Royal Air Force sets up Lord's showdown with win against Army at Utilita Bowl

The Royal Air Force have beaten the British Army by eight wickets in the opening match of the Inter Services T20 Championships at the Utilita Bowl. 

Playing at the nursery grounds at the home of Hampshire County Cricket Club for the first time, it was an important win for the RAF who will now play the Royal Navy in the final game at Lord's on 22 May. 

The Army won the toss and elected to bat first, and Michael Cowdell scored the most runs for the Army before being run out by Jack Fuller with 36 runs.

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Army skipper Jonathan Boynton scored 26 runs before being bowled out by Tom Shorthouse, and the Army ended their tricky innings with a score of 142/8 after 20 overs. 

After the interval, it was the RAF's turn to bat and straight off the back of his hat-trick, Tom Shorthouse was the most influential for the light blues by scoring 73 runs in total, and Luke Hansford scored 43 to finish a strong innings for the RAF.

RAF skipper Adam Fisher was barely even needed in the end as he began his innings, as it was already too late for the Army to turn their game around. 

The RAF won with a score of 145/2 after 17.3 overs, and they will take on the defending champions, the Royal Navy, in the third and final game at Lord's. 

As the losing team of this game, the Army will take on the Navy at Lord's first. 

Find out how you can follow the Inter Services T20 Championships at Lord's Cricket Ground here.