Hatherley Hurricanes won the first ever Cheltenham Premier T20 last night, beating Dumbleton Dynamite in impressive style in the final at Cheltenham Cricket Club.

After winning the toss, Hatherley made 159-7 with James Harber leading the way with 54 from 36 balls, and that total was too much for Dumbleton who closed on 135-8.

It was a deserved success for Hatherley who have been the top team in the six-strong competition, winning the group stage without losing a game before beating Tewkesbury Royals by eight wickets in the semi-final.

Harber’s innings, supported by Henry Driver Dickerson (21) and Lesego Senokwane (20), laid the platform for what Hatherley skipper Joel Price thought was a “just above par” total.

“James Harber batted very well,” said Price. “He took his time at the start but then just clicked into a gear and hit a couple of big sixes.

“He’s batted like that all tournament. He was the leading runscorer in the competition, I think he needed to get 40 last night to become top runscorer.

“I thought 159 was just above par bearing in mind two or three of the batters they’ve got.”

Price, who had never captained a team at adult level before this season, admitted it had been a tough decision to bat first.

“It tipped it down a couple of hours before the start and I thought it wasn’t looking good but it turned out to be a nice evening,” he said.

“The pitch itself was nice to bat on. The outfield was wet but they weren’t particularly big boundaries.

“I prefer to bat first. A bit of scoreboard pressure always takes it up a notch and we’ve got some good opening bowlers.”

They certainly have and they soon made early inroads into Dumbleton’s batting.

“Tom Hage set the tone,” continued Price. “He took a wicket with the first ball. It was a ridiculous catch by wicketkeeper Sam Dent, it was coming straight to me at first slip.”

New-ball bowler Henry Perks then grabbed two wickets and Price added: “They were 21-3 after about five overs. Straight away they needed nine-and-a-half or 10 runs an over.”

Dumbleton skipper Myles Holland made 45 from 38 balls, while Rashmika Madushanka (26) and Aaron Tomson (23) also chipped in, but Vihanga Kottawasinhage took 3-27 from his four overs – including Madushanka and Tomson – to ensure that Hatherley always retained control.

“He bowled really well, he mixed it up with yorkers and slower balls,” said Price.

As well as the trophy, Hatherley also won £800 in prizemoney while Dumbleton received £400.

Opening batsman Price was delighted with the way the competition went.

“One hundred per winning ratio, I’ll take that,” he said. “If I get asked I’d be happy to carry on as captain next year. It was a bit stressful at times but I enjoyed it, it’s always enjoyable when you’re winning.”