Premier Division champions close in on historic double

Arfan Akram says his Wanstead team-mates will try to use their SNEL Premier Division triumph to their advantage when they take on York in the final of the ECB National Club Championship on Sunday.

Wanstead were beaten by Ilford on Saturday, but collected the bonus points needed to wrap up the title.

And their captain says that being crowned league champions can only help his team as they prepare to face York in Derbyshire.

Akram said: “We’ll certainly benefit from the confidence the league title success has given us.

“We’ve spoken all season about keeping our focus and, although that’s easier said than done, we’ve managed to do that.

“We’ve just got to treat the final as just another game of cricket.”

York are champions of the Yorkshire County Premier League and so Wanstead know they face an extreme test of their capabilities.

But Akram insists his men have nothing but a positive outlook.

He said: “We know that York will be very tough.

“The Yorkshire league is historically very strong and, of course, York have won the championship, so they will certainly be no pushover.

“But if we can play to the best of our ability and keep doing the right things then I believe we’ve got what it takes.”