A superb 69 not out by Over Stowey opener James Swales saw Stowey beat Division One runaway leaders Ashbrittle by 8 wickets in this enthralling Cup Final.
Ashbrittle, after winning the toss, batted first. With wickets hard to come by, the Stowey bowlers, backed by some tight fielding, restricted Ashbrittle to a below par 141-4 off their allocated 20 overs. Sam Shaikh top scoring for Ashbrittle with an unbeaten 53, with 18 coming off the final over. Stowey used six bowlers, with the opening pair off Sam Thomas and Stephen Miller keeping things tight at the outset. Hayden Langlois took two of the Ashbrittle wickets, with Swales and captain Kieran Barrow picking up a wicket a piece.
In reply Stowey got off to the best possible start with Swales smashing the first two balls for four, with 32 runs coming off the first 3 overs, the momentum off this final began to swing the way off the Quantock Hills side.
The wickets off Langlois (19) and William Merchant-Saunders (6) did not dent any momentum, as skipper Barrow and Swales kept the scoreboard ticking over, with some excellent running between the wickets and despatching the bad ball to the boundary.
The winning run came in the 18th over, Barrow finding the boundary with a ramp shot. Swales finished on 69 off 55 balls, which included nine 4’s and a straight 6. Barrow scored 31 off just 21 balls.
Speaking after the game, Barrow paid tribute to his team, with a superb effort in the field, keeping the boundary count down, which set up this mesmerising victory. Barrow also went on to thank those who played in the previous rounds, praising the depth of players the club has. Over Stowey Chairman Les Biffen played credit to Ashbrittle, who played the game in the right spirit and was gracious in defeat. He went on to thank East Huntspill CC for being such great hosts, and finally the travelling Stowey support.
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