BILLINGE CC captain Carl Stockley lifted the final piece of silverware at the weekend, as his side completed the cup double by beating Goodlass in the West Lancashire League's Hanson Cup final at Haydock CC.

On winning the toss, the Billinge skipper elected to field, in the belief that he and his fellow bowlers would make the most of the overcast conditions, and how this proved to be the case.

Halfway through their innings they had struggled to reach 45-4 thanks to accurate bowling, brilliant fielding and masterful captaincy, the pick of the Billinge attack was Martin who finished with 3-13 and O'Neil 2-6. The rest of the Goodlass batsmen fell cheaply and easily as they tried to add extra runs to the score in a bid to make a game of things. This failed and the Billinge team went to the tea interval in good shape, having dismissed the opponents for 82.

When Billinge came in to bat, they did so as if the match had to be finished inside the next hour. Especially Lyon, who helped himself to a majestic 43, playing strokes to all corners of the ground. He was helped along by a fine knock of 26 by Martin, who picked the best time to hit form with bat, this pair almost saw the game through to its climax with a brilliant 61 run partnership.

The winning of this cup final means that Billinge CC have won four trophies inside the last nine months. Firstly they captured the Sporting Team trophy, which was followed by the Hanson Cup final, the Walker Cup, then on Sunday they retained the Hanson Trophy, making this current squad of players the most successful not only in the Billinge CC history, but also in the league history.

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