ILTON clinched the Somerset League title and promotion to the West of England structure after defeating Temple Cloud by five wickets at the Childs Clark Ground on Saturday.

However, they were unable to finish the weekend off in style as they went down by just four runs to Cloud in the final of the Somerset Cricket Board Minor Cup final at the County Ground.

On Saturday, Ilton duly secured the nine points they needed to finish top spot by taking the ninth Temple Cloud wicket. They went on to bowl the visitors out for 19 and reached their target for the loss of five wickets.

Raj Shaffique was Ilton’s star with bat and ball. The left-arm spinner snapped up 5-22 from his 12 overs as Cloud were all out for 169.

With the title in the bag, Ilton went on to complete the job and reach their target with Shaffique remaining unbeaten on 77.

The victory saw Ilton finish 27 points clear of Westlands.

The following morning, Temple Cloud won the toss at an overcast County Ground and decided to bat.

They proceeded to rattle up 156-6 from their 20 overs with Kev Curtis (78) leading the way.

Ilton looked well on course for victory, reaching 91-1 after 11 overs but the next five overs went for just 23.

They just about stayed in touch and eventually needed 14 off the final over. Ilton managed ten to end on 152-6 and Cloud took the trophy for the second time in three seasons.