Townville swansong for Conor Harvey brings only ECB T20 Cup Final heartache

The 30-year-old was on the wrong end of a splendidly-staged ECB Vitality Club T20 Cup final, with Hampshire’s St Cross Symondians winning by 15 runs at Worcestershire’s New Road ground.

Harvey flew out to Australia yesterday on a one-way ticket to play club cricket for Marshall Bears in Geelong, Victoria, who he played for when he was 18, and it was no consolation that he won the man-of-the-match award for taking 4-39 from 3.5 overs and scoring 30 from 17 balls, including three fours and a six.

St Cross - champions of the Southern Premier League five times in nine years - won the toss and batted, taking 19 off one over of spin by Matthew Race.

Gregor McKenzie (18) and Hampshire county player Felix Organ (24) put on 45 for the first wicket in 5.4 overs, and Wilf La Fontaine Jackson (33) and Gareth Schreuder (18) added 47 for the third.

Jack Bransgrove (15) and captain Ed Ellis (23) also made double figures, but Usman Arshad (3-13 off four), Tom Chippendale - who won the event with Hanging Heaton in 2018 - (1-22) and Harvey, even though he was expensive, brought Townville back into it.

A total of 151 put the match in the balance on a day of leading edges, and Townville opener Abdul Wahid (45) and Liam Collins (19) kept the Bradford Premier League side in with a shout in a partnership of 45 for the second wicket.

But slowly the tide turned against Townville, with McKenzie taking 3-18 as Townville totalled 143-7.

Next Saturday’s Yorkshire Champions’ Trophy final at Headingley will be between Clifton Alliance and Richmondshire.

Clifton easily won their quarter-final at Woodlands on Saturday and semi-final on Sunday at Hoylandswaine, the margins being six wickets and 234 runs respectively.

Ed Burch was in the runs for the second successive day, scoring 93 from 91 balls as Clifton made 305-7 after being sent in, with pace bowler Sam Grant smashing 60 from just 27 balls, including five sixes.

No Hoylandswaine bowler could stem the tide and their hold on the trophy – they only won the 2025 event two weekends ago – disappeared when they were dismissed for 71, Samit Patel scoring 34 as Grant took 5-33 and Chris Dixon 3-16.

The other semi-final saw 2024 winners Richmondshire win by two wickets at Sheffield Collegiate with just four balls remaining.

Collegiate won the toss and scored 211-8, Henry Eldred rescuing them from 110-7 by scoring 71 and adding 81 with Rubaiyat Abrar (34no), opener Dan Old having made a run-a-ball 42. Sam Wood was the pick of the Richmondshire bowlers with 3-40.

Captain and opener Gary Pratt then scored 85 in reply and was seventh out at 174, putting on 60 for the second wicket with Rob Carr (24).

Alex (27no) and Max Percival (20) then helped Richmondshire over the line to foil Jamie Carrington (3-38), Shaaiq Choudhry (3-54) and Robert Shaw (2-36).