Berkshire have been able to name an unchanged 12-man squad for their sixth consecutive NV Play National Counties Trophy match this season for Sunday’s semi-final against Oxfordshire at Wargrave (11am).

While Oxfordshire have used 18 players to get to the last four of the competition and the other semi-finalists – Cumbria (17) and Cheshire (19) – have also been affected by injuries and unavailability, Berkshire have been able to enjoy the luxury of consistency of selection.

Berkshire have used just 13 players across all white ball formats this season with all-rounder Eddie Campion, who misses out this weekend, the only other player to have featured in a settled squad.

The only changes Berkshire have made to their side during four group matches and the quarter-final victory over Buckinghamshire is to rotate spinners Nilesh Bandari and Sulaiman Akhtar with the other ten players ever-present.

Batters Johnny Connell and Ben Salter and slow left-armer Bhandari return to Berkshire from Second XI duty with Hampshire this week. Connell also made his maiden Second XI Championship century for Sussex against Northamptonshire last week at Horsham, where he plundered a century for Berkshire against the first-class county in a Showcase T20 match last month.

Oxfordshire welcome back former Sussex batter Zach Lion-Cachet from international duty with the Netherlands in the recent ICC World Cup League Two tournament in Canada.

Harrison Ward, who is in Sussex’s squad for Friday’s Vitality Blast match against Surrey, will be released by the south coast side to captain Oxfordshire, his native county, in the semi-finals.

Former Worcestershire all-rounder Tom Hinley, wicketkeeper/batter Freddie Smith, seamer Tom Davis, batters Julian Laird and Luke Maslen and all-rounder George Tait all return having missed last week’s T20 double-header with Bedfordshire.

Seamer George O’Connor is recalled after an absence of two years for a possible Trophy debut with slow left-armer Alfie Smethurst also in contention for a first appearance in the competition in a 13-man squad.

Berkshire have reached the semi-finals for the 13th time and have won the Trophy eight times, the most recent in 2023 when they beat Cumbria for the fourth season in a row in the final at Wormsley.

Oxfordshire are the only one of this season’s semi-finalists yet to win the Trophy with their only appearance in the final coming in 2014 when they went down by seven runs to Devon at Wormsley. This is their 11th semi-final appearance.

Cumbria and Cheshire will be meeting for the third time in six weeks with Cheshire making their second visit to Keswick’s Fitz Park in that time.

Cumbria won a low-scoring and rain-affected group match by six wickets there last month and the counties then won one game apiece in last week’s T20 double-header at Nantwich.

There were inexperienced players on both sides last Sunday but there is a more familiar look to the ones that will attempt to secure a place in the final at Copdock on July 19.

Michael Slack returns to captain Cumbria along with wicketkeeper Drew Postlethwaite, who has recovered from injury, former Cheshire batter Calum Rowe, all-rounder Ben Walkden, who has been trialling with Lancashire, and leg-spinner Nico Watt.

Cheshire reached the last four by ousting Norfolk, who beat them in the 2024 final, in the quarter-final at Sprowston and have also made five changes to the side that faced Cumbria last week.

Former Leicestershire left-hander Harry Dearden returns along with Henry Dobson, former Lancashire Academy batter Gennaro Reddy, Will Street and Will Valentine.

Street, an off-spinner who plays his club cricket for Didsbury, is set for just his second county appearance having made his debut in the quarter-final.

But slow left-armer Xander Selby, batter Kevin Carroll and seamer Jack Corran are injured and seamer Luke Young is unavailable this weekend.

Cumbria are featuring in their 10th semi-final and are attempting to reach their seventh final having won the competition in 1989 and 2012, when they beat Wiltshire at Wormsley.

Cheshire have reached the semi-finals for the semi-finals for the 11th time with all but four of their previous appearances producing victories. They won the Trophy in 1983, 1997, 1996 and 2018 and were beaten finalists in 2000, 2007 and 2024.

NV Play National Counties Trophy

Semi-finals

Sunday June 28 (11am)

Wargrave: Berkshire v Oxfordshire

Keswick: Cumbria v Cheshire

Teams:

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

Oxfordshire (from): Harrison Ward (High Wycombe – captain), Tom Davis (Knowle & Dorridge), Tom Hinley (Ombersley), Srvan Konidena (Horspath), Julian Laird (Oxford), Zach Lion-Cachet (Preston Nomads), Luke Maslen (Oxford Downs), George O’Connor (Sunbury), Hayden Rossouw (Banbury), Alfie Smethurst (Oxford), Freddie Smith (Oxford Downs), George Tait (Banbury), Henry Welch (Oxford Downs).

Cumbria: Michael Slack (Carlisle – C), Louis Backhouse (Kendal), Freddie Fallows (Kendal), Tom Fraine (Clifton Alliance), Drew Postlethwaite (Barrow), Calum Rowe (Carlisle), Matt Sempill (Cockermouth), Ed Wade (Clifton Alliance), Ben Walkden (Newton-le-Willows), Nico Watt (Carlisle), Max Winskill (Shaw).

Cheshire: Sam Perry (Alderley Edge – C), Dan Newton (Lindow), Henry Murray (Toft), Freddie Vaughan-Hawkins (Timperley), Harry Dearden (Woodbank), Gennaro Reddy (Alderley Edge), Henry Dobson (Oxton), Andrew Jackson (Hyde), Will Valentine (Alderley Edge), Will Street (Didsbury), Isaac Brooks (Lindow)