Double Secures Pole Position For National Counties In European T10 Championship

National Counties XI produced two outstanding bowling and fielding performances to complete back-to-back victories over Scotland and Netherlands which secured top spot in the qualifying group for Finals Day of the Dream 11 European T10 Championship in Malaga.

National Counties first beat Scotland by eight wickets, having restricted them to 136 for seven, and then expertly defended their own modest score of 135 for seven to beat the Netherlands by 33 runs in their final group match..

Finishing top of the group puts National Counties in pole position for Saturday's Finals Day where they will again meet Netherlands at 1.30pm BST in the first qualifying match. The winners will progress to the final at 7.30pm with the losers facing the winners of the eliminator between Germany and Scotland in the second qualifying match at 4.30pm BST.

Scotland appeared on course for a much larger total in National Counties’ first match of the fourth day of Championship Week as former Northumberland batter Finlay McCreath made 47 from 17 balls before he was bowled by Berkshire’s Tommy Sturgess.

National Counties then expertly throttled the innings with Herefordshire quick bowler Sam Keeling -Wright unsettling Scotland with his pace which brought him the wickets of Kass Sajjad and Callum Garden in successive balls.

Berkshire and former Middlesex seamer Toby Greatwood proved the perfect foil for Keeling-Wright with his subtle variations of pace which brought him three for 28 including the wickets of Scotland captain Chris McBride, bowled, and Muhaymen Majeed, caught at cover, with the last two balls of the innings.

Scotland managed only 45 runs in the second half of their innings and National Counties needed just 41 balls to reach their target and secure a bonus point.

Dorset’s Sam Young went early, when he holed out to long off, but Berkshire’s Johnny Connell continued his excellent tournament by clobbering 31 from ten balls (three sixes and three fours) before he departed.

National Counties captain Dan Lincoln (Berkshire) and Staffordshire’s Nils Priestley then made light work of the last 102 runs of the target which they reached in an unbroken third wicket stand that spanned just 27 balls.

Lincoln was at his destructive best as he reached his half century from ten balls and he finished unbeaten on 59 from 14 balls with seven sixes and four fours.

Left-hander Priestley struck four sixes and three fours in his unbeaten 14-ball 42 which helped to clinch an emphatic victory and set up the top-of-the-table clash with Netherlands, who National Counties beat in last year’s final.

But Netherlands beat National Counties in a high-scoring contest on Thursday evening and were favourites to complete the double when their bowlers restricted them to what appeared a below-par total.

Lincoln and Priestley again joined forces in a stand of 57 after Young and Connell had departed early but the innings unravelled in the space of three balls from Netherlands’ off-spinner Arnav Jain, who took a hat-trick.

Lincoln upper cut to deep cover, Dorset’s David Scott drove to long off and Hinley sliced to deep point.

But Priestley and Buckinghamshire’s Cameron Hemp repaired some of the damage with a resourceful sixth wicket partnership with Hemp making 36 not out from 15 balls.

Hemp was in the action again when Netherlands batted as he held a catch at mid-off to account for Saqib Zulfiqar in the first over from Northumberland seamer Seb Allison.

Sturgess then held a well-judged catch at backward point to snare Damien van den Berg off Greatwood and the introduction of Keeling-Wright’s pace again proved decisive.

Keeling-Wright, the son of former Worcestershire batter and Birmingham League stalwart Jon Wright, went wicketless but conceded just nine runs in his two overs which restricted Netherlands to 63 for two at the halfway stage of their innings.

When Allison returned he had Musa Ahmad taken by Priestley at third man and Shariz Ahmad by Keeling-Wright at mid-off to finish with three for 15.

Hinley, who had conceded 26 in his only over against Netherlands on Thursday, was different proposition this time with his left-arm wrist spin accounting for Noah Croes and Sebastiaan Braat in successive balls in his first over and top-scorer Sikander Zulfiqar, stumped by Lincoln, in his second as the Dutch fell well short of their target.

 Dream 11 European T10 Championship

Cartama Oval, Malaga

Match One: Scotland 136-7 (Finlay McCreath 47, Toby Greatwood 3-28, Sam Keeling-Wright 2-14), National Counties XI 137-2 (Dan Lincoln 59 not out, Nils Priestley 42 not out, Johnny Connell 31). National Counties XI won by eight wickets.

Match Two: National Counties XI 135-7 (Dan Lincoln 39, Cameron Hemp 36 not out, Nils Priestley 27, Arnav Jain 4-28), Netherlands 102-7 (Sikander Zulfiqar 44, Seb Allison 3-15, Tom Hinley 3-18). National Counties XI won by 33 runs.

📸 Diana Oros & European Cricket Network