Leeds & Broomfield had a former England captain in their corner as they prepared for their big day at Lord’s.

Mike Gatting went to the club on Wednesday to watch the final training session before Leeds take on Staffordshire side Milford Hall in the National Village Cup final on Sunday.

Victory this weekend would complete a memorable double after clinching the Kent League Division 1 title last weekend - the club’s eighth promotion in 15 years.

“The MCC organised for Mike Gatting to come down,” said Leeds chairman Chris Davis, speaking on Tuesday.

“It should be a good prelude for the weekend.”

Leeds beat Harvel by 10 wickets to seal the first leg of the league and cup double on Saturday.

They bowled out their opponents for 78, with Tom Parsons taking 4-20.

Leeds immediately turned their attention to Lord’s, where they will be followed by more than 600 fans.

“Everyone’s still saying it doesn’t quite feel real,” said Davis, who also plays for the side.

“I don’t think it will feel real until we get there.

“Since the semi-final, it’s been heads down in the league.

“Results went our way and we managed to become Division 1 champions on Saturday.

“That’s ticked off, so our full focus is on Lord’s now.

“We did worry the cup might be a distraction, and vice-versa, but we've managed to win the league and we’re in the cup final.

“It’s a pretty good achievement, to be honest.

“It’s a unique season - I’m sure it won’t happen like that again for a few years.

“I don’t think we entered the National Village Cup for 20-plus years.

“We re-entered in 2021 and last year we got to the last 16 and we felt we were unlucky in that game.

“We thought we could do all right this season but it’s one of those where you get a bit of momentum and, thankfully, we’re going to Lord’s.

“I’ve been there to watch a Test match, and the atmosphere was awesome, but I’ve never been in the pavilion and certainly not in the dressing rooms.

“We’re all looking forward to it. It’s what you dream of when you’re playing recreational cricket.

“We reckon we’ve got north of 600 people coming up to watch, and Milford Hall are doing the same, so it should be a decent crowd and a good atmosphere.”

Leeds & Broomfield have won eight matches to reach the final, including a 105-run victory over two-time National Village Cup champions Linton Park.

They’d love to follow in the footsteps of their fellow Maidstone village club by winning the competition but, either way, it’s been a special run.

“We want to win but I think we all saw the semi-final as the final,” said Davis. “Just being at Lord’s will be absolutely fantastic.

“Ed Scrivens, the captain, his whole mantra has been to have fun and see how we go.

“We’ll approach the final the same way and hopefully win.

“Regardless of the result, it’ll be a fantastic day and I’m sure it will be a good game.

“We’ll have an end-of-season do in late September, early October.

“There’s plenty to celebrate but we quickly need to think about next season, both on and off the field.

“There’ll be a lot of work over the winter, I suspect, as we go into the Championship. Everything needs to come up a level.

“We’ve had eight promotions in 15 years.

“We’ve come from nowhere and we’re now in the top 20 teams in Kent, which is quite something.

“So many people have been involved in that - too many to name - and that’s why the cup final is going to be a brilliant day out for everyone.

“People invested their time to coach us when we were youngsters, aged 10 to 13, when the junior section started, and the club’s gone on and on.

“All those original juniors are playing. It’s brilliant to see the way the club is compared to 20 years ago.”