Radlett captain Jono McLean felt winning the final of the Herts League Premier Division play-offs on Saturday was a special way to cap off a fantastic season.

This is the first season in which the Premier Division has held end of season play-offs, following a re-structuring last summer, and McLean said winning against Harpenden by 45 runs in one-off circumstances made the success even more special.

He said: “It was a little bit more special because it was new and exciting. Having won the league we were excited but we knew there was more work to go. To win it in those play-off games and to do so by beating two good teams makes it even more exciting.

“It is fantastic to be champions. It is a great feeling and the guys have played well throughout the whole season. They deserve this.

“They have been a great bunch to captain; there is a great atmosphere within the team and a great team spirit, which has been of benefit to us this year.”

The South African added: “We definitely want to use this as a springboard for more success. We will hopefully be keeping the same squad next season and that will hopefully pave the way for more success.”

Having won the toss, Radlett elected to bat but lost opener Fraser Crawford for a duck, before McLean (7) followed soon after to leave his side on 13 for two.

Kabir Toor (15), Shane Burger (27) and Joe Cooke (51 not out) gradually steadied the ship and started to build the Radlett total.

Despite their slow start, McLean says Radlett were always confident in their ability to win the match.

He explained: “We knew we were under par but the last partnership between Joe Cooke and Stuart Browne took us up to 150 and from there we felt we had a good chance and we felt we were in with a fair shout of winning.”

Closing on 150 all out, with Matt Creese adding 20 at number seven, Radlett knew they would have to bowl well if they were to emerge victorious.

Forty-four from 40 balls by Ben Frazer got Harpenden off to a steady start but the Radlett bowling attack soon took centre stage. Toor claimed three for 16 from just three overs and Chad Barrett finished with three for 15.

The middle and lower order did not stick around for long and Radlett removed Harpenden for 105 after 31.1 overs to clinch the win.

Radlett’s women continued the club’s success by winning the Southern League for the second consecutive season and will now await news of a league re-structure to find out whether they have been promoted.