Calmore Sports wanted to give Mark Lavelle a retirement gift of a second consecutive Lord's Voneus Village Cup final triumph - but their plans went badly awry as the Gloucestershire side, Dumbleton outplayed them to win by 86 runs.
Lavelle has stepped down Calmore after eight pretty successful years at the helm at Loperwood Park - he is by far and away the Southern Premier League's longest serving captain - and proudly held aloft the 50-years old village trophy on the historic pavilion steps 12 months ago.
But there was to be no repeat in the early autumn St John's Wood sunshine as Dumbleton, runners-up in the West of England Premier League's Gloucestershire feeder division this season, rattled up a powerful 241-4 following half-centuries from teenage batter Tommy Boorman and captain Rupert Salmon.
Ross Martin then produced player of the match-winning figures of 4-12 to reduce Calmore to 39-5 and so destroy their hopes of becoming just the sixth side to defend the title inside 16 overs.
Hampshire champions Calmore won the toss and were on the front foot in the early stages, restricting Dumbleton to 22-1 after 10 overs thanks to the metronomic opening bowling of left-armer Steve Wright and Josh Metcalfe.
Wright, operating at the pavilion end, removed Martin, but a 62-run second-wicket partnership between Boorman and Dan Holland flipped the match on its head and from that point Dumbleton never relinquished control.
Flipped
Ben Perry eventually removed Holland, caught behind by Max Bailey for 29, just before the halfway mark but Boorman continued his charge, bringing up his half-century off 57 balls with a six in the 23rd over and later dispatching the spinner for 4, 6, 6 in the 25th to get the Dumbleton faithful on their feet.
Seventeen years old Boorman, who has played regularly for Gloucestershire seconds in recent weeks, was in the England U19 squad for the recent 'Test' series against Sri Lanka, but was released prior to the matches taking place.
Seeking a breakthrough Calmore skipper Mark Lavelle brought himself on from the Pavilion End and immediately struck gold, Boorman picking out Shawn Johnson on the boundary to depart for 71 – Dumbleton 127 for 3.
He continued to bowl tidily in the company of Liam Carty before the Worcestershire group champions burst into life with 101 runs coming off the final 10 overs.
Salmon shared an 89-run fourth-wicket stand with Myles Holland (39 off 34), who smashed two monstrous sixes towards the Dumbleton fans, and put on a further 25 runs with Adam Stuart as his side closed on 241 for 4. Salmon finished unbeaten on 73 off 67, including six fours and one six.
Already needing to make their highest winning total of the season, Calmore needed another equally important innings from Ben Johns, the competition's leading run maker of 2022, but it didn't happen.
Calmore's reply had barely got under way when Johns cramped up and, the very next ball (from Martin) after treatment, edged a low catch to Boorman at second slip.
As the left-hander trailed disappointingly back to the pavilion, Calmore's already slim hopes of repeating their 2021 triumph went with him.
Inswinger
Martin grabbed his second in the eighth over, bowling Lavelle (4) with an inswinger, and four overs later he removed Will Brewster (14) and Shawn Johnson (lbw) with back-to-back deliveries.
Jamie Diamond then snared Matt Taylor – Scott Tremain taking his second catch of the day – to leave Calmore in disarray on 39 for 5 after 13 overs.
The Totton-based Southern Premier Division 1 side were facing the prospect of an unwanted entry in the Village Cup final record books - the heaviest ever margin of defeat (119 runs inflicted by Seesay on Sibton in 2016).
Lavelle has stepped down Calmore after eight pretty successful years at the helm at Loperwood Park - he is by far and away the Southern Premier League's longest serving captain - and proudly held aloft the 50-years old village trophy on the historic pavilion steps 12 months ago.
But there was to be no repeat in the early autumn St John's Wood sunshine as Dumbleton, runners-up in the West of England Premier League's Gloucestershire feeder division this season, rattled up a powerful 241-4 following half-centuries from teenage batter Tommy Boorman and captain Rupert Salmon.
Ross Martin then produced player of the match-winning figures of 4-12 to reduce Calmore to 39-5 and so destroy their hopes of becoming just the sixth side to defend the title inside 16 overs.
Hampshire champions Calmore won the toss and were on the front foot in the early stages, restricting Dumbleton to 22-1 after 10 overs thanks to the metronomic opening bowling of left-armer Steve Wright and Josh Metcalfe.
Wright, operating at the pavilion end, removed Martin, but a 62-run second-wicket partnership between Boorman and Dan Holland flipped the match on its head and from that point Dumbleton never relinquished control.
Flipped
Ben Perry eventually removed Holland, caught behind by Max Bailey for 29, just before the halfway mark but Boorman continued his charge, bringing up his half-century off 57 balls with a six in the 23rd over and later dispatching the spinner for 4, 6, 6 in the 25th to get the Dumbleton faithful on their feet.
Seventeen years old Boorman, who has played regularly for Gloucestershire seconds in recent weeks, was in the England U19 squad for the recent 'Test' series against Sri Lanka, but was released prior to the matches taking place.
Seeking a breakthrough Calmore skipper Mark Lavelle brought himself on from the Pavilion End and immediately struck gold, Boorman picking out Shawn Johnson on the boundary to depart for 71 – Dumbleton 127 for 3.
He continued to bowl tidily in the company of Liam Carty before the Worcestershire group champions burst into life with 101 runs coming off the final 10 overs.
Salmon shared an 89-run fourth-wicket stand with Myles Holland (39 off 34), who smashed two monstrous sixes towards the Dumbleton fans, and put on a further 25 runs with Adam Stuart as his side closed on 241 for 4. Salmon finished unbeaten on 73 off 67, including six fours and one six.
Already needing to make their highest winning total of the season, Calmore needed another equally important innings from Ben Johns, the competition's leading run maker of 2022, but it didn't happen.
Calmore's reply had barely got under way when Johns cramped up and, the very next ball (from Martin) after treatment, edged a low catch to Boorman at second slip.
As the left-hander trailed disappointingly back to the pavilion, Calmore's already slim hopes of repeating their 2021 triumph went with him.
Inswinger
Martin grabbed his second in the eighth over, bowling Lavelle (4) with an inswinger, and four overs later he removed Will Brewster (14) and Shawn Johnson (lbw) with back-to-back deliveries.
Jamie Diamond then snared Matt Taylor – Scott Tremain taking his second catch of the day – to leave Calmore in disarray on 39 for 5 after 13 overs.
The Totton-based Southern Premier Division 1 side were facing the prospect of an unwanted entry in the Village Cup final record books - the heaviest ever margin of defeat (119 runs inflicted by Seesay on Sibton in 2016).
James Manning (41) Bailey (18) and Metcalfe (18) - aided by 35 extras - spared their blushes. Calmore all out for 155 with five balls remaining, Stuart and Diamond picking up two wickets apiece and one each for Ollie Horne and Will Sharp to go with Martin’s four-for.
It was the first time Calmore Sports had been beaten in two seasons of Village Cup cricket, but to get to Lord’s again and finish runners-up out of an initial entry of over 250 clubs is a fantastic achievement.
Reflecting Mark Lavelle said: "Dumbleton were a good side who were better that us on the day. We were out-played in all three departments but the way we rallied from 39-5 to keep going showed good spirit but it just wasn't to be our day - but a great experience nonetheless!
"We let the game slip away in the last 10 overs of our bowling innings. Having wickets in hand and a couple of set batsman with a small boundary one side and plenty of twos on offer the other was difficult to stop.
"We set out to do the same and have set batsmen and wickets in hand going into the last 15 overs but wasn't to be. Ross Martin bowled very well and took the top order out, Ben getting injured didn't help and Shawn's LBW was an interesting call.
It was the first time Calmore Sports had been beaten in two seasons of Village Cup cricket, but to get to Lord’s again and finish runners-up out of an initial entry of over 250 clubs is a fantastic achievement.
Reflecting Mark Lavelle said: "Dumbleton were a good side who were better that us on the day. We were out-played in all three departments but the way we rallied from 39-5 to keep going showed good spirit but it just wasn't to be our day - but a great experience nonetheless!
"We let the game slip away in the last 10 overs of our bowling innings. Having wickets in hand and a couple of set batsman with a small boundary one side and plenty of twos on offer the other was difficult to stop.
"We set out to do the same and have set batsmen and wickets in hand going into the last 15 overs but wasn't to be. Ross Martin bowled very well and took the top order out, Ben getting injured didn't help and Shawn's LBW was an interesting call.