McCafferty had asked his players for one final push – to go out on a high against Castle Eden – and the Mighty Acorns responded with a five wickets victory at Langwell Crescent.

McCafferty said: “I think winning the Plate, reaching another final and our league placing was good but the other aspect to shine through is that as a team we have improved. Bearing in mind we still have quite a few young members in the side that’s what we want and we’ve got to keep striving year on year to get even better. Overall I’m proud of the lads this term. We’ve had a couple of rained off games which has maybes been unlucky and we’ve put in a couple of bad performances - but all in all I think it has been a very positive season and it was nice to bow out on a high.”

He continued: “It’s difficult to motivate yourself for the last game of the season when you cannot really go up or down the league table. It’s all about a bit of personal pride - and I thought we were good. They (Castle Eden) batted really aggressively and scored quickly but always gave us chances. Cam Skinner took two wickets early doors and then came back later on and really changed the game when they were looking quite strong to probably get 220 plus. As a team, the effort was good and I was delighted to keep them (Castle Eden) down to that score (181) on a good wicket in 37 overs.”

McCafferty singled out Jack McCarthy after his performance with the bat: “We got off to a good start,” he said, “I found a little bit of rhythm early on and at the other end, Jack Jessop was hitting nice shots. We lost a couple of wickets but Jack (McCarthy) played the most mature and sensible innings I’ve ever seen. He looked a million dollars in what was a chanceless and faultless knock. He hit the winning runs with a six which also brought up his half century in good time and I was delighted for him.”

The skipper also had glowing words for groundsmen Greg Williams and Mark Storey: “The pitches are the best I’ve played on at Ashington so maximum credit to Greg and Mark,” he said, “The whole ground looks immaculate and it has been commented on by other teams and umpires.”

Meanwhile McCafferty spoke highly of coach Stevie Williams: “Stevie hasn’t been able to get to as many games as he would have liked but he makes a big difference to the lads when he is here,” he added, “We are in a privileged position to have good people at the club who put in a lot of time and effort - and we reap the rewards from it.”