Durant National Counties Championship - Week One Review

Newly-promoted Buckinghamshire opened their Durant Cricket National Counties Championship Eastern Division One campaign with a perfectly-paced run chase that brought them a six wickets victory over Norfolk at Tring. 

A composed second half-century of the match from opener Alex Woodland (91) and useful contributions from down the order saw Buckinghamshire to a target of 244 and secured them 22 points in their first match in the top flight. 

It was slow left-armer Conner Haddow who first gave Buckinghamshire the chance of victory by claiming his second five wicket haul of the match to dismiss Norfolk for 195. 

Haddow finished with match figures of 10 for 136, his second successive 10 wicket haul at Tring following his career-best 10 for 123 against Cambridgeshire last August. 

A maiden half-century from Hudson de Lucchi held up Buckinghamshire for a while but his departure to a sharp slip catch by Alexei Kervezee off Haddow saw the last five wickets fall for 21. 

Buckinghamshire were 48 behind after the first innings and faced a potentially tricky chase but they had plenty of time to chase down the target and got there in 55.3 overs with Michael Payne (51 not out from 54 balls) and Ross Richardson (39 not out from 30 balls) proving the late acceleration in an unbroken fifth wicket stand of 71 in 10 overs. 

In Norfolk’s first innings Callum Metcalf and Brett Stolworthy broke a county record that had stood for 118 years with an eighth wicket partnership of 153. That beat the previous Norfolk record for that wicket set by Arthur Watson and Robert Pilch against Cambridgeshire at Lakenham in 1905. 

Metcalf completed a maiden century and Stolworthy a maiden half-century which helped Norfolk recover from 122 for seven to 299 for nine. 

James Kettleborough and Tom Brett, two winter recruits from Bedfordshire, impressed on their Championship debuts for Staffordshire who beat Suffolk by 51 runs at Bury St Edmunds. 

Kettleborough made 141 in the first innings and 92 in the second which shored up Staffordshire who struggled on a turning pitch 

Brett, a proven match-winner during his time with Bedfordshire, took five for 79 – his 12th five wicket haul in the Championship – to calm Staffordshire’s nerves on the final day. 

Former Worcestershire and Leicestershire all-rounder George Rhodes had threatened to win the match for Suffolk by making a stylish century and sharing a seventh wicket partnership of 114 with player/coach Andy Northcote (40). 

The pair came together with Suffolk struggling on 98 for six but a victory target of 293 was coming into sight when Brett had both Northcote and Rhodes – 110 from 175 balls - LBW in quick succession. 

Cambridgeshire were the Championship’s first winners as they beat Northumberland by an innings and 38 runs in two days at Tynemouth.   

After Saffron Walden seamer Ashleigh Cox had taken six for 26 on debut to dismiss Northumberland for 93 on the opening day, slow left-armer Zain Latif took a career-best seven for 64. 

Callum Guest’s unbeaten century gave Cambridgeshire a first innings lead of 237 and although Northumberland’s second innings was an improvement on their first they were still beaten with more than four sessions to spare.  

Former Kent, Essex and Hampshire seamer Matt Coles bowled Bedfordshire to victory against Cumbria at Furness. 

Coles followed up his six first innings wickets with five more in the second to finish with his Championship-best match figures of 11 for 87. 

A sixth wicket partnership of 66 between Michael Slack (46) and Matt Sempill (35) held up Bedfordshire and ensured that would need to bat a second time. 

But with left-arm seamer Jack Fuller taking three for 19 to support Coles, Cumbria lost their last five wickets for 29. 

Bedfordshire chased down a target of 68 inside 19 overs with Northamptonshire batter Harry Gouldstone following 48 in the first innings of his debut with 44 not out. 

While all four Eastern Division matches produced positive results, rain affected the four Western Division matches, all of which were drawn. 

Defending champions Berkshire were frustrated by newly-promoted Devon who batted through the final day at the Falkland club in Newbury to secure a draw and 10 points in Division One. 

Solid half-centuries from James Horler, Matt Thompson and Calum Haggett blunted Berkshire’s attack and restricted them to six wickets in the day. 

Devon’s first innings lead was just three which looked like being much bigger when they had Berkshire struggling at Berkshire 159 for eight. 

But Rhodri Lewis, who has been trialling with Glamorgan, and Toby Greatwood both made maiden half-centuries - having previously amassed 65 Championship runs between them – and Luke Beaven chipped in with 38 not out, one short of his career-best. 

Greatwood, a Middlesex staff man, and Beaven added 77 in Berkshire’s highest last wicket partnership against Devon. 

Herefordshire and Oxfordshire also settled for a draw despite a late flurry of activity at the end of their rain-blighted contest at Eastnor. 

Herefordshire looked comfortable when Connor Smith (78) and Olly Rogoff (59) each made their Championship-best scores and added 83 for the second wicket. 

But the innings quickly unravelled against Oxfordshire off-spinners George Tait and Max Mannering as the last eight wickets tumbled for 36 in 12 overs. 

Tait finished with five for 38, his maiden five wicket haul, and Mannering three for 59 which allowed Oxfordshire to earn a first innings lead of 55. 

Oxfordshire then thrashed 126 inside 18 overs with Jamie Harrison clobbering five sixes in his 28-ball 43 and Tait three sixes in his 39 from 29 balls before they declared. 

But there was neither time at the end of another interrupted day for Oxfordshire to take ten wickets or for Herefordshire to attempt to chase down a target of 182. 

Dorset fought a solid rearguard action to secure a draw against Cornwall at Truro in their first match in Western Division Two. 

An explosive century from Kent all-rounder Alex Blake helped Cornwall to a first innings lead of 152 when they declared early on the final day. 

Cornwall scented victory when Dorset were 52 for three but a fourth wicket partnership of 152 between David Scott (78) and Joe Eckland (94) took the visitors into the lead. 

Dorset wobbled again when Scott and Eckland departed in quick succession with Eckland, who is on Hampshire’s staff, narrowly missing out on a maiden century when he was run out in a mix-up with his elder brother Alex. 

But Alex Eckland (32 not out) remained and added 66 in an unbroken sixth wicket partnership with Ed Ellis (34 not out) which took Dorset to safety. 

Wales NC and Shropshire had to settle for four points each from a rain-ruined draw at Brymbo where just 20.1 overs were bowled in the match with no play possible on either of the last two days. 

Durant Cricket National Counties Championship  

Eastern Division One  

Tring: Norfolk 299-9 (Callum Metcalf 100, Brett Stolworthy 66 not out, Sam Arthurton 52, Conner Haddow 5-105) & 195 (Hudson de Lucchi 61, Conner Haddow 5-31), Buckinghamshire 251 (Alexei Kervezee 76, Alex Woodland 55) &247-4 (Alex Woodland 91, Michael Payne 51 not out). Buckinghamshire (22pts) beat Norfolk (7pts) by six wickets. 

Bury St Edmunds: Staffordshire 387-8 dec (James Kettleborough 141, Zen Malik 81, Matthew Morris 54, Freddie Heldreich 5-117) & 187 (James Kettleborough 92), Suffolk 281 (Josh Cantrell 67) & 242 (George Rhodes 110, Tom Brett 5-79). Staffordshire (24pts) beat Suffolk (6pts) by 51 runs. 

Western Division One  

Falkland CC: Devon 272 (Fin Hill 90) & 291-7 dec (Calum Haggett 85 not out, James Horler 61, Matt Thompson 51), Berkshire 269 (Rhodri Lewis 53, Toby Greatwood 52). Berkshire (10pts) drew with Devon (10pts). 

Eastnor: Oxfordshire 271 (Tom Hinley 52, Jamie Harrison 54) & 58-2, Herefordshire 216 (Conor Smith 78, Olly Rogoff 59, George Tait 5-38) & 126-6 dec. Herefordshire (9pts) drew with Oxfordshire (10pts). 

Eastern Division Two  

Tynemouth: Northumberland 93 (Ashleigh Cox 6-26) & 199 (Zain Latif 7-64), Cambridgeshire 330-8 dec (Callum Guest 114 not out). Cambridgeshire (24pts) beat Northumberland (3pts) by an innings and 38 runs. 

Furness: Cumbria 107 (Matt Coles 6-28) & 190 (Matt Coles 5-59), Bedfordshire 230 & 77-3 . Bedfordshire (22pts) beat Cumbria (4pts) by seven wickets. 

Western Division Two  

Truro: Dorset 176 (Luke Webb 82, Ed Ellis 56) & 271-5 (Joe Eckland 94, David Scott 78), Cornwall 328-9 dec (Alex Blake 102, Karl Leathley 71). Cornwall (12pts) drew with Dorset (9pts). 

Brymbo: Shropshire 43-2 v Wales NC. Wales NC (4pts) drew with Shropshire (4pts).