UPPINGHAM Town face Ketton in the final of The Rutland Kookaburra Twenty/20 competition at Oakham's Lime Kilns ground next Friday.
Uppingham beat Oakham while Ketton knocked out former champions Market Overton in Friday's semis.
The difference between the town sides in a low-scoring encounter at Uppingham was Mark Cox's innings of 48 which, alongside a useful 31 from Martin B
ennett, helped Town post a total of 117.
In a stuttering reply Oakham's batsmen failed to settle and they were bowled out chasing runs in the final over.
Oakham captain John Morton praised Cox for his performance on a slow wicket. He said: "Mark Cox got 48 in 17 overs and that made the difference. He was the only batsman who made sure he stayed in. If one of our batsmen had applied himself like that I feel we might have won the game."
Disappointed by Oakham's batting he added: "We tried to force boundaries with risky shots."
The pick of Uppingham's bowlers were Cox 2 for 18, Jamie Binley 2 for 21, Ben Collins 2 for 22 and Colan Bartram 2 for 23.
Uppingham's Jamie Dumford said: "As a team we fielded well. Both Tom Scott and Joe Clarke took good catches on the boundary."
Looking forward to the final he added: "Ketton will be tough opponents and have beaten a good side but anything can happen in 20 over cricket. Hopefully we will have a strong side out."
In the second semi, played at Market Overton, Johnny Smith (43no) and Craig Wilson (65no) were the stars, as Ketton knocked off Market Overton's 135 runs in the 15th over.
Eagerly looking forward to the final, Ketton's Dave McDonald said: "We have had good games against Uppingham in the past and it will be nice to play them again but they will be favourites with players like Mark Cox and Colan Bartram.
"But hopefully we will have the same team that played in the semi-final available, which is probably as strong as we can put out."
The final will be held at Oakham Cricket Club on Friday, June 26.
* Uppingham will play Market Deeping in the Semi-final of the Stamford Cup Twenty 20 on Monday.
