Woolpit two wins away from Voneus Village Cup final at Lords following victory over Stoke Green – as Foxton Granta await in quarter-final

Woolpit Cricket Club can dare to dream of an appearance in a national cup final at Lord’s.

The Suffolk village side are now just two wins away from the Voneus Village Cup final, after defeating Buckinghamshire side Stoke Green Cricket Club by seven wickets on Sunday.

After travelling to Slough the previous Sunday only for the fixture to be called off, the tie was switched back to Woolpit as per competition rules.

Woolpit dismissed their visitors for 136 in 36.5 overs, Henry Bevan claiming figures of 8-3-7-2.

The home team then made short work of their target, knocking off the runs in just 26 overs as they reached 137-3.

Merlin Stamper scored 57 from 45 deliveries, before Kian Flannagan (27 not out off 49 balls) and Chris Thomas (30 not out from 24 balls) finished the job off.

Woolpit will now be at home in the quarter-finals to Foxton Granta from Cambridgeshire, with the game having to be played at Stowmarket CC on Sunday (1pm) due to Woolpit’s ground hosting Suffolk’s showcase fixture with Essex Eagles from 11am.

Woolpit captain Jon Block said: “We are proud to have reached the last eight of the competition, going further than we have ever been before, beating our previous best of reaching the last 16 in 2023.

“On a green looking pitch with some moisture, Stoke Green won the toss and surprisingly elected to bat first.

“In one of the better fielding and bowling performances I've been involved in during my time at Woolpit, we gave little away and used the conditions to our advantage to bowl them out for an under-par score.

“With the bat, Merlin set us on our way, scoring quickly and getting us half-way to our total within the first 15 overs of the run chase. Chris and Kian saw us home to a comfortable victory which was another good all-round team performance.

“With a close-knit group and a squad of 14 players being used in the competition so far across four matches played, we have hopes of reaching a Lord’s final in September.”