THREE boundaries helped Morley over the line to win the Dales Council League’s Cawthorne Cup final at Pudsey Congs.
Drighlington B, who had also never won the second-team showpiece, batted first and needed to consolidate after falling to 20-3 against a team that included 20-year-old Phoebe Austin.
Good Morley bowling added to Drig skipper Nick Dare’s problems, and they were only 67-4 at drinks after 20 overs, an early tea being taken 11 overs later when the threatened rain arrived.
Drighlington were then 96-7 and finally reached 130-9 off their allotted 40 overs.
There was another short delay before Morley began their reply, and their batsmen also struggled, with the exception of Roshan Patel.
They looked well placed at 45-2, but after Patel was out for 40 at that score, the runs came slowly and wickets fell regularly until 115-6, when those boundaries sped Morley to a four-wicket win.
Patel, who also took a miserly 1-15 off his eight overs, was man of the match but another talking point was the appearance of Austin for Morley.
The 20-year-old, whose birthday fell on the day of the match, is believed to be the first female cricketer to appear in a Dales Council League Cup final.
Her dad Graham, who was a Bradford League stalwart, died earlier this year.
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