LISKEARD skipper Andrew Cobb hailed his side’s ‘incredible second half of the season’ as they secured a return to Division Three East of the Bond Timber Cornwall Cricket League at the end of August.

Heading into the final weekend on August 29, the Lux Park outfit were involved in a four-way battle with Launceston, Wadebridge Thirds and St Neot.

To add to the drama, Launceston had two games – both against Newquay Seconds, the second of which on Bank Holiday Monday would prove crucial.

Dreadful weather on Friday night and Saturday morning meant Launceston’s home clash with Newquay was called off, although nearby at Werrington, Wadebridge managed to beat their third team counterparts by five wickets.

Liskeard made the short trip to St Neot and eventually started a 28-over game which saw anchorman Andrew Ware make 82, while opening partner Cobb (46) and the hard-hitting Brijesh Desai (31 off 18) helped them reach 204-5.

The hosts then slumped to 8-3 inside 4.1 overs with Cobb and Pritesh Mungra both in the wickets, before the game was abandoned.

It meant the Lux Park outfit took home 14 points to St Neot’s 10 as the hosts fell out of contention and Wadebridge were promoted.

Launceston required eight points to go up at Newquay, but picked up just five in a 52-run reversal which meant Liskeard went up in second having secured 10 victories and five defeats from their 18 outings, including a home success over Launceston on matchday 10.

Club legend Cobb, who saw his side win six of their last seven completed games, admitted it was an unexpected surprise.

He said: “We're absolutely buzzing to have got promoted. Being honest, our aim at the start of the season was just to be competitive and keep ourselves in the division, so to be going up is a big achievement for us.

“But I think the relaxed way we play our cricket really helped us in the end, and that allows players to just enjoy the game. Andrew Ware had another brilliant season with the bat, and Brijesh Desai the same, both scoring 500-plus runs and Brijesh also taking over 20 wickets.”

Liskeard might be down to one team these days, but Cobb feels they are on the right course.

He continued: “What’s been a big help is that we've had several new additions over the last season or two and we can see the impact they have made.

“Woody (Harrington Woodhead) has been brilliant behind the stumps after Brian's (Phillips) unfortunate injury, and also the signings of Sachin (Kumar), Pritesh (Mungra), Sandeep (Kaushik) and Tom (Harris) have increased our bowling and batting depth immensely.”

Liskeard were relegated from Division Three back in 2024, but Cobb feels they are in a better place this time around.

He said: “Next season is going to be a real challenge, but it's something we’re all looking forward to and we're excited for. If we can take our incredible form from the second half into next year, I'm sure we can get the results, particularly if we’re able to add a couple of new faces over the winter.”

Cobb also reserved praise for a couple of key men behind the scenes, concluding: “A big thanks to James Cobb whose worked tirelessly on the ground all season, also Simon Hill who does a brilliant job scoring.”