Callington win the 2026 Hawkey Cup

July 1, 2026

2026 Hawkey Cup winners: Callington

Tuesday 30 June 2026

St Austell – Callington 201-4 (C Dent 126, A Libby 24, J Rowe 21) beat St Austell 126 (A Bone 30, N Balasuriya 27, R Taplin 22; M Whalley 4-9, M Danyaal 2-17, M Danyaal 2-17, B Alford 2-17) by 75 runs. Player of the Match – Chris Dent.

© Michael Weeks Callington captain Aidan Libby and the Britannia Inn General Manager Bradley Allen.

Match Report - Cornish Times

CALLINGTON will take on Penzance or Helston in the WT Edwards Cup final after Chris Dent’s remarkable 126 saw them ease to the Britannia Inn Hawkey Cup title on Tuesday night with a dominant 75-run success over St Austell.

Cally headed to the Saints’ home ground at Wheal Eliza looking for a second title in three years and their 15th overall, while the hosts, who upset holders Wadebridge in the last four, had last won it in 2023.

Aidan Libby won the toss for Callington and went out to open the batting with former Gloucestershire skipper Dent. After Libby played out a maiden to start proceedings from Liam Watson, runs flew at a rapid rate.

Cally eased to 62-1 after six overs despite losing Libby for 24 from 17 balls as he edged Adam Snowdon behind to Tom Mallet having struck two fours and two sixes.

South African run-machine Liam Lindsay was soon bowled by Gary Bone for two in the seventh, but it was Dent who showed why the East Cornwall side made him their pro this summer.

Dropped on the square-leg boundary by Connor Cooke on 30, he followed up his semi-final hundred at Werrington by reaching a 45-ball century which included 11 sixes and three fours.

Jake Rowe added 21 from 23 balls and Matt Whalley a late 19 not out from 13 balls, while Dent eventually departed – caught at long-on by Watson off Nadeera Balasuriya – having faced 56 balls and struck four fours and a staggering 13 sixes, as they reached 201-4 in their 20 overs.

Standout by a distance for the Saints was left-arm spinner Andrew Libby who bowled four overs for just 16 and dismissed Rowe.

Needing over 10 an over from the outset wasn’t going to be easy, and skipper Alex Bone decided to hold himself and Balasuriya back to four and five.

South Africans Rowen Taplin – a passport holder at Callington in 2025 – and Gianluca Longo were sent out to open, but couldn’t get off to the flyer required.

Longo was first to go for four, caught by Libby running around from mid-off off county seamer Ben Ellis (2-29).

Taplin struggled to score freely for his 22 from 26 balls before falling to Ellis, and at halfway the Saints needed a miracle having struggled to 62-2.

Connor Cooke went for 16 when he was caught and bowled in Ben Alford’s first over, and while Bone and Balasuriya were now in, needing well over two a ball was going to be a very tall order.

Bone went through the gears briefly before falling for 30 off 24 balls to Alford (2-17), and when semi-final hero Balasooriya was bowled swinging to leg off the pacey Danyaal for 27 off 19, the game was up.

Snowdon added a quick 13 before Danyaal (2-17) rearranged his furniture, which was soon added to by seventeen-year-old all-rounder Whalley (4-9 off 4) coming back on to dismiss the middle-order and tail in double quick time.

He bowled Gary Bone on the slog sweep, castled youngster Mallet and seamer Matt Lloyd, before the end came off the last ball when Libby was caught at mid-off by Alford.

The Greens’ bid to be crowned champions of Cornwall in the T20 format for a fourth time, and the first since back-to-back successes in 1999 and 2000, will be on Thursday, July 16 at Truro (6pm).

David Sillifant,