Cheltenham Premier T20 new boys Bourton Vale Vikings have booked their place in the competition’s showpiece final at the Cheltenham Cricket Festival.

They secured their spot with a hard-fought four-wicket win over Hatherley Hurricanes last night, a victory that was all the more impressive because it came just two weeks after they had lost to the same opponents by nine wickets in the penultimate round of group games.

Hatherley, the inaugural winners of the competition in 2023, at least live to fight another day because they will now play Tewkesbury Royals on Tuesday for the right to play Bourton at Cheltenham College on Friday 18^th July.

Tewkesbury earned their place in what is a semi-final shootout by defeating defending champions Dumbleton Dynamite by four wickets in a high-scoring eliminator last night.

Bourton have enjoyed a wonderful first campaign in the Cheltenham Premier T20 and they looked in control at the halfway stage of their game against Hatherley after dismissing the visitors for 133 in 18.4 overs with Will Faulkner picking up 4-19.

And their opening batsmen Musa Twala (37) and Arthur Hanson (33) then cemented that advantage as they took the score to 64 before being parted midway through the seventh over.

Rugs Magarira made the breakthrough and went on to take two further wickets to slow Bourton’s progress, so much so that there were only five balls remaining when they overhauled Hatherley’s total. Mugarira finished with 3-19.

Tewkesbury also secured victory in the final over last night, although their game was even tighter because there were only three balls remaining when they overhauled Dumbleton’s 194-6.

Six Dumbleton batsmen went past 20 with Indiana Jerram top-scoring with 38 but Tewkesbury’s opening batsmen made a quickfire start to their reply, reaching 103 before Josh Barnes fell for 55 in the 11^th over.

The in-form Josh Richards went on to make 59 – both openers faced 37 balls – before skipper Louis Whitmore hit 29 from 17 deliveries to see his side home.