MIDDLESBROUGH certainly celebrated at Acklam Park on Sunday night after lifting the MacMillan Cup with victory over favourites Saltburn.

The Seasiders went into the game hoping to take the second step towards a treble, having won the Kerridge Cup a week earlier with victory over Darlington

RA.

But Boro turned the form book on its head with a fully deserved win which had captain Martin Ball ecstatic.

"It was a great performance by the lads who confounded the critics. They scored more than we would have liked but in the end we had four wickets and an over to spare.

"Brenton Parchment batted well for 74 after we looked as if we might struggle early on. He kept the innings together and later Mark Foster plundered a great unbeaten 57," enthused Ball.

The captain was also among the runs with a valuable 36 and Brett Roberts carried his bat for 20 as every run was counted down in the Boro dressing room.

When Saltburn batted first, they made 232-8 with Tony Bell top scorer with 54 while for Middlesbrough, Chris Liddell bowled well taking one wicket for 33 runs in his eight overs.

"One or two players gave outstanding performances but really it was a team effort and all the lads were over the moon when we scored the winning run," exclaimed Ball.