Sessay CC reach dream Lords final in Davidstow National Village Cup

The North Yorkshire club will ace Kent outfit Sibton Park at the Home of Cricket on Sunday, September 4 having both made it through eight rounds on the competition.

Sessay last won the national knock-out competition in 2010 when they beat Shipton under Wychwood by seven wickets.

“We have said all along that the main thing is to get there,” said captain Mark Wilkie, who scored an unbeaten 47 as Sessay chased down 134 against Carew.

“Whatever happens on the day, it's the fact that we have got another chance to play at Lord's.

“Obviously we are desperate to win but we want to go there and enjoy the occasion too.

“Last time, I don't think we really appreciated what was going on and we got sucked into a bit of a bubble about the game. I think the lads will try and take it in a bit more this time.

Sessay made short work of their Welsh hosts despite totalling more than 1,000 miles of travelling over a weekend.

Wilkie's men went coast to coast to make the fixture after beating east coasters Driffield Town away by five wickets in the York Senior League on Saturday.

Carew won the toss and opted to bat first at their small ground but Sessay put the squeeze on early on.

After Tim Hall struck first to remove Tom Scourfield for nine, opener Ian Sefton (22) and number three Nick Scourfield (35) gave Carew their highest partnership.

However, the introduction of Wilkie (2-27) and Stephen Langstaff (2-11) made the inroads into the top order for Sessay.

With the pressure firmly on the hosts, Liam Carver – brother to Yorkshire spin bowler Karl – claimed five lower order scalps to oust the hosts for just 133 in 38.5overs.

There was never any doubt who would return victorious in the second innings as Wilkie and Matthew Till (52) shared a century opening stand.

Carew opening bowler Rhys Davies returned to strike three blows but Wilkie kept his wicket in tact to lead his side home in 20.4 overs.

Wilkie, whose side did not get back to North Yorkshire until 3.30am on Monday, said: “We have had a lot of success with this group of players and it's really put Sessay on the map.

“We have all stuck together. It's not been easy along the way but we have a really strong team spirit. “Everyone enjoys each other's success. I'm a firm believer that if you have a good team ethos then it puts you in with a good chance of having success.

“We knew if we turned up and played anything like we know we can that we would be a hard team to beat.

“I am just really proud at how hard the guys have worked over the season. It's a lot of commitment to be playing every Saturday and all through the Sundays as well.

“We have not played great cricket this year but over the last few weeks we have started performing as a team.

“We are on a bit of a roll and I'm really pleased it is coming together in the last quarter of the season.”