Malthouse: Fans were our 12th man at Lord's

A crowd of 1,854 took in Flixton’s historic success, in which Malthouse took 1-18 from eight overs.

“I have to say thank-you to the people who travelled to support us, I honestly think they played a huge part in us winning as they put pressure on them, they were our 12th man,” said Malthouse.

“It was an absolutely fantastic day. To have my family and friends there too just made it even more special.

“The support was brilliant. The Sherburn lads and Benidorm Corner in particular made a lot of noise.”

Malthouse departed for eight as Flixton struggled with Liphook’s impressive new-ball attack of Suman Ganguly and skipper Charles Janczur.

“The ball was doing a bit early on and they bowled in very good areas too,” added Malthouse.

“Will (Hutchinson), Matt (Nesfield) and Harry (Walmsley) got us to a decent enough total and we applied the pressure to them with the ball.

“Me and Tom (Norman) pegged them back a bit and we kept chipping away with wickets and they struggled to get away from us.”

Malthouse was hugely impressed with the composure of the younger players in the side, who showed great maturity beyond their years.

“They handled it so well,” he added.

“Walking through the Long Room and out of the famous pavilion was something special for us all.”