Foxton Granta defend Voneus Village Cup title thanks to record-breaker Kaufman

OSCAR RESS AT LORD'S: Richard Kaufman (122) starred with his second consecutive century in the competition's final as Foxton overpowered Stayley to win by a record margin of 145 runs

Oscar Ress | 21/09/2025 at 16:40

Lord's: Foxton Granta 265-4, Stayley 120 - Foxton Granta won by 145 runs

Foxton Granta became the fifth team to defend their Voneus Village Cup title with a crushing 145-run win over Stayley at Lord's.

In the process, Richard Kaufman became the first player in the competition's history to score a second hundred in the final as he smashed 122 to underpin Foxton's 265 for 4.

Stayley struggled to get anywhere near the target as they were bowled out for just 120, 145 runs short of the target.

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^{Foxton Granta retained the title at Lord's (Paul Carroll Photography)}

Last season's hero, Kaufman, handed Foxton an excellent start after they lost the toss and were inserted.

He did the bulk of the run-scoring in a 53-run opening stand, but Stayley bounced back to remove Adam Webster (12) and Ash Clark (0) in quick succession.

Kaufman found excellent support from vice-captain Johnny Atkinson, who was dropped on 18, as they put on exactly 100 for the third wicket. The stand was eventually broken when Atkinson was dismissed by Scott Devlin for 51.

Kaufman became the first person to make back-to-back Voneus Village Cup final centuries when he launched a six into the stands for a 96-ball hundred.

Chris Pepper, who gave up a trip to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to play at Lord's, smashed an important 44 off 31 balls and combined with Kaufman to add 89 runs.

The centurion was eventually caught on the short boundary by sub-fielder Jimmy Wardle for 122, but it did not stop the reigning champions from posting a formidable 265 for 4 from their 40 overs.

Stayley struggled to get going in the run chase as they slipped to 16 for 2, losing Liam Parkinson (9), who was convinced he edged onto his pad before being given out lbw, and Jake Barlow (5).

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^{Kaufman launches into a pull shot during his 122 (Paul Carroll Photography)}

Foxton's experience at Lord's last year told as they made regular breakthroughs and kept the required run rate out of their opponents' reach.

It was death by spin as captain Lewys Hill brought himself on with Ravi Mahendra, and they took two wickets apiece.

Hill bowled Sohail Khan (17) and had Casey Roche (6) caught and bowled, while his left-arm bowling partner, who started nervously, trapped Rhys Downend (6) in front and bowled Stayley captain Nick Woodhead (2) in between.

The introduction of leg-spinner Clark, who was the team's wicketkeeper in last year's final, pushed the Cheshire-based side into further trouble as he struck twice in his first over to become his team's leading wicket-taker this season and leave the opposition reeling at 81 for 9.

Henry Campbell returned to the attack to provide the winning moment when he bowled Mehmood Ul-Hassan for a valiant 23.