DISAPPOINTED Delph & Dobcross skipper Grant Jones admitted his team were outplayed as they went down by 27 runs to Barkisland yesterday.

Having lost the Drakes Huddersfield League’s showpiece final in 2005, Delph were determined to make amends in front of over 700 at Honley, but their hopes were scuppered by two superb individual performances.

Barkisland skipper Paul Winrow hit 138 – just three short of the Sykes Cup final record – as his team totalled 229 all out from 49.5 overs after winning the toss and batting in their first appearance in the final since joining from the Halifax League in 2001.

Then off-spinner Matt Steers weighed in with six for 46 from 14.1 excellent overs to keep Delph constantly under the cosh and leave opener Bruce Cruse running out of partners.

Delph were without Kyle Hogg, who was on Pro40 duty with Lancashire, but skipper Jones offered no excuses for his side failing to add the League’s major knockout to their Twenty/20 success.

“We’re disappointed, but Barkisland were better than us in every department,” confessed Jones.

“They batted better than us, bowled better than us and fielded better than us.

“We just didn’t turn up, and that’s the second time it’s happened to us in the Sykes Cup final.”

Opener Winrow became only the 13th player to score a century in the final and Jones added: “He batted superbly well. We bowled too many ‘four balls’ but, to be fair, Paul put them away and he’s set the game up for them.

“I felt we kept letting them off the hook and we put Paul down a couple of times, but then when Matt Steers bowled well like he did it left us with too much to do.”