Following their success in winning the Gloucestershire indoor cricket competition this winter, Cheltenham Cricket Club competed in the regional finals day in the indoor cricket centre at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton, on Sunday March 16th 2025.
Regional semi final – Cheltenham CC (Gloucestershire) v Ynysygerwn CC (Wales)
In their first appearance in the finals, Cheltenham hit the ground running, winning the first match in convincing style by chasing down the target of 96 runs set by the Welsh champions in just 8.1 overs, losing just one wicket in the process. Scorecard link here.
The other semi final was a close affair – Hambleton CC (Hants) reached 105 in their allocated 12 overs. Ferndown Wayfarers (Dorset) won this one reaching the target with 5 balls to spare, losing 3 wickets.
Regional final – Ferndown Wayfarers CC (Dorset) v Cheltenham CC (Gloucestershire)
Cheltenham bowled well, limiting Wayferers to 61 all-out. Liam Walker & Mohammed Bokhari took 1 wicket apiece, but it was the fielding that made the difference. Liam Walker backed up his bowling with 3 run-outs, Andy Hawkins also effected a run-out.
It turned out to be a low scoring final and unfortunately it was just not meant to be for Cheltenham this time. The Dorset side, who were the losers in last season’s national final, showed their experience at this level and were too strong with the ball. Freddie Pittaway’s 3 overs produced 2 wickets for just 9 runs, whilst Miles Lewis’ 3-16 was backed up by a run-out from Alex Sansom. “The Wayfarers” won by 33 runs and progress to the national finals at Lord’s. Scorecard link here.
These matches double up as national quarter and semi finals, which means Cheltenham CC reached the last 8 nationally and were on this occasion, just one win short of being the first ever Gloucestershire team to reach the national finals at Lord’s. Congratulations to the club from everyone associated with cricket in Gloucestershire on a fantastic achievement.
“It has been a great year for Cheltenham in the Indoor Cricket League. The league has been incredibly competitive and the standard has been high, which is one of the main reasons we have done so well in the National competition. The league is well organised by Jim and his team of officials and we are very lucky to have this available to us.
“The indoor game is always great fun, being able to bat and bowl every game helps to keep our eyes in during the winter months. We are lucky with the number of leagues we have locally and it has been great to get a number of players involved in our teams. We look forward to returning to indoor cricket later on in the year, but the main focus is now returning to the outdoor playing season.”
Cheltenham captain, Stefan Hunt
Team: Stefan Hunt (c) , Ben Pegler, Andy Hawkins, Liam Walker, Mo Bokhari, Brian Riddle (wk)