Durant Cricket National Counties Championship Week 4 Preview

Defending champions Berkshire face a do-or-die mission against Herefordshire in their final Western Division One match of the Durant Cricket National Counties Championship which starts at Eastnor on Sunday. 

Berkshire have drawn all three of their matches to date and were saved by rain from a first home defeat in nine years against Cheshire at Finchampstead earlier this week when the final day was washed out. 

Berkshire are now 14 points adrift of Oxfordshire, who beat Devon at Exeter, and head to Eastnor knowing that anything but a win will put an end to their hopes of retaining the title. 

Even a maximum points victory might not be enough to take them through to next month’s final at West Bromwich Dartmouth as Cheshire, currently nine points behind them, have two games remaining including a potential divisional decider against Oxfordshire at Banbury starting on August 20. 

Berkshire have made four changes to their side with batters Dan O’Driscoll and Billy Mead, all-rounder Josh Lincoln and slow left-armer Adam Searle called up. 

O’Driscoll will make his seasonal debut having played for Middlesex against Berkshire in the Showcase match at Falkland two weeks ago. 

Tom Nugent and Archie Carter are unavailable, Mungo Russell is injured and Rhodri Lewis has been rested. 

Herefordshire give a belated National Counties debut to contracted Worcestershire batter Rehaan Edavalath who was due to play against Cheshire three weeks ago before the entire match at Alderley Edge was washed out. 

Attock batter Imaad Mahmood will make his Championship debut in the absence of Matt Pardoe with Nick Hammond taking over as captain. 

Cheshire face Devon at Chester Boughton Hall with three changes to the side that outplayed Berkshire. 

Alex Money returns at his home club ground along with Sam Grant and Didsbury’s Steve Green. 

Devon are missing the unavailable Fin Hill and have added left-arm seamer Jonty Walliker to the squad that was on duty against Oxfordshire. 

All-rounder Matt Skeemer, who was twelfth man last weekend, is in line to play this time. 

In Eastern Division One Staffordshire will have the chance to go top of the table against Lincolnshire at Checkley. 

Staffordshire go into the match eight points behind leaders Buckinghamshire who sit out this round of matches before facing Suffolk at Copdock next week. 

Staffordshire have named an unchanged side for their last divisional match of the season. 

Lincolnshire’s 13-man squad includes Messingham all-rounder Josh Joy, another product of the county’s age groups, who was twelfth man against Buckinghamshire. 

Norfolk, beaten by ten wickets by Staffordshire, face Suffolk in the second match of the Horsford Festival. 

Experienced all-rounder Luke Caswell returns for Norfolk in place of Will Bowman in the only change to their side. 

Suffolk’s team selection is complicated by injuries to all-rounders George Rhodes (knee) and all-rounder Ben Claydon (ankle) who will both undergo fitness tests. 

Opener Josh Rymell, who played in the draw with Lincolnshire, is required by Essex for Metro Bank Cup duty so Ollie Burle has been called up for a possible debut. 

Seamer Raj Singh, a club-mate of Burle’s at Copdock & Old Ipswichian, is the other newcomer in Suffolk’s squad. 

Cornwall have the chance to clinch the Western Division Two title and promotion to Division One for next season against Wales NC at Abergavenny. 

A two wickets win over Wiltshire at St Austell on Tuesday gave Cornwall a 30 points lead over Shropshire, the only side who still cannot mathematically overtake them. 

Cornwall recall St Austell wicketkeeper/batter Alex Bone to replace the unavailable Dan Jenkin in their only change. 

Wales have made three changes to the side that drew with Wiltshire last time out with Ammanford left-arm seamer Saihaj Jaspal called up for his Championship debut in place of the injured Jack Harding. 

Sam Jardine and Jason Foulkes replace the unavailable Tim Moses and Steffan Roberts. 

Wiltshire and Dorset both need to win their two remaining matches to have any hope of overhauling Cornwall, but only one of them will be able to do so as the two counties meet at the South Wilts club in Salisbury. 

Dorset’s much-changed squad includes two potential debutants – Lewis Freak and Josh Royan – plus former Netherlands Under-19 international Lucas del Bianco who is set for his Championship debut. 

Ben Chaffey and Ben Fletcher have yet to play in the three-day competition this season. 

Eastern Division Two leaders Bedfordshire sit out this round of matches which gives Cambridgeshire the opportunity to displace them. 

Cambridgeshire were on the brink of being defeated by Bedfordshire when rain halted play at Saffron Walden on Tuesday and head to Hertford to face Hertfordshire on Sunday. 

Slow left-armer Zain Latif, who took seven for 64 in the win over Northumberland last month, returns to Cambridgeshire’s squad along with his Wollaton club-mate, batter Dan Andrew. 

Experienced wicketkeeper/batter Lee Thomason also included in a 12-man squad. 

Hertfordshire have recalled Northamptonshire batter Hasan Azad as one of three changes to the side that drew with Northumberland. 

Azad replaces Arjun Patel with Chinmay Mullapudi and James Latham coming in for Alex Gosling and Jigar Mehta. 

Former Durham batter Gary Pratt returns for Cumbria for the visit of Northumberland to Carlisle. 

Penrith all-rounder and captain Greg Cameron is a likely debutant for Cumbria. 

Northumberland are missing former Durham and Ireland wicketkeeper/batter Stuart Poynter but have Durham all-rounder Luke Doneathy available for their final match of the season. 

Batter Bobby Green also returns with John Oswell keeping wicket in Poynter’s absence. 

Durant Cricket National Counties Championship 

Sunday August 13-Tuesday August 15 (11am) 

Eastern Division One 

Horsford: Norfolk v Suffolk, Checkley: Staffordshire v Lincolnshire 

Western Division One 

Chester Boughton Hall: Cheshire v Devon, Eastnor: Herefordshire v Berkshire. 

Eastern Division Two 

Carlisle: Cumbria v Northumberland, Hertford: Hertfordshire v Cambridgeshire. 

Western Division Two 

Abergavenny: Wales NC v Cornwall, South Wilts CC: Wiltshire v Dorset.