PHC 218 Warwick celebrated the return of the Western Counties Cup to their trophy cabinet following a scintillating five-run triumph over PHC at Southampton Oval on Saturday.

The new champs owed much to the all-round prowess of guest player Mark Ray who featured with a marvellous unbeaten knock of 83 and returned to take two wickets, including the treasured scalp of Sheridan Ming at a time when PHC appeared to be cruising towards a successful defence.

Ray produced a slower ball that deceived the opener into playing early, and he lobbed an easy return catch when on 87. The dismissal left PHC at 191 for seven with no recognised batsmen remaining and despite a valiant effort by the tail-end they eventually succumbed.

Diminutive in stature but large on heart and ability, Ming frustrated Warwick's bowlers to no end, lashing 12 fours in an innings of composed aggression.

And with few team-mates showing the application required, his was their only hope.

Other bats getting starts but failing to move on were Mark Smith (13), Cal Waldron (16), Antoine Green (15) and Shoron Hunt (13), the last wicket to fall.

Captain Reginald Pitcher emerged as Warwick's leading wicket-taker with three for 34, while colt Jason Williams took two for 32 and another first-time player Dion Stovell two for 42.

Fifteen-year-old Stovell also played a key role in Warwick achieving their total of 223, his natural stroke-making ability well evident during a maiden half century. Stovell gave what must rank as one of the largest crowds of recent times to witness a Western Counties match their full share with eight fours as he blazed to 54 and shared in a crucial 119-run third wicket partnership with Ray before falling victim to James Pace.

"It was a magnificent batting partnership between Beaver Ray and Dion Stovell, the backbone of our innings,'' coach Allan Douglas said afterwards.

"The boy (Stovell) is classy and has a lot of talent and, with Beaver there, he showed how complete a player he is and how he is committed to the team. He worked well with the youngster, helped him and encouraged him and really allowed him to flourish.'' The only other batsman in double figures was vice-captain Daniel Morgan with 21.

Pace took two wickets, as did Hunt, while Kevin Tucker accounted for one.

Still, this was a day for Warwick to shine, taking the cup for the first time since 1997 when they beat then holders Somerset Bridge. They then immediately surrendered the title to Southampton the next time out.

However, this year Warwick have shown great improvement under the tutelage of Douglas and it could be that the silverware remains beyond the next tie.

"It feels great to be champions,'' added Douglas. "The boys are really excited...the older ones are particularly because they've been around a long time and know what it means in terms of the community, while for the younger guys it may not have hit them yet.

"These guys are true competitors, they played a marvellous game with some good fielding, good technique and they tried to bowl to the plan we had set.

At times it strayed, but generally it came through.'' Mark Ray: unbeaten 83