The ECB National Club Championship Final takes place on Sunday 15th September and 2013 will see a new winner of the competition as West Indian Cavaliers and Ealing go head-to-head for their first title at the Emirates Durham ICG, Chester-Le-Street.
West Indian Cavaliers Cricket Club are a relatively young club being formed in 1972 but they have been involved at the top end of club cricket for many years as a founding member club of the Nottinghamshire Premier League in 2001. They have welcomed many international stars through their doors over the years including Carl Hooper, Saqlain Mushtaq and Alex Tudor and have former England, Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire cricketer Usman Afzaal as their current captain.
Afzaal, predominately known as a batsman during his first class career, has moulded himself into an all-rounder in club cricket and his figures of 3-12 against 2011 champions Shrewsbury in the Quarter Final helped his side to an impressive 111 run victory. Another ex-first class playing in the Cavaliers ranks is Bilal Shafayat, the ex-England U19 captain who followed the same route as Afzaal from Nottinghamshire to Northamptonshire. Shafayat produced a man-of-the-match performance in the Third Round when his side were dismissed for 238 against Sandiacre Town, a fellow Nottinghamshire Premier League side, Shafayat made 137 while partners fell around him. This was followed up with another impressive performance against another Nottinghamshire Premier League side Cuckney in the Fourth Round as his 73 helped the Cavaliers to a 56 run win. Cuckney currently sit only 8 points above the Cavaliers with their final league match of this season taking place this Saturday.
The furthest West Indian Cavaliers have got in the National Club Championship in previous years was a Semi Final spot in both 2003 and 2011 but have made it one stage further in 2013 thanks to a 4 wicket win over North East Premier League side South Northumberland, who themselves have won this competition in 2006 and 2010.
Ealing Cricket Club have over 100 years more history than their opponents having been formed in 1870 and this will be their fourth appearance in the Final following previous defeats in 1971, 1994 and 2010. The club has had a thriving colts section for many years and have a number of current and ex-County players who have come through the club including Leicestershire’s Ned Eckersley and Chris Peploe, who played for Middlesex before returning to Ealing as player-coach, a role is still holds today.
Ealing have produce a number of high quality performances in this season’s competition and Peploe has been at the heart of most of it. His batting in the Third Round as his 75 helped Ealing to a 4 wicket win over an impressive Wimbledon side and he followed that up in Round Five with bowling figures of 3-33 as they beat 2012 semi finalists Havant by 6 wickets. He then produced a dominant all-round display in the Semi Final against Swardeston of the East Anglian Premier League with 3-11 from 8 overs and then an unbeaten 53 to book his Ealing side a place in Sunday’s final by 7 wickets.
However the Middlesex League side are solely not reliant on Peploe and opening batsmen Chris Wakefield, who hit an unbeaten 88 in that Semi Final against Swardeston, and Ahmad Elech, with two half centuries in Round Five and the Quarter Final, often produce a great base for the Ealing innings to build from. Opening bowler Chris Glasper has also proved to be a match winner, his 4-31 helped defeat Spencer in the Fourth Round by 31 runs which he followed up with 4-34 in their 5 wicket defeat of Bath in the Quarter Final.
The National Club Championship Final will begin at 11:00am and there is free entry into Emirates Durham ICG for all spectators.