ramsay claimed two wickets apiece as the innings folded for just 88 in 14.4 overs, handing Finchampstead passage to the final by 139 runs.
That set up an all-Berkshire-and-Oxfordshire finale between Finchampstead and hosts Oxford Downs, and it was the visitors who once again set the pace.
James Isbell (51 from 23 balls) and Ben Salter (51 from 32 balls) both struck their second half-centuries of the day, sharing an 86-run second-wicket stand that propelled Finchampstead to 172 for nine, despite a disciplined spell of 3 for 14 from Henry Welch.
Oxford Downs responded with real intent in the chase, Samuel Cross made 28, George Sandbach 27, and Welch produced an excellent unbeaten 43 to keep hopes alive deep into the innings. But wickets shared around the Finchampstead attack, with Liam Dudding, Lewis Sharp and Eddie Campion all taking two apiece, proved just enough to close out the game.
Oxford Downs finished 16 runs short on 156 for nine, and Finchampstead were crowned champions.
Isbell and Salter’s twin displays were the story of the day for Finchampstead, the pair combining for 107 and 105 runs respectively across their two innings without ever really being troubled, while Sandbach’s 79 in the morning semi-final stood out as the finest individual innings from the losing sides.
Congratulations to Finchampstead CC on winning HCPCL T20 Finals Day, who now progress to the Area Final. Thanks also go to Oxford Downs CC for hosting all three matches on the day.
📸 JS Media (Joshua Spencer)
