North Village, anchored by skipper Allen Walker's patient 29, won the Commercial Cricket League's season-ending Knockout Cup for the second time in three years when they beat Ernst & Young by 62 runs in the final at Shelly Bay.

Extremely long grass in the outfield restricted ground strokes and, despite shorter boundaries than usual, Village's 170 always seemed a stiff target to chase for the accountants, who went for their shots and eventually succumbed to 108 all out in the 33rd of their 40 overs as their challenge petered out.

"We were firing on all cylinders," said man of the match Walker, who also took two for 11 from five overs, after he received the trophy from league president Armell Thomas.

If the long grass was not bad enough, to compound matters umpires Lester Harnett and Wilbur Pitcher were forced to delay the start of the match by 30 minutes to 12.30 p.m. until a league official intervened and asked two groundsmen marking out the football pitches to leave.

The margin of defeat was a little harsh on Ernst & Young, who ended their second season without any silverware to put in their cabinet, but they will be heartened by vastly improved performances which saw them reach two finals – they lost to Spring Garden Cavaliers in the Twenty20 – and leapfrog last year's champions Jamaican Association to finish fourth in the league.

"I am sure that the team will be much stronger during the next season and the winning graph will continue to go up," said skipper Karunakar Kaushik.

Ernst & Young faced going into the match one short as they had only ten eligible players on Friday – under Commercial rules players must play two league games during the season to qualify for the Knockout – but team regular Sumedha Assalaratchi flew back from Canada on Saturday to complete the 11.

Having been sent in, Village lost Dion Ball jr. for four but Mike Payne (18) and number three Walker repaired the damage with a stand of 27. Ernest McCallan hit a quickfire 25 and Sri Lankan Samitha Ranaweera chipped in with a breezy 23 before Village's innings closed with Randy Smith stumped off the final ball of the innings for 14 after he and wicketkeeper Darren Davis (12) added an invaluable 32 for the ninth wicket.

Opening bowler Dhammika Jayalath was the pick of the Ernst & Young attack, claiming an impressive four for 17 from his allotted eight overs. Chatura Abeysooriya took two for 23 from four while Anton Fernando picked up two for 18 from two – including McCallan's key wicket after he had hit the bowler for a six and four from successive balls.

Village made early inroads, removing openers Abeysooriya (two) and Rajnish Juta (nought) with only five runs on the board and struck another crucial blow when Jayalath ran himself out for eight. Kaushik, who blasted 155 against Village on the same ground earlier in the season, was caught in two minds, holing out to long on for three off Walker as Ernst & Young slumped to 18 for four.

Dhammika Weerappuli (31) and Kavitharan Selvarajah (14) staged a fine recovery, adding 40 for the fifth wicket but the accountants' victory hopes died when Weerappuli picked out Ranaweera on the mid-wicket boundary. Assalararchi (12) and Palithapushpa Kumara (14) ensured the total reached three figures.

In addition to Walker's brace, Reggie Benjamin took two for 17 from seven overs and Mike Levon jr. took two for four from three – including the wicket of Weerappuli – in his first spell of the season.

Said Walker: "It was a very exciting game. Ernst & Young did agreat job in the field to restrict us to only 170 runs. We had set ourselves a 225 target. All season, our opening pair of Mike Payne and Dion Ball jr. provided us with a tremendous first-wicket stand so this game we were put in an uncomfortable position where we were 12 for one.

"This was a game as captain I was put in a spot to lead from the top which resulted in a patient 29 runs. Thanks to Mike Payne, Ernest McCallan and Sammy Ranaweera we were able to post a total that would give us a chance to defend.

"They always say the game is won in the field. Over our last few games we had been average in the field as a team. This game we were firing on all cylinders. Our bowlers all bowled extremely well, plus we took all our catches.

"We were able to put pressure on Ernst & Young right from the beginning as we had them reeling 18 for four. Our most economical bowler was Mike Levon, who had not been used all year long. Mike was able to come on late in the game which resulted in him picking up two crucial wickets with one being of Dhammika Weerappulli, who was starting to provide them with a chance of hope.

"In the end it was a great result. Our guys were hungry and determined to leave all in the field. This cup definitely capped our season off."

"We are so thankful for the league in ensuring we had two umpires which made the game even more enjoyable," added Walker whose team's only previous Knockout Cup title came when they beat Forties in the 2006 final.

Kaushik, one of two Indians in the Ernst & Young team, which also included eight Sri Lankans and a South African on Sunday, said: "It was great to see the Ernst & Young team play in finals of both the Twenty20 and the Knockout Cup in our second year in the league.

"During this season, Ernst & Young's cricket team has made an impact that has been felt by the league members and other member teams. All the member teams do respect our efforts and the hard work which really makes us feel great.

"I think this is an achievement in itself. It was great to see the team play with determination and dedication throughout the season."