CLIFTON are celebrating an extraordinary Marston's Smooth Trophy campaign after winning the final with the scores tied against Aston-on-Trent at Ticknall.

Victory was theirs because, although both sides scored 219-5 from their 50 overs, Clifton scored more runs off the bat.

That was the closest of three successive close calls in the competition, after they won the semi-final against Denby by one wicket with two balls to spare and the quarter-final against Derby Congs by two runs, also in the last over.

Aston, who look likely to win promotion from County Leaue Division One, batted first in their search for a notable double and scored steadily throughout.

Zain Abbas top-scored with 62, Zahid Mansoor hit 59 and Shahid Khan was 35 not out at the end.

But Clifton would have been pretty satisfied with their effort in the field on the relatively small ground at Ticknall, with captain Campbell Ogilvie conceding only 29 runs from 10 overs and their overseas player, Rifatullah Mohmand, bowling 10 overs of spin for 39 runs and the important wicket of Mansoor.

In reply, Clifton seemed to be cruising to victory as Daniel Flower and Will Wilson started with a partnership of 67, then Wilson and Mohmand put on 122 for the second wicket.

But when Wilson was out for 80, it was the start of a spell of four wickets falling for 13 runs, the last of which was Mohmand.

It meant Clifton reached the last over needing seven, before which there was a loudspeaker announcement about the "runs off the bat" rule in the event of a tie.

A four to Ogilvie eased the pressure, two scrambled singles levelled the scores and the batsmen were in a position to block the last ball.

"Being out in the middle, I didn't know we'd scored more off the bat at first but, when we levelled the scores someone shouted from the side that all we needed was to block the last ball, so that's what we did," said Ogilvie, who took over the captaincy from Simon Moore midway through the season.

"It was quite a game and quite a finish – especially following on from the other close calls we'd had in the previous rounds."

The trophy is a welcome boost for the club after Clifton were relegated from the Premier League last season. They have also spent much of this season in a battle against a second relegation, which they still need to win.

"We lost eight of the regular first team after we were relegated, so most of the guys we have now were playing in our seconds in Division Four last season," said Ogilvie.

"Given that, it's a terrific achievement to come through and win the trophy.

"It will give us a boost for the last three weeks of the season, because we still need a couple of good results.

"We looked to be OK until a couple of weeks ago, when the teams at the bottom suddenly had some wins – while we didn't."

Ogilvie returned from a debilitating bout of shingles in his ear, which had kept him out for a month, at the weekend and the aftermath of his illness is still affecting his vision.

"Batting was really difficult because I haven't got my depth of vision back, so I could judge the line but not the pace or length of the ball," he said.

Mohmand's contribution with bat and ball earned him the man of the match medallion, judged by umpires Phil Royall and Charlie Divers.