The ECB Indoor National Club Championship National Finals take place tomorrow at the MCC Cricket Academy at Lord’s, with three of the four teams having previously been to this stage of the competition but none having gone on to win it.
The only team that has not previously been to Lord’s is Lincolnshire’s Cherry Willingham Cricket Club, who came through a high-scoring regional final to reach this stage for the first time.
Led by captain Lee Coupland, Cherry Willingham won a close match against Egerton from Lancashire in the regional semi-final before chasing down 154 to beat Northumberland’s Tynemouth in the northern regional final at Derby.
Cherry Willingham will face Flitwick Cricket Club from Bedfordshire in the second semi-final. Flitwick beat previous champions Godmanchester Town in the regional semi-final before easing past Buckinghamshire’s Wolverton Town at Edgbaston in the midlands regional final to make their second trip to Lord’s.
Captain and wicketkeeper Phil Gurney, who played in Flitwick’s previous finals day appearance in 2011, is hoping they improve on their national semi-final defeat four years ago.
The first semi-final of the day sees two teams that have been at this stage of the competition in the last two years. Sarisbury Athletic Cricket Club from Hampshire suffered defeat in the final two years ago but enjoyed a relatively comfortable progression from the London & east regional final at Canterbury two weeks ago, easing past both South Woodford and Sandwich Town.
They have much of the same team from that previous Lord’s appearance and captain Matt Journeaux hopes his team, containing three previous Indoor National Club Championship winners from other clubs, have the experience to go one step further to take the title.
Sarisbury will take on Neyland Cricket Club from Wales, who 12 months ago were knocked out in the national semi-finals by eventual winners Dearne. Captain Sean Hannon is hoping his players can learn from that experience to take the title back to south-west Wales.
Like Sarisbury Athletic, Neyland’s team contains many players who played in that semi-final and had easy wins at the south & west regional final at Taunton over Stalbridge from Dorset and Cornwall champions St Austell.
The National Finals schedule for Sunday is:
11:00 - Semi-final 1 – Sarisbury Athletic CC v Neyland CC
12:45 - Semi-final 2 – Flitwick CC v Cherry Willingham CC
14:45 - Final