MUSSELBURGH’s cricketers celebrated promotion to the top tier of the East of Scotland Cricket Association (ESCA) leagues – despite defeat on Saturday.

Burgh went in to their ESCA Division 1 match knowing victory over title rivals Murrayfield DAFS would hand them the league crown.

But it was not to be as the Capital side edged the decider by 17 runs to claim the title.

The Lewisvale Park club will, however, still join Murrayfield in the ESCA Championship in 2018 as their final points haul of 189 was enough for promotion.

And Chris Turnbull, the club’s secretary, was delighted.

He told Courier Sport: “It is a great achievement and it will be the highest level at which the club has ever competed.

“There was disappointment that we didn’t win the title, but Murrayfield had led the league for most of the season and it was only in the last couple of weeks that the gap started the close and we started to think about it [the title].”

While the 44-year-old admitted there was “some disappointment”, he said the squad’s overall mood on Saturday evening was one of a “job well done”.

And Turnbull revealed that preparations were already underway ahead of Burgh’s maiden campaign in the top division.

“There are a few things we’ve got to do to bring the ground up to scratch and we’re already looking at that,” he said. And he added: “It will involve putting our hands in our pockets a bit but we’re working with Benji Barsanti from East Lothian Council to see if there are any grants available to us.

“The main thing we’ll need to do is sight screens but there are other bits that we’ll need to look at as well.”

And the club secretary outlined the club’s ambitions ahead of next season, where they will take on the likes of Freuchie, Kelso and Royal High Corstorphine.

He added: “A few teams have turned down promotion but the guys want the chance to go and test themselves at that level, and why not?

“Hopefully we can get a couple of wins early on in the season and then our focus will be to stay in the league.”

And Turnbull hopes they can field a 3rd XI in the development league next year.