WINSFORD became the first winners of the Quinn Foden Cheshire Shield when they beat Malpas with one over to spare on Sunday.

More than 50 supporters went to Malpas to cheer on the Knight's Grange men, who recovered from a shaky start when Malpas put 40 on the board without loss.

Then 16-year-old Gary Sargeant was introduced, picking up the wicket of captain Mike Dunning and bowling six cheap overs to stem the tide.

However, it was man of the match Colin Dean who changed the game. Off his eight overs, he took 4-22, as the home side finished on 167-7.

Malpas also started well with the ball, getting rid of Barry Crellin for 6, and the dismissal of captain Andy Johnson for 37 left Winsford at 60-2 off 15 overs and the game finely balanced.

Skellon, who was eventually out for 44, was joined by Dean and their partnership set Winsford up for victory. It was Dean's hefty blows, despite him being off injured for four overs, which left them needing just three runs off eight balls after he was dismissed for 48.

Despite the loss of most of his batting partners and his injury, Dean had taken his side to the threshold and was unfortunate not to get the chance to hit the winning runs which would have given him a half-century.

This was left to Gareth Whitney, who hit the next ball for four to give Winsford some silverware to decorate their troubled season.

Skipper Andy Johnson said: "I would like to thank all the supporters for attending the final, their support helped the team. I would also like to thank all the players for their efforts throughout the competition."

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.