Durant Cricket National Counties Championship: Week 5 Day 3

Devon will meet Buckinghamshire in the Durant Cricket National Counties Championship final after they came from third to first on the last day of the regular season to claim the Western Division One title. 

Devon needed to beat Herefordshire at Sidmouth and then hope that Cheshire could do them a favour by beating Oxfordshire at Banbury if they were to overtake Berkshire – who sat out the last round of matches – and Oxfordshire and reach the final for the first time since 2011. 

Devon overcame stubborn Herefordshire resistance to secure an 80 runs win and Cheshire then completed a 73 runs victory which scuppered Oxfordshire’s hopes of making the final for the second time in three seasons. 

Devon and Buckinghamshire will now meet at West Bromwich Dartmouth from September 3 to 6 to decide this year’s champions having both been promoted as winners of their respective Second Divisions just 12 months ago. 

Herefordshire’s defeat ended their two-year stay in the top-flight and they will be replaced by Cornwall who clinched Western Division Two last week. 

Devon skipper Jamie Stephens’s well-judged declaration, after Elliot Hamilton and Ben Beaumont had added 117 for the sixth wicket, challenged Herefordshire to make 360 – 84 more than their highest successful fourth innings run chase – to win and relegate Cheshire. 

A half-century from Ben Chapman-Lilley to go with his first innings hundred was well supported by Roshan Venkataraman (68), Conor Smith (56) and Nick Hammond (31) but spinners Max Shepherd and Sam Read shared eight wickets between them and Herefordshire were dismissed for 279. 

Herefordshire lost a third of the six first innings bonus points they earned in the first innings for their slow over rate during the match. 

At Banbury, slow left-armer Steve Green was Cheshire’s – and Devon’s – hero as he took career-best innings and match figures to dismiss Oxfordshire for 227. 

Green took six for 73 in the second innings to finish with match figures of ten for 150 which helped to send Oxfordshire from 104 without loss to 126 for five. 

Green made the breakthrough when he had Jamie Harrison taken at long-off and although Oxfordshire captain Ollie Clarke tried to revive the chase, the damage had already been done. 

Earlier former Glamorgan batter Joe Cooke had fallen one short of his first century in the competition having improved on his previous best for the second time in the match. 

Lincolnshire retained their place in Eastern Division One and condemned Norfolk to relegation by beating them by 183 runs at Cleethorpes. 

Callum Metcalf’s maiden five wicket haul was countered by 41 from Joe Pocklington and Norfolk were left with a stiff target of 397 to avoid defeat. 

Former Leicestershire batter/wicketkeeper Tom New gave Norfolk a glimmer of hope by making 76 from 69 balls before he became one of four wickets for Alex King. 

After that Norfolk faded to 213 all out - a total that included five single figures scores – and a fourth straight defeat of a disappointing campaign. 

Buckinghamshire ended their divisional programme in anti-climactic fashion, losing to Suffolk by 115 runs at Copdock. 

Buckinghamshire had already secured the Eastern Division title on Sunday and they needed that insurance to pip Staffordshire – who had already completed their programme – by three points. 

But Buckinghamshire staggered rather than swaggered over the line after they collapsed from 37 without loss to 57 for six against Suffolk seamers Matt Wareing and Dan Shanks and were dismissed for 136 in their second innings. 

Debutant George Harvey then tried to steer Buckinghamshire towards a draw with the 17-year-old again playing with composure and maturity in making 41 not out. 

But with fielders crowded round the bat slow left-armer Jack Beaumont took three for seven in six overs before off-spinner George Rhodes bowled Tom Weymes, who had kept Harvey company for 27 minutes, with 31 balls of the match remaining. 

Earlier Josh Cantrell’s maiden century helped Suffolk to extend their second innings to 366 all out which left Buckinghamshire to chase 252. 

Bedfordshire made a swift return to the top-flight following relegation 12 months ago by securing the Eastern Division Two title with a record 411 runs victory over Hertfordshire at Flitwick. 

It was the biggest win by runs margin in the history of the competition, surpassing the 407 runs that Northumberland beat Suffolk by at Jesmond in 2005. 

Half-centuries from Danyaal Khalid and Alex Evans increased the frustration for Hertfordshire although their captain Ben Waring (five for 82) and seamer Jigar Mehta (four for 67) plugged away gamely. 

Hertfordshire’s second innings was little better than their first although Chinmay Mullapudi (43) Andrew Neal (31) and Jack Plom (24) fired a few defiant shots after they had slumped to 18 for five. 

Sam Dutton became only the second Cumbria batter to score two centuries in a match in the draw with Cambridgeshire at Peterborough. 

Dutton followed 104 in the first with 111 in the second to equal a feat that only Steve Knox against Bedfordshire at Netherfield in 2002 had achieved for Cumbria. 

It was also Dutton’s third century in successive innings following one in the second innings of the defeat by Northumberland at Carlisle last week. He is the first Cumbria batter to achieve that feat and only the second from the county to score three centuries in a Championship season after Scott Richardson in 2005. 

Cambridgeshire were happy to bat out for a draw at 115 for three which meant Cumbria collected the Eastern Division wooden spoon. 

Wiltshire needed only 80 minutes of the final day to wrap up a seven wickets win against Shropshire at Whitchurch. 

An opening partnership of 127 between Jack Mynott (71) and Dylan Church (68 not out) got Wiltshire a good way to their target of 190 and Church and captain Ed Young then got them to within four of it by adding 59 for the third wicket. 

Off-spinner Joe Stanley took two of the three wickets to fall to finish with match figures of 11 for 159. Stanley, 18, is believed to be the youngest player to take nine or more wickets in an innings in the history of the competition which was first contested in 1895. 

Shropshire’s defeat meant that they finished bottom of the Western Division for a second successive season. 

Dorset and Wales NC settled for a draw at Wimborne where there was a third score of 50 or more this season from Cameron Herring before Wales were dismissed for 226. 

Alton seamer Tom Varney took four for 59 on his Dorset debut with David Scott also taking four in another solid all-round performance. 

Jacob Gordon responded with a career-best 95 for Dorset before the sides shook hands. 

Durant Cricket National Counties Championship  

Final day of three  

Eastern Division One  

Cleethorpes: Lincolnshire 317-8 (Tom Keast 125 not out, Jaden Fell 72, Josh Knapton 53 not out, Ryan Findlay 5-111) & 282 (Jordan Cook 64, Callum Metcalf 5-47), Norfolk 203 (Ben Wilcox 60 not out, Ryan Findlay 51) & 213 (Tom New 76). Lincolnshire (23pts) beat Norfolk (4pts) by 183 runs. 

Copdock: Suffolk 197 (Alex Oxley 50) & 366 (Josh Cantrell 100, Jack Beaumont 64), Buckinghamshire 312 (George Harvey 92, Alexei Kervezee 53) & 136. Suffolk (21pts) beat Buckinghamshire (7pts) by 115 runs. 

Western Division One  

Sidmouth: Devon 377-9 (Elliot Hamilton 154 not out, Ben Privett 57) & 253-4 dec (Ben Beaumont 77 not out, Elliot Hamilton 51 not out), Herefordshire 271 (Ben Chapman-Lilley 118) & 279 (Cionor Smith 56,Ben Chapman-Lilley 51. Devon (24pts) beat Herefordshire (4pts) by 80 runs. 

Banbury: Cheshire 170 (Joe Cooke 96) & 363 (Joe Cooke 99, Henry Dobson 76), Oxfordshire 233 (Dylan Driscoll 98, Luke Hayes 57) & 227 (Jamie Harrison 62, Steve Green 6-73). Cheshire (20pts) beat Oxfordshire (6pts) by 73 runs. 

Eastern Division Two  

Flitwick: Bedfordshire 297 (Oli Soames 62, George Thurstance 51, Sam Bates 50, Andrew Neal 5-44), & 398 (Sam Bates 103, Alex Evans 51, Danyaal Khalid 50), Hertfordshire 153 & 131. Bedfordshire (23pts) beat Hertfordshire (4pts) by 411 runs. 

Peterborough: Cumbria 342-8 (Sam Dutton 104, Matt Sempill 72) & 361 (Sam Dutton 111, Michael Slack 51), Cambridgeshire 355-7 (Dan Andrew 107, Wayne White 74, Callum Guest 68) & 115-3. Cambridgeshire (11pts) drew with Cumbria (11pts). 

Western Division Two  

Wimborne: Wales NC 474-8 (Brad Wadlan 134, Kurtis Marsh 81, Milo Ayres 74, Tegid Phillips 52) & 226, Dorset 331-9 (David Scott 87, Luke Webb 75) & 179-4 (Jacob Gordon 95). Dorset (11pts) drew with Wales NC (12pts) 

Whitchurch: Shropshire 183 & 226 (Matthew Lamb 62) Wiltshire 220 (Dylan Church 69, Joe Stanley 9-83) & 190-3 (Jack Mynott 71, Dylan Church 68 not out). Wiltshire (21pts) beat Shropshire (5pts) by seven wickets. 

Photo Credit: John Aston