On a rare decent June evening, Norton in Hales hosted the Jean Mayer Trophy Final on Tuesday and provided the opposition for the visiting Stone U13A side.
Stone were put into bat, and after an early wobble, James Pokora and Aidan Schmid pushed on to give Stone a platform. On a slow pitch, where boundaries were hard to come by, Pokora retired on 26no after an innings of real graft, and skipper Schmid was not far behind. Jake Powell held the rest of the innings together with 16no as Stone closed on what looked a competitive 99-3. The wickets were claimed by Tom Furnival, Reg Farnell and Lloyd Hollinshead.
In reply the hosts set off confidently, with Ron Farnell (11) and Furnival (8) putting on 27 for the first wicket claimed by Harry Brundrett. But then an over from youngster Sam Butters ripped the heart out of the Norton in Hales middle order. Butters triple wicket maiden turned 27-1 into 27-4 and swung the game inexorably Stone’s way.
Harry Brundrett (2-6), Aidan Jackson (1-7) and man-of-the-match Aidan Schmid (3-5) completed the carnage as the hosts limped to 42 all out. The coup de grace was delivered in the 13th over, when Adams chipped a Joe Potts delivery for Jack Tomlinson to hang on superbly to a stinger at mid-on.
It was a superb team performance and an emphatic victory for the talented Stone outfit as they claimed the silverware to become 2012 champions and do their club proud.
