It's party time as Royton seal League Championship Cup glory

Councillors Arnott and Quigg with the victorious Royton team

At a packed Bransdale Avenue, Royton Cricket Club won the Greater Manchester Cricket League Championship First XI Cup Final.

There was a party atmosphere at the Royton ground from early in the day, with bouncy castles, music, facepainting, a BBQ, popcorn, and candyfloss, and the very colourful and (mostly) well behaved Flamingo Corner in full voice.

Royton batted first and held the first 16 overs without losing a wicket, eventually posting a very respectable total of 147 for 9 thanks to some solid batting performances from Tom “TJ” Jones (44) and Jack Fawcett (42 not out).

Whalley Range Cricket Club took to the field after the break and faced some tight bowling from Royton which saw the first wicket fall in the second over.

Royton’s hopes for long-awaited cup success were growing as they held their opponents to 31 for 3 by the end of the seventh.

Eventually Whalley Range managed a total of 58 all out with Royton’s bowling attack of Mustafa Shinwari (2), Adil Ali (2), Liam Brown (1) and Amar Ullah (3) posting a very impressive set of figures, and helped in no small part by wicket keeper Regan Hadfield, who had an excellent day behind the stumps.

It turned out to be Royton’s day and the First XI and their coaches will have been delighted to see some silverware in return for the hard work and commitment that they have put in during the season.

The match was very well attended, and included local Royton North Councillors Dave Arnott, Christine Adams, and Lewis Quigg.

Councillor Arnott said: “This has been a fantastic family day out for the supporters of both teams and for local Royton residents.

"It was great to see Royton break their cup final duck, and the win was very well deserved.

"I must thank the organisers and volunteers, including the ground staff, the Cricket Committee and General Committee who put in so much hard work and effort into making the occasion such a success, and of the course, the clubs extremely hard-working bar staff."

The celebrations went on well into the night, but the team will soon focus again on the remaining matches of the season as they chase league success and promotion.

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