By Mel Booth
Ben Birkhead scored a magnificent 92 to steer Scholes to victory against Honley in the 105th Sykes Cup final at Thongsbridge on Sunday.
His 104-ball knock, which included 12 fours and two sixes, rescued Scholes from 36-3 and enabled them to overhaul Honley’s 209-8 total with five wickets and 5.2 overs to spare.
It was a sparkling effort from man-of-the-match Birkhead, who settled the reply in a stand of 54 with brother Brad before teaming up with Yaasar Imtiaz (48no) to take Scholes to the brink of victory in a 111-run partnership.
Ben Birkhead receives the Man of the Match trophy
Birkhead was one of four victims for Yorkshire prospect Charlie Taylor (5-54), falling with Scholes just nine runs short of what was their third success in the Pearson Financial Wellbeing-sponsored showpiece, superbly staged at Miry Lane.
Honley, finalists for the first time since 2007, were indebted to 37 from opener Harry Moore, 48 from Timmy Taylor and 41 from skipper Eddie Wilson in topping 200, after scoring only 44 runs from the 20 overs bowled by Scholes spinners Imtiaz (2-24) and Jake Lockwood (0-20).
Honley threatened a powerful fightback when Taylor removed the Scholes top three, but left-arm spinner Timmy Taylor was the only other bowler to claim a wicket (1-44 off 10) as Birkhead ensured Scholes added the Sykes Cup to their T20 Trophy title at 212-5.
Gallery of match action by: Huddersfield Hub photographer SEAN DOYLE
