It took a tense five minutes to get the double party started at Timperley Cricket Club last weekend.
That was the time it took the umpires, together with Timperley third team skipper Raghu Bhaskar and his opposite number from Winnington Park to work out who were champions.
Darkness had stopped play in the top-of-the-table clash in front of a bumper crowd at the Stockport Road ground, and the Duckworth Lewis calculations came down on the side of Timperley.
That sparked raucous scenes with numbers in the clubhouse boosted by the returning fourth-team players who won at Lindow by 46 runs to secure their top spot.
There was a century for Jason Coad as the fourths posted 221 - and then Rory Goodson (3-43) helped peg the home side to 173-8.
Popular third-team captain Bhaskar hailed the Timperley XI’s ‘mean feat’ as they were mid-table and had to win nine matches on the bounce to secure the title.
Bhaskar said: “Kiran Mogal scored 543 runs and Sanchit Shukla took 36 wickets for us this season - and are both placed in the top five in the whole division.
“The club is blessed with very good junior talent which massively helped us win crucial moments. We are now looking forward to playing in the County Division Three next season.”
Club chairman, Jurjees Hasan, summed up the end of a memorable season in the ambitious club’s history.
He said: “What an unprecedented end to the season with the thirds and fourths senior sides topping the league tables and joining the seconds in gaining promotion.
“It was heartening to see Timperley junior players and the old guard contributing in equal measure to the club’s success which puts us in a very strong position for future years.”
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