PAUL WINROW was the star of the show but praised Barkisland’s team effort for their Sykes Cup success.

The skipper powered past 1,000 runs for the season with his 138 in yesterday’s final, setting up a 27-run win against Delph and Dobcross in front of a large contingent of delighted travelling fans.

And Winrow admitted: “It was awesome, absolutely fantastic.

“This means everything to Barkisland Cricket Club – you can see by the celebrations and all our supporters who are here – and it’s the biggest day we’ve ever had.

“The Parrish Cup in the Halifax League is good, but nowhere near as big as this and we’re absolutely delighted.”

Winrow guided his side to 229 all out, sharing a century stand with Dave Weston, before Matt Steers took six for 46 to put the skids under Delph, despite 92 from Bruce Cruse.

“It’s been a real team effort to win it and that’s the way we’ve been all season,” added Winrow.

“We’ve not really got any stars, but we’ve got good batsmen, good fielders and good bowlers and a tremendous team spirit – and that’s what wins us games.

“We tried to keep our preparation as normal as possible because, in the semi-final, we froze a bit in the batting, and this time it’s worked a treat for us.

“I gave a few chances, but obviously it was great to score a hundred in a Sykes Cup final – although a smaller field would have been great because I wouldn’t have had to run so much! – and then Matt Steers came through with six wickets, which was awesome.

“Everyone thinks we rely on Tinashe (Panyangara) and Love (Ablish) for our bowling, but Matt came through brilliantly and the fielding back-up was superb.”