Berkshire will meet Staffordshire in the National Counties Cricket Championship final next month.
A week after Berks had won the Western Division, Staffs lifted the Eastern Division title by beating Buckinghamshire by 67 runs at High Wycombe on Tuesday.
The final will be played over four days at West Bromwich Dartmouth CC, starting on September 1.
The last time the sides met in the Championship was in the 2019 final when Berkshire won a low-scoring thriller by one wicket in a game completed in three days.
While Dan Lincoln’s side won this season’s title with three wins and a draw, Staffs finished top of their division with two wins and two draws. They amassed 67 points, 16 more than runners-up Suffolk.
Third place went to the 2023 national and Eastern Division national champions Bucks, who were skippered by Wokingham bowler Tom Hampton, with Henley’s Ross Richardson keeping wicket.
After Bucks had lost their first three wickets for six runs, Richardson made 47 and Hampton 22 in Bucks’ second innings of 178, which was well short of their target of 246.
Winless Cheshire suffered relegation from Western Division One after drawing with Cornwall at Chester Boughton Hall this week,
Last season’s Western Division champions Devon beat Oxfordshire by 167 runs at Banbury, with off-spinner Sam Read taking six wickets for 27 in the second innings.
Despite that defeat, Oxon still took the runners-up spot, finishing 33 points adrift of Berkshire.
Herefordshire will replace Cheshire next season as they made sure of a swift return to Division One with a four-wicket victory over Shropshire, who needed only a draw to finish top of the division.
