It's a shame when it comes to this as, on the flip side, managers are always talking about winning breeding confidence and you would have thought that a cup win would stand most sides in good stead.

With most sides, especially those who are almost guaranteed a survival battle in their respective divisions, a cup competition should provide them with the opportunity to try to get their hands on some silverware.

I would like to think that, as captain of Saints in the Northants Cricket League Premier Division, I won't go down this route.

While the league is our so-called bread and butter, there is also the Twenty20 Cup, and most sides I know would like to get their hands on both.

As this isn't always possible, if you can't win one then you want to win the other.

This was the position we found ourselves in last Sunday at the County Ground.

With our league position less than flattering and a first top-flight title for 12 years an ever decreasing possibility, the Twenty20 Cup was our best chance of silverware.

Two years ago we made a conscious effort to target the cup and were fortunate enough to come out on top against Irthlingborough in the final.

A disappointing defeat to local rivals the ONs in the second round 12 months ago gave us extra incentive this time around, and we were able to exact some revenge with a well-earned victory in the opening semi-final.

After Finedon had dug themselves out of a hole with a battling defeat of Weekley & Warkton, we were given the chance to atone for a pair of league defeats against Chris Goode's outfit.

The beauty of the 20-over game, and a reason why it is so popular, is that it levels the playing field somewhat.

Shorter games bring teams closer together and there is less of a foregone conclusion about any given result.

On league form, we would have rightly been underdogs for both of our games and while I'm certain neither the ONs or Finedon would've taken us lightly, we did have an extra incentive to prove that we are still a decent side.

This isn't to say that we are no longer a force on a Saturday afternoon but a season with no success isn't desirable for the club we aspire to be.

Although the competiton in its present format is only in its third year, it continues to go from strength to strength.

The switch to coloured clothing was a gamble well worth taking and while the game and the finals day itself could do with a few tweaks – fielding restrictions for the first six overs and more than one dressing room for four teams for example – these are minor quibbles.

Again there was a good attendance, more than attend a number of county games, and the atmosphere was excellent all day.

The final itself could have gone either way right until the last couple of deliveries with the result being that to come out on top was all the more satisfying.

A place in the West Midlands play-offs awaits us this Sunday, with the added incentive of an appearance on Sky Sports in the national finals the prize on offer for the eventual Midlands winners.

Twenty20 fever seems to have reached the club game, and if clubs aren't taking the competiton seriously then more fool them.

Unless of course, their priority is the league.