Second title is even sweeter for skipper

While presenting the cup, league chair David Manning described Smethwick’s dismissal of all-comers and subsequent romp to the title in just 19 of the 22 available weeks as being one of the most emphatic and memorable league wins in modern history.

Smethwick’s skipper said this win ranks above the achievement of his club’s 2022 squad which he also captained.

“Winning the league twice in three years is a fantastic achievement,” Rawait said. “In some ways winning it a second time is harder because of the expectation which is there and last year we missed out to Moseley by eight points so that makes this title very sweet.

“That first title was very special and we have kept the core of experienced players which has really helped us this year.

“We had belief from the outset and when we did so well in the early part of the season that really cemented confidence in our ability.

“We have been very fortunate to have the likes of Raj Beniwal, Bilal Shafayat and Yasir Ali around when we needed them because we haven’t seen as much of Kadeer this year with him being involved in the Hundred.

“Our overseas’ pro Deepak Khatri has also been fantastic.

“He came over from India into alien conditions in a wet summer and has fitted in superbly.

“Deepak completed 1000 league runs today which is a superb achievement and he’s also chipped in with plenty of wickets despite having a back niggle for some of the season.

“Lots of work goes on behind the scenes with our chair Mr Sandhu, our manager Arif and Zabair who puts so much time in and I must also recognise their very important part in this title win.”

Smethwick clinched the title with an impressive seven-wicket win at Barnt Green.

Khan’s team have set the pace throughout a season during which they have – to date – lost only once and won 13 of their 19 starts and as such are deserving winners of a second championship in three years.

Their success has been built around contributions from a range of different players so it was perhaps fitting that an unbeaten half-century from the unheralded Hassan Khan provided the backbone to their successful pursuit of 206. Equally relevant were key contributions from bigger names Kadeer Ali (59) and Indian ace Deepak Khatri, who passed 1,000 runs for the season while making a breezy 35, which set the stage for Bilal Shafayat (31no) to hit the winning boundary in the 48th over

Half-centuries from Jacques Banton and Dom Harding had earlier taken Barnt Green past 200 while Khatri and new-ball partner Yasir Ali shared seven wickets.