SUFFOLK'S trophy-winning cricketers are to be guests of Ipswich Town chairman David Sheepshanks for the Championship game against Coventry City at Portman Road on Saturday.

By Elvin King

SUFFOLK'S trophy-winning cricketers are to be guests of Ipswich Town chairman David Sheepshanks for the Championship game against Coventry City at Portman Road on Saturday.

Phil Caley's side beat Cheshire by 35 runs in a memorable day at Lord's on August 27 to win the Minor Counties One-day Trophy for the first time.

Caley and Suffolk chairman Norman Atkins will be guests in the directors' box with the players and director of cricket Kevin Brooks parading the trophy around the pitch at a game that is being televised live by Sky Sports TV and kicks off at 5.20pm.

Suffolk are the only side to beat Cheshire this summer with the north-west county hammering Northumberland in this week's Championship play-off final.

The western division winners beat their eastern division counterparts with over a day to spare at Jesmond by an innings and four runs.

Cheshire shared the 2005 Championship title with Suffolk after a drawn match in Ipswich and also in 2001 when they shared the crown with Lincolnshire.

This was their first outright crown since they beat Cambridgeshire in 1988 in a one-day final at Worcester.

Cheshire had always been in the driving seat thanks to a record-breaking opening stand of 317 between Danny Leech (202) and Warren Goodwin (153) that saw the county post an imposing 472 for 6.

Former Derbyshire all-rounder Nathan Dumelow finished the match with nine wickets - taking him to an impressive 39 victims for the season in all competition.

“We've been fantastic this season,” said Cheshire skipper Andy Hall. “We've only lost one match and could have won a treble if we'd not lost to Suffolk. It's been an amazing season, a real team effort.”

Jesmond scorecard - Northumberland: First innings: 176 (M Dale 37, N Dumelow 6-74, A Syddall 2-45, D Woods 2-12). Second innings: 292 (G Bridge 58, N Dumelow 3-94, C Finegan 2-30, D Woods 3-86, A Syddall 2-74). Cheshire: First innings: 472-6 (90 overs) (D Leech 202, W Goodwin 154, J Duffy 34).

ESSEX have announced they will be releasing 25-year-old seamer Andrew McGarry, who has missed most of the season with a hand injury. He is expected to be available for Suffolk again in 2008. Former Glamorgan all-rounder Darren Thomas has announced his retirement after an injury-hit year at Essex.

SEVEN Suffolk players had batting averages above 27 in this year's Minor Counties Championship. But no one went above 40 as Phil Caley's side finished fourth in the eastern division.

They paid a heavy price for their only defeat inside two years, as a win at home to Cambridgeshire would have given them the title.

Chris Swallow enjoyed a highly successful season, just being pipped by Nick Lee in the batting averages and coming out on top in the bowling.