Alex Morris hit a quality 87 to ensure captain Michael Cranmer’s last match for Hoylandswaine finished with the arrowselfdrive Sykes Cup in hand.
Star all-rounder Cranmer heads back to Adelaide on Wednesday to rest his injured right knee ahead of the Australian season, safe in the knowledge the Haigh Lane side have two trophies firmly in the cabinet (they also took the T20 Trophy) and have a 12-point lead at the top of the Drakes Premiership.
Morris took the Jim Dawson man-of-the-match award – sponsored by Northern Light Physiotherapy Associates – for his knock, which took Hoylandswaine past Golcar’s 187-8 total in the 40th over for the loss of four wickets in an excellently-staged re-arranged final at Honley.
“I’m pretty sure this will be my last season here because I’m looking to push my career back home, so to leave with two trophies in the bag and hopefully a third one on the way is just fantastic,” said Cranmer, 25, who expects to be fit to play in the pre-season Premier League in South Australia.
“It was a very solid performance from us to restrict Golcar to 187 on that wicket – a fantastic effort from our bowlers, with the spinners SP Singh and Richard Wilkinson were outstanding – and then to knock them off with just four down thanks to a class innings from Almo (Morris) and a great knock from Robbo (Robinson).
“Golcar got off to a really good start and I suppose the difference in the two innings was that we had someone who went on and made a big score, backed up by someone else with a half century.
“It was quite tight early on, when Golcar got a couple of wickets, but once Almo and Robbo started hitting the ball nicely, we felt fairly comfortable sitting in the sheds.
“Everyone is delighted to have two trophies in the bag, and I’ll back the lads to build on our lead in the league and bring back another, which would be a fantastic achievement.”
Cranmer received the trophy to bring down the curtain on four successful seasons at Haigh Lane.
“I’ve had a great time at Hoylandswaine, an absolutely amazing experience, and they have welcomed me from Day One,” he added.
“The support I’ve had from everyone within the club and from the supporters who come out each week has been wonderful. I’ve absolutely loved it and the friends I’ve made are pretty special.”
Morris’s match-winning knock came off 122 balls in 142 minutes and included eight fours and three sixes and he took Swaine to the verge of victory alongside Robinson, in his sixth final, who had 55 off 69 deliveries in 84 minutes, hitting seven fours and one maximum.
Golcar were unfortunate they had to dodge some heavy showers after skipper Steve Whitwam won the toss and elected to bat on a hard, dry pitch well prepared by groundsman Peter Green.
It took nine minutes for Zafir Patel to complete the first over as umpires Alan Morris and David Nunns sought out some heavy bails in blustery conditions and, after a first rain break, it took 28 minutes to get through just four overs, Yasir Abbas at the scoreboard end.
Whitwam and James Howson made steady progress and had gone past 50 in 13 overs when SP Singh struck, getting the vital wicket of Whitwam lbw for 17 off 50 deliveries with three fours.
Golcar and new arrival Jake Lockwood were then hampered further by another rain break in the 16th over and, when Lockwood was out in the 21st over, caught by Cranmer at backward point off Ryan Robinson, Golcar were 65-2.
Jack Hargreaves joined Howson and, with Richard Wilkinson keeping a grip with his canny off-spin, Golcar reached 84-2 at the half-way stage of their 50 overs.
Howson was caught by Cranmer off Wilkinson two overs later for 44 off 76 balls, including three fours and soon after, came a third, longer, rain break to frustrate the batting side.
On the resumption, Singh finished his spell with one for 18, while Hargreaves hit a six off Ben Potter to bring up the Golcar hundred in the 34th over.
When Hargreaves departed two overs later for 23 off 42 (including two fours and a six) Golcar were 106-4 with 14 overs left.
The next wicket fell in the 40th over when Rizwan Haider was caught and bowled by Potter (121-5), while Wilkinson finished his 10 overs with one for 28 as Dan Woodhead and Craig Ruscoe pushed things along for Golcar, reaching 167 for five with three overs left.
Ruscoe was bowled by Potter at that point for a fine 40 off 49 which included two fours and a six, and Woodhead fell in the 49th over for 30 off 35 with the total on 181-7.
Fifteen-year-old Muhammad Ali was then run out going for a second as Golcar closed on 187-7 at 4.40pm.
Golcar made an excellent start in the field, with Andy Alsop and Will Hinchliffe keeping things tight against the prolific Gharib Nawaz and left-hander Morris.
Swaine reached 33 in eight overs when Alsop trapped Nawaz, caught at mid-off by Ali after he had got 14 from 31 balls, and there was great excitement among the Swallow Lane followers when Whitwam snared Singh lbw in the 14th over to leave the holders on 51-2.
After 15 overs they were 54-2 compared with Golcar’s 53-1, but that’s when Morris and Robinson took the game away from the Colne Valley side, even though Alsop finished with the tremendous figures of one for 19 from 10 overs, including four maidens, while Lockwood finished with two for six from three.
