It was the perfect way to start a long night of celebration. A week after clinching the title, Waringstown won their 12th and final Premier League match of the season and although their clinical nine wickets victory over Muckamore meant a three-hour wait for the trophy presentation, it proved to be perfect timing ahead of their 175th Anniversary Dinner.

 

NCU president Ian Houston presented skipper Greg Thompson with the trophy and, then, led by coach Lee Nelson the players walked into the marquee where more than 150 club members and guests were waiting to give them the ovation they deserved.

 

In the end 12 points (three extra wins) separated Waringstown from the rest and left Thompson purring with satisfaction.

 

“I was more than happy to wait for the trophy. It is a big night for the club. Muckamore had nothing to play for, so there was an end of season feeling at times, but it was another professional performance and summed up how this season has gone.

 

“The top three have done much of the work. Last year Daniel van der Merwe and Tom Mayes scored a lot of runs at numbers seven and eight, but this season, I batted six, Mayes seven and Matty Halliday at eight and none of us had much opportunity to score runs because the top four five have filled their boot. Even Humey (Graham Hume) batting  at five, his chances have been limited.

 

With Steve (Stolk) doing his thing at the top of the order, Denny (Adam Dennison) happy to play second fiddle and James McCollum and Morgan Topping proving they are the best two batters in the league. The batters have done their job.

 

The figures on Saturday again showed Dennison playing second fiddle and while he was invariably scoring at a run a ball in most of the matches this season, on Saturday 51 not out from 65 balls with seven boundaries was more than entertaining enough, while McCollum hit 65 off 56 with 12 boundaries.

 

Dennison brought up his 50 with his second six and McCollum finished the match with his second maximum which crashed into the sightscreen at the car park end of the ground and somehow disappeared.

 

 The pair had put on 139 for the second wicket - so even Topping wasn't needed - as they eased past Muckamore’s 146 after the early loss of Tom Mayes, promoted to open in place of Stolk who had returned home and missed last night’s party.

 

But the South African has already signed up to return next year and after scoring 1,042 runs at an average of 61 (strike rate 181!) as Thompson said: “We look forward to welcoming Steve back, although not sure many NCU bowlers will. He didn’t come off every week but when he did he scored at a rate which meant everyone else could bat at a pace that suited them. He fitted in brilliantly, in the changing room and the village and settled into Waringstown life.”

 

Any wickets he took as a bowler were a bonus – 17 at 31 – because ahead of him were the captain, Mayes, James Cameron-Dow, Graham Hume and Ross Allen.

 

It was Hume and Mayes that invariably put the opposition under early pressure, with Hume keeping it tight and Mayes making the breakthrough, although on Saturday, it was Hume who struck twice in his opening spell and Mayes who had to be content with one. Still Muckamore were 34 for three after nine overs and thoughts of an early finish were already looming.

 

A fourth wicket stand between Jason van Merwe and Marco Bates threatened to make it interesting before Ross Allen joined the wicket-taking with his 19th of the season.

 

The best stand was for the sixth wicket, 49 between van der Merwe and Mark Gleghorne, but James Cameron-Dow ended that and then swept up the tail – including van der Merwe for 73 - taking four wickets in 12 balls as Muckamore  lost their last five wickets for just four runs.

 

The other wicket was taken by skipper Thompson, a landmark on two counts. It was his 40th of the season and 32nd in the Premier League which put him one clear at the top as the League’s leading wicket-taker and his victim was Neil Gill, on his last appearance for the 1st XI.

 

Hume thought twice about taking the straightforward chance at backward point as Gill had scored only one off four balls but he eventually held on – and all that was left was one last bowling spell from the man in his 25th season in senior cricket.

 

Fittingly, he took the only Waringstown wicket, caught at mid-on by Alistair Shields, who after a disappointing season has decided to return to North Down next summer. With Gleghorne also stepping down it will be a new look Muckamore side next season but with Neil Brand – suspended for these last two games – back, don’t discount the Moylena side improving on their fifth place finish.

 

But Saturday was all about Waringstown and while the Premier League may be the trophy that all teams set out to win at the start of the season, Thompson admitted with the squad at his disposal he expected to win one of the cups

 

“In the end, we were disappointed to win only one trophy. But we missed Sam Topping for virtually the whole season, Matty Foster joined us at the start of the season and didn’t bowl a ball. JCD missed a large part of first half of season and James Mitchell also missed games. It does hint at the strength in depth we have, though,” said Thompson.

 

And yet again, they are set to be the team to beat next season.