2026 SCCL Premier 100 Finals Day Preview
By Matt Porter
The SCCL is thrilled to return to the Quatt oval on Sunday, July 26th, for our Premier 100 finals day. This event promises to be an excellent display of SCCL short format cricket, with all four finalists from the top six in the 2026 Premier division.
The first semi-final is set to begin at 10:30 am, showcasing the host club Quatt CC against St Georges CC.
The second semi-final is planned for 1:30 pm, featuring a significant north Shropshire derby between Wem CC (former KO champions in 2012, 2017, 2019, and 2024), and Whitchurch CC.
In this article, I will examine each club, evaluating their form, key players, and potential threats as we approach finals day.
Quatt CC
Home advantage will be a huge help for Quatt CC especially when combined with their pedigree in this tournament, having won it in 2018, 2021 and 2022. Furthermore they currently sit 20 points clear at the top of the Premier Division, showing their exceptional form.
Quatt were seeded 6th (based on 2025 league positions) and entered the tournament in round 2, where they dominated Wellington CC 2nd XI with a massive 122 run win, owing to a big contribution from Sri Lankan star, Nipun Karunanayake making 63 from 44 as well as 3/17 with the ball.
In the Quarter finals they faced the last remaining Division 1 side Cound, where once again Nipun was the star of the show scoring 76 from 49, helping them score 142, they then bowled out Cound for 97 with Dan Handley taking 3/9 to book their place at Finals Day.
I spoke to their captain Jamie Lunn, who said “the team are really looking forward to the day, and I as captain have a fully fit squad to choose from. I was delighted with the performances to get to finals day, and I think that Nipun will play a vital role on the day.”
Jamie was asked about who he saw as the danger man for them “Tom Whitney can be so destructive at the top of the order, and I think that he will work well with Nipun to get us off to flier”
Personally, I think that the real danger man for Quatt is Alex Biddle (pictured below). I was at Worfield in 2021 when Quatt defeated Ludlow, Alex took 5/20 to win the final for his team (didn't get player of the match, a travesty in my opinion). We have all seen how his allround ability can really turn a game in Quatt’s favour and I suspect we will see it again this Sunday.
Alex Biddle of Quatt CC bowling
St Georges CC
The dragons have been resurgent in 2026, and were it not for points deductions, they would be top of the SCCL Premier Division. They were seeded 4th for this KO, and entered the competition in round 2 where they made the short trip to Madeley CC. Madeley won the toss and elected to field, and St Georges scored a solid 151/3 with overseas player Ashish Ashish scoring 59 from 28 balls. The same man was dominant with the ball where he took 3/18 to get his team a 47 run victory.
On paper the quarter finals should have been a very close run match, as the dragons faced 2025 KO and league champions Wellington CC. The paper was not wrong, with St Georges batting first to score 120/6 from their 100 balls with no real outstanding individual performances. However, the bowling was solid with Babar Khan the star of the show taking 3/11 to help the dragons win by just 6 runs and book their spot at finals day.
St Georges club captain Faisal Khan stated “the team for Sunday is looking really strong, and we are just deciding whether we need an additional batter or spinner on the day. We believe that the short 100 ball format is really suited to our attacking mindset, however of course, we are playing Quatt and are mindful of their home advantage, but I expect us to push really hard to get the win.”
As with all the clubs, I asked Faisal who he thought would play a key role, “Our overseas Ashish has been fantastic form recently and I fully expect him to deliver again. We also have Zabiullah Safi and we all know what he can do in a short space of time. In addition, we have the steadiness of Amritpal Singh who has scored 3 50s in his first 4 innings, this will help to anchor our innings.”
For me, the key man for St Georges is going to be Babar Khan (pictured below), the wiley leg spinner has so much experience to draw upon and I think the 20 balls that he bowls will be vital for St Georges.
Babar Khan of St Georges CC bowling
Whitchurch CC
2026 is proving a far better year for the Heath Road men with solid performances in the league where they currently sit 6th but only 39 points away from 1st placed Quatt. They are also our only unseeded team of the final, having finished outside the top 8 in 2025.
They started their 2026 KO campaign in Round 1 against Division 1 side Frankton, where the match was very one sided with Whitchurch opting to bat first and scoring 119/7, Kunal Dabas top scoring with 58 from 44, they then made light work of Frankton, bowing them out for 65 with 4 of their bowlers picking up 2 wickets each.
They hosted 3rd seed, Allscott Heath in round 2, where once again they elected to bat and scored a similar 113/7, once again Kunal Dabas top scoring with 29. However, this time Shabbir Khan stood out with the ball, where he took a very impressive 4/14 to help restrict Allscott to 81/9.
Finally, they faced number 7 seeds Sentinel at home in the quarter finals, where they once again batted first scoring 135/5, captain Mike Robinson lead from the front scoring 51* from 40 balls. With the ball, Kashif Hssain put in a great performance to get figures of 4/19, ably backed up by Shabbir khan at 2/19, to give them a 19 run win.
I spoke to Mike Robinson, who stated that “we are still getting our team sorted for Sunday, and we are waiting on the availability of 2 players before we decide. However, our bowling is in great form at the moment and I would back us to defend/restrict our opposition to help the batters out.”
Mike also said “Kash keeps finding ways to get the best batters out and of course with the venerable Shabbir, we have a great duo with the ball in hand”
For me, I think their danger man is Raheel Khattak, as the 100 ball format is really suited to his clean hitting of the ball.
Wem CC
Like Quatt, the number 2 seeds are well versed at this competition, having won it 4 times (since the merger) in 2012, 2017, 2019 and 2024. They go into Sunday with some excellent league form, sitting 2nd, as well as some notable performances in the earlier stages of the competition.
They started in Round 2 away at Oswestry, (currently top of Division 1) where they elected to bat and scored 134ao from their 100 balls, with Matt Cohen the main man scoring 44 from 30 balls. The Oswestry innings started well with JP Erasmus scoring a quick 40 from 24 balls, but the innings soon petered out with Alex Ollerenshaw taking 4/20 and Tom Graves 3/9 to restrict OCC to 121/8.
The victory in round 2 led to them being drawn away at Ludlow CC in the quarter finals. I was in attendance at my old club and witnessed a superb and astonishing batting display by Wem. Wem chose to bat first on a pitch that looked a belter with a lightning fast outfield bereft of any rain in recent weeks. Tyler Ibbotson and Harry Astley opened the batting with the latter scoring 39 before departing. This brought the arrival of Wem’s overseas Abhishek Reddy who had a memorable day scoring an amazing 114* from 38 balls, this was ably supported ably Ibbetson who scored 103 from 40 balls to give Wem a total of 270/2!! Despite a credible 81 from Ludlow captain Luke Miles, the Burway men posted 158/6 from their 100 allowing Wem to head to Finals day with loads of momentum.
Wem’s captain Jim Astley is currently away in Kenya, so I spoke to Wem chairman Shaun Astley, who reported “Sadly we are missing 4 with Jim and Alex Ollerenshaw unavailable, Harry Chandler is with the county and Dan Bowen is injured, however we are excited to see 3 of our U15s in the team, Ralph Davies, Bobby Langton and Harry Harrison all stepping up.”
We all know that Mr Reddy is going to be the key man and Shaun said, “Abhishek is going to be captaining the side on the day, and we are confident that his experience alongside other key players will be invaluable.”
Abhishek is clearly the star player for Wem on finals day, however, I think the real danger man will be Tyler Ibbotson (pictured below) as we have seen how destructive he can be with the bat in hand.
