Compton, Atherton Celebrate RAF IST20 Win At Lord's

Compton, Atherton Celebrate RAF IST20 Win At Lord's

RAFCA Captain Matt Compton and RAFCA President Paul Atherton were delighted to see the IST20 Trophy in the hands of the Royal Air Force.

Compton, Atherton Celebrate RAF IST20 Win At Lord's

The winning RAF team celebrate their success at Lord's

©Andy Malthouse - RAF

Compton, Atherton Celebrate RAF IST20 Win At Lord's

The Navy team were unable to defend their title

©Andy Malthouse - RAF

Compton, Atherton Celebrate RAF IST20 Win At Lord's

The army ended the day as runners-up

©Andy Malthouse - RAF

Downloads

RAF vs Army IST20 2011 scorebook (pdf)

RAF vs RN IST20 2011 scorebook (pdf)

The Royal Air Force Cricket Association (RAFCA) won their second Inter Services Twenty20 (IST20) competition at a wet but well supported home of cricket - Lord’s.

Unsurprisingly, RAFCA Captain Matt Compton and RAFCA President Paul Atherton were delighted to see the IST20 Trophy in the hands of the Royal Air Force.

The MCC hosted the Armed Forces IST20 for the second year in a row, much to the delight of the players and crowd alike although the weather would undoubtedly have a say in the day’s proceedings.

The three team, three game, round robin format pitted the Battle of the Blues on first as the holders the Royal Navy Cricket Club (RNCC), took on the RAFCA.  The losers would stay on to play the red and black of the Army Cricket Association (ACA) and the winners would rest before playing their’s and the Army’s second game.

A decisive win for the RAF in game one resulted, having restricted the Royal Navy to 146-5 off their allotted 20 overs.  The majority of the runs for the RN supplied by a superb knock by Rob Urmann (73*) with good support from Stuart Jennings (24) and Cullum Smith (20).

In reply, Ross Diver (52), Matt Compton (31) and Graeme Cessford (39*) saw the RAF home with two overs to spare, only Matt Thompson (2-18) able to make any headway for the RN.

As soon as game one was completed and lunches were served to the largely sold out corporate boxes, the heavens opened and eventually game two was abandoned without a ball being bowled

This of course gave the RN little chance to remain in the competition as they took the solitary point for an abandoned match.

With the Army also on one point from the abandonment and the RAF on two points for their win over the Navy, this meant that game three would see the Army play the RAF for the title.

Despite a lot of support for the Army form the stands and corporate boxes, it was ultimately a highly professional display from the RAF, accompanied to the tune of the Dambusters in the stands, which proved too much for the Army.

A total of 142-7 gave the RAF much confidence, mainly due to Tim Adcock (43) and Cessford (40), including four sixes into the now noisy Tavern stand. Ash Watson (21) and Richie Williams (20*) kept the scoreboard ticking over while the best bowling for the Army came from James Hudson (3-23) and Sherwin Govender (2-29).

In reply, the Army were always chasing the game as regular wickets fell to reduce the score to 37-6.  Although captain Alex Senneck (46) managed to find the boundary a few times, it was never enough as the Army finished on 104ao in the 18th over.  Much of the damage was done early by Rob Magee (2-12) and Shaun Morris (2-40) but a word for another McCabe at Lord’s, Sean who took 2-4 in four balls to finish it off in style for the RAF.

After the presentations, RAF Cricket Captain Flt Lt Compton, praised the players and support staff for their efforts and teamwork that helped them lift the trophy on only their second visit to Lord’s.

A proud RAFCA President, Wg Cmdr Paul Atherton congratulated his captain and having flown with and managed him Afghanistan, it made it even more special.

This year both Help for Heroes and, in their 90th year, the Royal British Legion were the beneficiares of fundraising before and on the day as well as the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF).

In addressing the crowd gathered in front of the pavilion, MCC Chairman Oliver Stocken thanked the teams and their respective forces as well as the supporters for making the day one that should remain as a highlight of the Lord’s calendar.

Major General Bill Moore CBE (Chairman, Combined Forces Cricket Association) replied with his thanks for all including the support of the sponsors, Heineken, UK Power Networks and to the MCC and Lord’s for hosting the day and for raising money for the two charities, Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion.

Jim White

© Cricket World 2011