Hodges propels Fichley into final

Finchley's Robbie Hodges has had a topsy-turvy few days. He collected his P45 last Friday but, 48 hours later, he was booking a ticket to the final of club cricket's premier knockout tournament.

The 27-year-old opening batsman shrugged off his redundancy from Barclays Bank with a match-winning performance in Finchley's nine-wicket victory over High Wycombe in the semi-finals of the Evening Standard Challenge Trophy, the Sunday event which features the London area's leading 108 teams.

The prolific Hodges added 89 undefeated runs to his account as Finchley, champions in 1993 and 2000, cantered into next month's final at the Shenley Cricket Centre, where their opponents will be Hainault & Clayhall.

The North Londoners restricted Wycombe to 167 for eight from their 50 overs, with Hodges taking one for 26 from 10 overs of off-spin, then knocked off the runs for the loss of one wicket with 13 overs to spare.

Finchley's cricket manager Richard Johns, who skippered the victorious 1993 side, said: "It was a terrific all-round performance. We bowled and fielded really well, then Robbie batted superbly, just as he has done all season. He has scored seven centuries."

Wycombe's defeat was their second in a major cup semi-final on successive Sundays. A week earlier they went down against Leicestershire's Kibworth in the last four of the national knockout Cockspur Cup.

The double hammer blow prompted the immediate resignation of their captain Jason Harrison, who has stepped down after seven years, along with chairman Richard Morgan. Hainault outplayed Winchmore Hill in all departments in their semi-final. After bowling out their hosts for 187, they cruised home with seven wickets in hand.

Ashfaq Ahmed, 77 not out, and Mohsin Ismail, 69, set up the victory with a polished second-wicket partnership of 130 in 33 overs. Essex's England Under-19 international Ravi Bopara only made nine runs but took two wickets for 27.

Their captain, 25-year-old Irfan Shah, said: "The semi-final was a brilliant day and I'm proud of everyone. Let's hope the final will be an even more brilliant day." Semi-finals: Finchley (171-1) beat High Wycombe (169-8) by nine wickets, Hainault & Clayhall (191-3) beat Winchmore Hill (187) by seven wickets.

The final: Finchley v Hainault & Clayhall (Shenley Cricket Centre, Sunday 12 September).