St Johnston Cricket Club were spraying the champagne on Sunday after a dramatic win over Strabane in the Eric Cooke Memorial Cup final.
A gripping finale saw the St Johnston men take the prize after scoring the winning runs off the final ball of the game.
David Anthony was the hero of the hour for the Saints. St Johnston needed 19 runs off the final two overs and 12 runs from the last six balls of the game.
They waited ’til the last bowl and Anthony bagged a title-winning brace in the Twenty20 contest.
Anthony received a bottle of champagne for the game’s ‘champagne moment’ – but not for his winning shot. Anthony served up a moment of magic with a diving catch on the boundary earlier in the day to put Tommy Barr out off the bowl of Jacob Maroske.
Strabane batted first and, with Barry Scott making 24 and Kevin Pretorius getting 23, they set St Johnston a target of 94. Strabane made their 94 for the loss of seven wickets with Maruske (2-14) and Josh Cole (2-21) the pick of the Saints’ bowlers.
St Johnston saw opener Jack Macbeth bowled out by Mark Snodgrass, but they built steadily with Ian Macbeth (21), Michael Rankin (19) and David Lapsley (17) the top marskmen.
The previous afternoon, Strabane defeated St Johnston by 96 runs in a League game, but it was the Saints who gritted their teeth to claim a memorable win in front of 400 spectators in Magheramason.
St Johnston are struggling at the wrong end of the Championship table, but Sunday’s win will give the Donegal side a real injection of confidence. They face Ballyspallen on Saturday away in their next League outing.
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