Cheshire have called up former Lancashire batter George Lavelle for his seasonal debut in Sunday’s NV Play National Counties Trophy final against Berkshire at the Copdock & Old Ipswichian club near Ipswich (11am).

Lavelle comes into the side in place of former Leicestershire batter Harry Dearden who is away on holiday and is one of two changes to the side that beat Cumbria in the semi-final at Keswick three weeks ago. Batter Kevin Carroll, who missed the semi-final through injury, returns in place of former Lancashire Academy player Gennaro Reddy.

Lavelle, who played in all of Cheshire’s Trophy matches last season, will become the 20th player used by them in the competition.

Berkshire, in contrast, have used just 12 players so far but have included a 13th, all-rounder Eddie Campion, in their squad for the final.

“We have used quite a few players. We have had some clashes with Cheshire domestic competitions – the T20s and Cheshire Cup – and we’ve had some injuries but it has given others opportunities and some of the lads who probably weren’t going to get opportunities at the start of the year have come in and performed brilliantly,” said Cheshire captain Sam Perry.

“They have deserved their place in the final. There are pros and cons of using lots of players. You get to see different players and how they cope with National Counties cricket and the majority of them have done brilliantly. It’s a bit different to Berkshire who have only used 12 players.”

Among the newcomers who have helped Cheshire reach their eighth Trophy final are Fed Vaughan-Hawkins, a product of the county’s youth system who is now on Lancashire’s academy, Didsbury off-spinner Will Street, who made his debut in the quarter-final victory over Norfolk, and Lindow slow left-armer Isaac Brooks.

Perry is just one of three survivors from the side that was beaten by Norfolk in the 2024 Trophy final at Wormsley  - Carroll and Andy Jackson –  while there are four Berkshire survivors – captain Andy Rishton, Euan Woods and Toby Greatwood – from their last final appearance in 2023 when they beat Cumbria for the fourth consecutive season.

“There have been learnings from the 2024 final and we have spoken about that as a team over the last two seasons,” Perry said.

“I felt on that day we put a good competitive score on the board. Perhaps we didn’t quite keep our cool in the second innings and Norfolk batted outstandingly well and thoroughly deserved their victory.

“But leading up to this game it’s all about being positive and keeping a positive mindset that we can out there and express ourselves and play positive cricket. Hopefully we can go one better this year.”

Sunday’s final will be just the third meeting between the sides in the competition with Berkshire winning a bowl out at Cheadle Hulme in 2004 after the second round tie was abandoned without a ball being bowled, Cheshire winning a semi-final at Alderley Edge two years ago and Berkshire gaining revenge in last year’s quarter-final at the Falkland club in Newbury.

“We have played each other quite a bit in recent of years in the Championship so we do know a bit about Berkshire,” Perry said.

“They are obviously very strong outfit, they have some really good cricketers and they have got lots of experience. They’ve lost Dan Lincoln this year so it will be interesting to see how they go about things.

“They beat us last year but we weren’t as strong then. We went through a transition phase with some new players coming in.

“But we are still confident in our own ability and the guys have performed outstandingly well this year.”

NV PLAY NATIONAL COUNTIES TROPHY FINAL

Sunday July 19 (11am)

Copdock: Berkshire v Cheshire

How they line up

Berkshire (from):  Johnny Connell (Henley), Rhys Lewis (Wargrave), James Isbell (Finchampstead), Charlie Dunnett (Henley), Euan Woods (Wargrave), Ben Salter (Finchampstead), Andrew MacEwen (Wargrave - wk), Andy Rishton (Henley - captain), Toby Greatwood (Wargrave), Sulaiman Akhtar (Datchet), Samm Daniel (Henley), Nilesh Bhandari Wargrave), Eddie Campion (Finchampstead).

Cheshire: Sam Perry (Alderley Edge - captain), Dan Newton (Lindow), Henry Murray (Toft), George Lavelle (Ormskirk), Fred Vaughan-Hawkins (Timperley - wk), Henry Dobson (Oxton), Kevin Carroll (Brooklands), Will Valentine (Alderley Edge), Andrew Jackson (Hyde), Will Street (Didsbury), Isaac Brooks (Lindow). 12th man - Zak Rogers (Neston).

The road to Copdock

Berkshire

Group Three

April 26: Beat Hertfordshire by 23 runs at Hitchin.

May 3: Lost to Devon by 43 runs at Falkland.

May 10: Beat Herefordshire by 126 runs at Wargrave.

May 17: Beat Wiltshire by one wicket at Warminster.

Quarter-final, June 7: Beat Buckinghamshire by 124 runs at High Wycombe.

Semi-final, June 28: Beat Oxfordshire by 94 runs at Wargrave.

Cheshire

Group One

April 26: Beat Cambridgeshire by 98 runs at Peterborough.

May 3: Beat Suffolk by 116 runs at Toft.

May 4: Beat Shropshire by 10 runs at Oxton.

May 17: Lost to Cumbria by six wickets at Keswick.

Quarter-final, June 7: Beat Norfolk by 58 runs at Sprowston.

Semi-final: Beat Cumbria by 27 runs at Keswick.

Previous appearances in Trophy finals:

Berkshire

2004: Beat Northumberland by seven wickets at Lord’s.

2008: Lost to Devon by 40 runs at Lord’s.

2011: Beat Hertfordshire by six wickets at Lord’s.

2013: Beat Shropshire by 128 runs at Wormsley.

2017: Beat Lincolnshire by four wickets at Wormsley.

2019: Beat Cumberland by one run at Wormsley.

2021: Beat Cumbria by 151 runs at Wormsley.

2022: Beat Cumbria by five wickets at Wormsley.

2023: Beat Cumbria by 29 runs at Wormsley.

Cheshire

1983: Beat Bedfordshire by 36 runs at Macclesfield.

1987: Beat Cambridgeshire by eight wickets at Christ Church College, Oxford.

1996: Beat Bedfordshire by six wickets at Lord’s.

2000: Lost to Herefordshire by 42 runs at Lord’s.

2007: Lost to Suffolk by 35 runs at Lord’s.

2018: Lost to Devon by two runs at Wormsley.

2024: Lost to Norfolk by six wickets at Wormsley.

Previous meetings in the competition

2004: Match abandoned at Cheadle Hulme. Berkshire won bowl out (second round)

2024: Cheshire beat Berkshire by 133 runs at Alderley Edge (semi-final)

2025: Berkshire beat Cheshire by 139 runs at Falkland (quarter-final)