Bamford in cup final victory

Action from the final.

Bamford Fieldhouse, heading for a hat-trick of Armstrong Office Furniture Saddleworth and District Cricket League titles, overpowered Uppermill to lift their fourth Tanner Cup.

Paddy McKeown’s side justified strong favouritism with a commanding 75-run win at a cool and cloudy Hollin Lane.

The weather was a far cry from the sun-kissed beaches of the Caribbean, but Lincoln Roberts warmed a healthy crowd with a man-of-the-match performance to extinguish unhappy memories of last season’s surprise defeat at the hands of Heyside.

The opener, who was the first player from Tobago to play for the West Indies Test team, struck 63 from 64 balls to set Bamford on their way to a daunting 252 for seven from 45 overs.

Uppermill’s key man was leading amateur batsman Zeeshan Khan, but once the Pakistani all-rounder had departed with the total on 61, the task always looked beyond them.

Despite scoring nearly a run-a-ball, Roberts generally played within himself after Bamford were asked to bat first by Matt Taylor.

He registered six fours and a six before perishing to a full toss from Khan, which he steered straight to Dave Wood with the score on 153.

The 34-year-old had earlier watched Dave Roberts, who was dropped twice, fall to Will Dornan for 19 and McKeown run out for 36. The Bamford captain suffered the same fate in the 2008 final.

Professional Stephen Parry, who was playing for Lancashire in the County Championship game against Durham only 48 hours earlier, maintained the strong tempo with 27, while Mel Austin battled against a bad back to make 36.

Khan (two for 32 from eight overs), Michael Brooks (two for 50) and Dornan (two for 47) were the wicket-takers, although the latter’s figures were spoilt rather by Qasar Riaz, who took 12 off his last over to finish unbeaten on 24.

After the loss of Andy McVeigh with 21 on the board, Uppermill looked to Khan and Mark Berry to take the attack to Bamford.

Khan, who is closing in on 1,000 runs for the season, was determined to stamp his authority on the game but, after smashing two fours and three sixes, paid for his exuberance and was bowled by spinner Simon Marshall for 39.

Marshall went on to take two for 16 and Parry claimed three for 21 , both from nine overs, to rip the heart out of Uppermill’s reply.

Berry made 30 and wicketkeeper Alex Griffiths struck 21, before a gritty 43 from Taylor and Andy Heap’s stubbornness delayed Bamford’s celebrations by carrying Uppermill to 177 for nine.