Ackworth CC added another chapter to their history at the weekend by winning the prestigious Vitality T20 plate national final. It was a glorious conclusion to a journey that started in June 2024 with a first round triumph in the Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League triangular tournament against Darfield CC and Oughtibridge CC. The club only progressed on run-rate having narrowly lost to Oughtibridge but a 110 run victory over Darfield saw them through.
The following round was the league semi-final against Hallam CC, which proved to be another tight game but one that saw ACC progress through to the league final following a man-of-the match performance from Luke Townsend with 39 runs from 24 balls and 4 wickets for just 15 runs from his 4 overs. Dale Longfield was also excellent with 3 wickets for 15 runs from his 4 overs.
The league final was against Coal Aston CC at Cawthorne CC (a perfect venue for T20). Coal Aston batted first but were held to 102 runs from their 20 overs thanks to an excellent team fielding performance and 4 wickets for Zimmy Khan from his 3 overs for just 10 runs. Ackworth were nervous after losing early wickets, but an exceptional 58 from just 20 deliveries from Shingi Masakadza saw them homw with 6 wickets and 11 overs to spare. The team didn’t realise ahead of the game that winning the league cup moved them on to the national competition!
The first round of the Vitality T20 plate National competition was held at Woodhouse Grange CC on 4th August, where ACC competed in another triangular completion against WGCC and Bawtry with Everton CC - winners of their respective league competitions. A very confident WGCC team won the toss and chose to field first. A great knock from teenage sensation Josh Hen-Boisen (36 off 28) and another impressive performance from Shingi (55 off 44), combined with quick scoring throughout the team saw Ackworth reach 178/6. WGCC were unable to get close to the score following impressive bowling from Bailey Matthews (3 wickets for 23 from 4 overs) and more great fielding. In their second match against Bawtry, Bawtry won and decided to bat, reaching 126/8 from their 20 overs. This time the wickets were shared out with Bailey taking 2 and Josh Wood also taking 2. Josh Hen-Boisen bowled 4 overs for a miserly 11 runs. In response, Ackworth reached the target with 8 wickets and 6 overs to spare thanks to more great batting from Josh (40 off 27) and a ridiculous 77 from 31 from Shingi including 8 sixes!! The wins put ACC through to the Northern Final at Elsecar CC on 25th August.
In another tough triangular match, ACC took on Morpeth CC from the North East and Lostock CC from the North West. Both of whom were highly fancied to go all the way. First up were Lostock CC. Ackworth won the toss and decided to bat, reaching 169 all out with 3 balls remaining thanks to a great knock of 60 from 38 from Josh HB and steady runs from the rest of the team. In reply, Rostock managed 152 all out with a ball to spare, with Shingi leading the way with the ball getting 4 wickets. The next match saw Morpeth CC decide to bat and put on an impressive 184/4. Rain made Ackworth’s task harder leaving them with 16 overs to get 151, which they did with an over and 6 wickets to spare thanks to another star turn from Shingi hitting 68 from 40 deliveries. The victory made them northern champs and heading to Derbyshire CC’s county ground for the final!! Unfortunately the 22nd September was a day of non-stop rain. The ECB gave Ackworth and their opponents Old Elizabethans the option of a bowl-off or a replay in 2025, with both sides opting for the latter.
So to the final!! A glorious May Day at Denby CC just outside of Derby. The stage was set for a cracking game with OECC having been previous losing finalists and looking to go one better. OECC had a number of T20 specialists in the team, whereas ACC played their standard league players, so they knew they were in for a tough challenge and so it proved! OECC won the toss and elected to bat and immediately started hitting some big shots! Josh HB removed Daud Iqbal for just 2 runs in the third over, but Jack Taylor batted really well for OCC until he was removed for 44 by Luke Townsend caught behind by Andrew Joburns. Zubair Ali then put on a show reaching 49 from just 21 deliveries with 5 sizes, before being removed by an excellent caught and bowled by new signing Rob Withers just as he was starting to take the game away from Ackworth. This left OECC on 136 for 5 with 4 overs left. Another danger man, Jack Stockdale was then run out thanks to a brilliant direct hit from George Gillespie, and the OECC innings began to stall, reaching 166/9 from their 20 overs. Pick of the bowlers was Rob Withers going at just 6.25 per over for 2 wickets, well supported by Shingi, Luke and Bailey who all went for less than 8 an over.
Ackworth took to the field knowing they’d have to bat really well to win. Dan Malyan-Walker, in only his second game back following elbow surgery, immediately took the game to them, hitting four quick 4s before being caught on 18 from 12. At the other end Josh Hen-Boisen wasn’t hanging around either hitting a couple of big boundaries. New signing Eddy Cole then came in and hit a six and a four before being dismissed for 14 off 10, leaving star man Shingi Masakadza to take over. Josh then turned on the style hitting 6 sixes and 4 fours finishing on 80 from just 41, not out. Shingi hit a run-a-ball 31 including a huge six, before leaving the job fittingly to captain Luke Townsend who calmly hit 10 from 5 deliveries to win the match! An extraordinary achievement for a village club who continue to punch above their weight.
Ackworth CC is very much a community club, hosting junior football for Ackworth Juniors FC, Ackworth Road Runners train at the club twice and week as well a a number of other local clubs and societies. The club host the local village bonfire night and are always keen to support the community in any way possible. This was demonstrated by a diary clash on the day of the final when the club had agreed to host the local charity tractor run. This meant that a number of die-hard cricket volunteers, including Chairman Nigel Malyan, were unable to attend the cricket final due to supporting the local community activity. Thankfully the club were able to capture everything on their live YouTube channel so the volunteers could cheer from ACC HQ.
If you or your children are interested in cricket, ACC have teams playing cricket for all ages from 5 years upwards. Get in touch with the cricket secretary and junior coach Jono Gillespie on 07768 315073 if you’d like to join the National Champions!!