NCCA Counties

Wiltshire CCC v Herefordshire CCC @ Eastnor CC

NCCA Cluberly Championship - Western Division 1

26th – 28th July 2026

Day 1

With a welcome cool breeze in the midst of a heatwave Wiltshire began their Championship campaign in style.  Herefordshire won the toss and invited Wiltshire to bat first.  This appeared to be a very wise decision after 17 overs the score was 39 for 3.  However, Cyrus Shafi was still at the crease and remained there for much of the innings.  His magnificent century, 146 from 188 balls with 16x4 and 6x6 coupled with a second innings half century earned him a well-deserved Wadworth Man of the Match award.  He enjoyed partnerships with Tom Cheater (34) which moved the score on to 185 for 5 and then Stan Brown entered the fray and added a century of his own (112 from 106 balls with 15x4 and 3x6).  The centurions put on 108 together before Shafi eventually departed with the score 283 for 6.  The tail then played its part moving the score on to an impressive 404 all out, a total which seemed unlikely at the start!

It was then Herefordshire’s turn to face an uncomfortable 12 overs. And it certainly was uncomfortable as they closed on 44 for 5 with 2 wickets for Sam Freestone and one apiece for Will Naish, Joe King and Alfie Johnson.  Plenty of smiling faces in the Wiltshire camp. 

Day 2

Only 11 runs had been added when Rudge was adjudged LBW to Joe King - 55 for 6. Sam Freestone then added a third wicket to his tally, 3 for 70 as wicket-keeper Powell was caught by Ed Young – 82 for 7. Joe King (3 for 52) then bowled Venkatamaran – 91 for 8 and the situation bleak for Herefordshire. However Joel Cox (80) and Ammonds (45 not out) decided to put a stop to the slump and frustrated Wiltshire for much of the day as they progressed the score to 206 for 9 having added 105 for the 9th wicket, a commendable performance in a difficult situation. Alfie Johnson (3 for 6) eventually trapped Cox LBW and then bowled  Barker with his very next ball to see Herefordshire close on 206 all out and a deficit of 198. 

Wiltshire decided to forego the option to ask Herefordshire to follow-on and decided to  bat again. As a result, Herefordshire were set a daunting target with the pressure off allowing the batsmen to play with a little more freedom.  The runs were coming freely at a run a  ball as the Wiltshire lead grew.  Will Naish hit an impressive 70 with Cyrus Shafi again in the runs with 54. Tom Cheater hit 45 from just 36 balls, Jake Goodwin 40, Ed Young 30, Jack Mynott 27 and  Stan Brown 21.  All were dismissed with catches, often on the boundary, but they also cleared the ropes several times to deposit the ball in a neighbouring cornfield. There were five wickets for Cornall (5 for 110), and three for Chapman Lilley (3 for 44).

The declaration eventually came on 323 for 8 with the daunting target of 522 for Herefordshire to chase. They reached a total of 122 in the final session, but for the loss of four wickets to leave the advantage very much with Wiltshire.  Cornall hit 42 with his fellow opener Chapman-Lilley still there at the close.  Will Naish did the damage taking 3 for 23 with Joe King adding the valuable wicket of Joel Cox.  Herefordshire needed a further 400 runs on Day 3 with Wiltshire needing to take six wickets. 

Day 3

Another fine day with interesting challenges ahead. Wiltshire needed to take wickets while Herefordshire needed to score an unlikely 400 runs and/or avoid getting out. Chapman-Lilley (74) was the first to fall LBW to Sam Freestone - 163 for 5. Captain Tulacz (35) was the next to fall as Sam Freestone struck again flattening his wicket at 172 for 6. Ammonds became Sam Freestone’s third victim – 187 for 7 followed with the very next ball as Sam Freestone, 4 for 76, added his  fourth of the morning as Venkatamaran became his third LBW victim in an impressive spell of pace bowling – 187 for 8. With lunch approaching Herefordshire skipper Powell threw caution to the wind and added 89 in a partnership with number 10 Jerram (19). While defeat seemed improbable, the partnership was frustrating Wiltshire until skipper Ed Young came on to bowl and clipped the bails to leave Herefordshire 276 for 9. Powell deposited the ball into the cornfield several times in his defiant 89, but eventually fell to Charan Chahal as he was caught in the deep by Stan Brown and victory was assured – 288 all out as Wiltshire won by 233 runs.

A very positive start to the Championship campaign for Wiltshire who started under pressure, but fought back superbly with Wadworth Man of the Match Cyrus Shafi with his 200 runs making a major contribution. Everyone played their part and it became apparent that runs and wickets can come from anyone in this talented side. On to the next challenge which is a three-day Championship game against Oxfordshire beginning on Sunday 2nd August at Corsham CC.         

Roy Honeybone, July 2026