Photo: The teams Cheshire Cobras and Greater Manchester Falcons flank the umpires and guests the Mayor of Bolton, local MP & Tariq Mahmood, the Ex-Pakistan international cricketer.
The Falcons had reached the final, held at Astley Bridge Cricket Club, Sharples Park on the 6th September, with comprehensive wins over Durham VICC and then Bradford & District. Cheshire had won the Midlands side of the competition by beating the 2025 finalists Birmingham in chasing down the largest target, 164, of the year. Overnight rain on the, sadly, uncovered pitch meant that the start was delayed and the match reduced to 10 overs a side.
At the toss, conducted by the Mayor of Bolton, the visitors called correctly and asked Greater Manchester to bat. The Falcons openers dominated in their score of 133 with Wasim Afridi scoring 53 not out and Toseef Akhtar 38; the Cobras best bowling came from the totally blind Mark Turnham with 2 for 23 and David Keeling 2 for 19. The home side defending this challenging total to win by 47 runs despite the Cobra’s opener Paul Knowles scoring 30 not out. The Falcon’s skipper, Bilal Akhtar, took 1 for 3 from his over and good fielding secured three run outs.
The cup was presented to Tokeer Akhtar, by Tariq Mahmood,