CONTESTING their first Minor Counties Championship final for 19 years has a tinge of sadness for Buckinghamshire. Crowned eastern division winners, they meet Devon, the best team in the west, in Exmouth on September 10-12 but regret that the format did not allow them to play at any time Suffolk, who were regional runners-up, seven points behind.

With the competition split into two conferences, both of ten counties, and scope for only six three-day matches, there were three fixture gaps. Kevin Beaumont, the Buckinghamshire secretary, said: “We are still thrilled to qualify for the final with five wins.”

Paul Atkins leads a team that includes Keith Medlycott, a former Surrey all-rounder, alongside Phil Sampson and Paul Sawyer, fast bowlers with an aggregate of 50 championship wickets this summer. Sawyer, Atkins, Jason Harrison and Tom Brooks each scored a hundred in the competition.

Beaumont said: “The future is bright. Our development team won the Tom Orford trophy, a two-day competition, and the under-16s triumphed for the first time in the annual Isle of Wight Championship.”

CLUBS
By Ivo Tennant

BROMLEY, who will include Nadeem Shahid and Joey Benjamin, formerly of Surrey, are the favourites to win the Cockspur Cup final at Lord’s next Monday. They are the first Kent team to reach the final since Blackheath in 1981 and will play South Northumberland, whose semi-final against Caythorpe was completed at the third attempt. The first scheduled match was abandoned and the second aborted.

Caythorpe, having been 61 for seven, were able to start afresh. On a damp day, they fielded keenly enough and restricted South Northumberland to 152, but they were dismissed for 118. Adam Heather, the South Northumberland opener, batted virtually throughout the innings, making 64 before he was bowled by Billy Wright with the penultimate ball.

Hence, the winners of the North East Premier League for the fourth year running, who have nine players with Minor Counties experience, will meet the prospective Kent League champions at Lord’s. Bromley, who are looking to win this competition for the third year in succession, were seeking a triple triumph before they were knocked out of the Evening Standard Cup last week by Finchley.

VILLAGES
By John Westerby

FOR most village cricketers, the chance to play at Lord’s is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Not so for Mark Sage, the Timsbury captain, for whom the npower Village Cup final against Houghton Main on Sunday will be his third venture on to the hallowed turf.

When he played for Bath before returning to his village club, Sage reached the final of the National Club Knockout in 1998 and 2001, only to lose both times. “After each final, I thought that I’d never get another chance to win at Lord’s, so now I’m just hoping it’s third time lucky,” he said.

Eight coachloads of supporters are setting off from Timsbury, near Bath, and they will outnumber the fans from Houghton Main, the former pit village near Barnsley, who have three coachloads of supporters heading south.

Houghton Main’s appearance at Lord’s will come at a cost. They are top of the Pontefract League but have been unable to rearrange Saturday’s fixture, so they risk losing the league leadership.

Coincidentally, Timsbury also had problems rearranging their Bristol & North Somerset League fixture, but they wrapped up the title at the weekend, so they have less to lose.