Stone won the North Staffs South Cheshire Premier League 20:20 competition in a feast of cricket at Little Stoke last Sunday.
In the first semi-final of the day Stone played fellow Premier League side Burslem. Stone batted first and Luke Cheadle got his side off to a flying start with 53 off 30 balls.
A mid-order wobble was then cause for concern, but Richard Harvey with 52 and Dries Nell (25) helped Stone reach a respectable total of 156 for 5. In reply, Burslem lost regular wickets and were dismissed for 95 in the 17th over. Amongst the wickets were Wasim Khan with 4 for 25 and George Hawbrook (3 for 19).
In the final, Stone then played Leek, who beat hosts Little Stoke in the last over of their semi-final encounter.
Leek won the toss and chose to bat. Other than two expensive overs towards the death, Stone bowled tightly and Leek were restricted to 149 for 5. There were wickets for Ballard (2), Matt Coxon (1) and George Hawbrook (1).
In reply, Luke Cheadle (20) and Jim Dawson (23) got the Lichfield Road side off to a solid start. Phil Cheadle with 39 and Richard Harvey (38) then took their side close to victory, with Matt Coxon weighing in with an important 15 off 8 balls.
Stone crossed the line and secured a much-deserved victory with five balls to spare. Harvey was declared Man of the Match by league chairman Stuart Williamson at the presentation ceremony. His batting and fielding on the day clearly showed that the former Staffordshire captain still has the talent to deliver.
