National Counties Showcase Review

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Lincolnshire claimed the scalps of first-class counties with famous victories over Middlesex, Surrey and Durham respectively in today’s Showcase matches. 

Berkshire demonstrated why they have dominated National Counties cricket over the last six years by beating Middlesex by six wickets at the Falkland club in Newbury by chasing down a target of 351 with nine-and-a-half overs to spare. 

Former Worcestershire and Netherlands batter Alexei Kervezee helped to lay the foundations for Buckinghamshire’s four wickets win over Surrey at High Wycombe with a half-century and Lincolnshire opener Joe Kendall made an unbeaten century at Grantham where Durham fell five runs short. 

Berkshire’s win featured a superb 150 not out from 18-year-old opener Johnny Connell in only his third senior match for the county. 

Connell, who plays his club cricket for Henley, shared a fourth wicket partnership of 189 with his captain Dan Lincoln which got Berkshire to within 19 of their target. 

Lincoln, who played T20 cricket for Middlesex in 2019 and 2020, was utterly ruthless against his former team-mates, striking 13 fours and six sixes in his 65-ball 123. 

Connell can only have impressed former England batter Mark Ramprakash, now Middlesex’s batting coach, with his composure and shot selection as he faced only 118 balls for his 150 which he reached with his seventh six and the winning runs. 

Connell and Lincoln eclipsed a third wicket partnership of 163 for Middlesex between Joe Cracknell and Jack Davies, both of whom have played for Berkshire. 

Cracknell, who played two games for Berkshire in 2018 as part of his development, made 147 from 94 balls while Davies, very much a product of Berkshire’s youth system, made a breezy 74. 

At one stage it looked like Berkshire would be chasing a target in excess of 400 but the fielded superbly and reined Middlesex in with accurate bowling a restricted them to a total that proved inadequate on a small ground with a lightning-fast outfield. 

At High Wycombe Surrey failed to capitalise on a second wicket partnership between Cameron Steel (114) and Ben Geddes (57). 

They lost their last seven wickets for 67 and Buckinghamshire paced their pursuit of a victory target of 269 to perfection. 

Alex Woodland led the chase with 47 and he shared a third wicket stand of 103 with Kervezee which gave them impetus. 

After Kervezee departed for 67 from 53 balls, Ross Richardson (48), Chris Marrow (34) and Ed Bragg (27 not out) all played valuable innings that helped Buckinghamshire to victory. 

Kendall’s century dominated the match at Grantham as he carried his bat for 101 from 125 balls with 11 fours. 

Ben Wright, with 44, was the only other major contributor to Lincolnshire’s total of 209 but Durham’s target was adjusted to 211 from 46 overs after a rain stoppage. 

A third wicket partnership of 72 between Liam Trevaskis and Scott Borthwick got Durham half-way to their target but they fell away after Borthwick became the third victim of new ball bowler Curtis Free. 

Bedfordshire came close to being the fourth National Counties side to beat first-class opposition thanks to a brilliant 192 not out from James Kettlebrough but Northamptonshire clung on for a seven runs win at Dunstable. 

Kettleborough, a former Northamptonshire player, followed up a century against Staffordshire at Dunstable in the National Counties Championship opener last month with an innings that single-handedly kept Bedfordshire on course for a target of 320. 

An early finish appeared likely when Bedfordshire were 89 for five but Kettleborough found sufficient support from the lower order to take the match to the final over. 

Herefordshire leg-spinner Alex Russell took four wickets for Northamptonshire and such was Kettleborough’s dominance that no other Bedfordshire batter reached 20. 

Lewis McManus and Saif Zaib, two players with strong National Counties connections, were among the main contributors to Northamptonshire’s 319 for eight with McManus, who has played for Dorset making 109, and Buckinghamshire-raised Zaib 62. 

Cornwall opener Chris Gibson also made a century but finished on the losing side as Somerset avenged their defeat at Taunton last season with a seven wickets win at Truro. 

Gibson’s 105 dominated Cornwall’s 255 for eight – only two other batters topped 20 – but Somerset eased home with more than 17 overs to spare thanks to half centuries from Steve Davies, Josh Thomas and James Hildreth. 

Staffordshire made Leicestershire graft for a four wickets win in a low-scoring 29 overs match at Knypersley. 

Alex Mellor’s 33 and useful runs down the order took Staffordshire to 179 for seven and Leicestershire needed 47 from former Lincolnshire batter Louis Kimber to help them home with eight balls to spare. 

Worcestershire also won by four wickets against Herefordshire at Eastnor where an eighth wicket partnership of 75 between Barney Morgan (45) and David Ball (38) rescued Herefordshire from 73 for seven. 

Worcestershire wobbled in pursuit of a target of 193 and were 124 for six before former captain Joe Leach – a former Staffordshire and Shropshire all-rounder -and Ben Cox saw them home with a unbroken seventh wicket partnership of 69. 

Cambridgeshire opener Ben Seabrook took the chance to showcase his talent with 79 against Essex at Saffron Walden but the first-class county still won by 55 runs. 

Josh Rymell, who has played for Suffolk this season, made 49 and Tom Westley, a former Cambridgeshire player made 47 which helped steer Essex to 288. 

Seabrook and Wayne White (45) were the main contributors as Cambridgeshire were restricted to 233 for nine. 

Dorset were undone by two of their homegrown players as Hampshire won by 62 runs at Wimborne. 

First Tom Prest top-scored with 87 as Hampshire made 274 for nine with slow left-armer Rob Pack impressing with four wickets. 

Half-centuries from Sam Young and Joe Eckland, who is on Hampshire’s Academy, kept Dorset in contention but Scott Currie, who has made 18 appearances for his native county, took five for 48 to snuff out their resistance. 

Oxford University batter George Hargrave fought a lone hand as Shropshire were crushed by 236 runs by Derbyshire at Shifnal. 

Hargrave, who made a triple century in the Varsity Match earlier this month, carried his bat for 69 but Shropshire were shot out for 89 with the next highest score being five. 

Billy Godleman, with 111 from 51 balls, Luis Reece and Tom Wood plundered runs to take Derbyshire to 325 for four in a match that was reduced to 36 overs by rain. 

Warwickshire also topped 300 at Chester Boughton Hall in a 41-overs-a-side contest but Cheshire put up spirited resistance through Chris Sanders (61 not out) and Steven Green (42) who added 102 for the eighth wicket. 

Michael Burgess made a 58-ball century in Warwickshire’s 337 for six. 

Suffolk also went down fighting against Kent at Woolpit where they were left to chase 432 after Ollie Robinson and Ben Compton made centuries. 

Suffolk responded with half-centuries from Jack Beaumont, Darren Batch and Darren Ironside but a total of 291 for five was not enough to save them from a 140 runs defeat. 

Gloucestershire’s James Bracey and Ben Wells also made centuries in a 218 runs win over Wiltshire at Cheltenham College. 

Gloucestershire Academy batter Ollie Meadows top-scored with 48 in Wiltshire’s 171. 

Colin Ingram ensured that there was no repeat of Glamorgan’s defeat by Wales NC at Cardiff last season as he made 110 which set up a 133 runs win. 

Tom Bevan continued his excellent form with 80 but Wales were dismissed for 198 with former Herefordshire seamer Jamie McIlroy taking three wickets for Glamorgan. 

Northumberland went down by 148 runs against Yorkshire at South Northumberland where former England batter Gary Ballance marked his return after a break caused by mental health issues by making 95 out of a total of 290 for five in a match that was reduced to 23 overs-a-side by rain. 

Rain also meant a delayed start and a 22 overs contest with Lancashire beating Cumbria by 44 runs. JJ Fielding, who has played regularly for Lancashire’s Second XI this season made 42 for Cumbria. 

Oxfordshire were beaten by five wickets by Sussex at Wormsley where half-centuries from skipper Jonny Cater and Ollie Clarke helped them to 205 all out. 

Former Oxfordshire batter Delray Rawlins saw Sussex home with more than 17 overs to spare with 82 from 66 balls. 

Rain prevented a result at Manor Park where Nottinghamshire were 68 for three after 15 overs against Norfolk before the weather closed in and play was abandoned. 

Showcase matches 

Dunstable: Northamptonshire (Lewis McManus 109, Emilio Gay 62, Saif Zaib 62), Bedfordshire 312-9 (James Kettleborough 192 not out, Alex Russell 4-66). Northamptonshire won by seven runs. 

Falkland CC: Middlesex 350 (Joe Cracknell 147, Jack Davies 74), Berkshire 354-4 (Johnny Connell 150 not out, Dan Lincoln 123). Berkshire won by six wickets. 

High Wycombe: Surrey 268 (Cameron Steel 114, Ben Geddes 57), Buckinghamshire 272-6 (Alexei Kervezee 67). Buckinghamshire won by four wickets. 

Saffron Walden: Essex 288, Cambridgeshire 233-9 (Ben Seabrook 79). Essex won by 55 runs. 

Chester Boughton Hall: Warwickshire 337-6 (Michael Burgess 100, Will Rhodes 75, Krunal Pandya 52), Cheshire 230 (Chris Sanders 61 not out, Liam Norwell 5-14). Warwickshire won by 107 runs. 

Truro: Cornwall 255-8 (Chris Gibson 105), Somerset 258-3 (Steve Davies 79, Josh Thomas 69, James Hildreth 54 not out). Somerset won by seven wickets. 

Sedbergh School: Lancashire 186-6 (Josh Bohannon 51, Danny Lamb 50 not out), Cumbria 142-5. Lancashire won by 44 runs. 

Wimborne: Hampshire 274-9 (Tom Prest 87, Rob Pack 4-48), Dorset 201 (Sam Young 51, Joe Eckland 51, Scott  Currie 5-48). Hampshire won by 62 runs (DLS). 

Eastnor: Herefordshire 192 (Adam Finch 4-29), Worcestershire 193-6. Worcestershire won by four wickets. 

Grantham: Lincolnshire 209 (Joe Kendall 101 not out), Durham 205 (Scott Borthwick 60). Lincolnshire won by five runs (DLS). 

Manor Park: Nottinghamshire 68-3 v Norfolk. No result. 

South Northumberland: Yorkshire 290-5 (Gary Ballance 95, Will Fraine 88, Harry Duke 51), Northumberland 142-8. Yorkshire won by 148 runs. 

Wormsley: Oxfordshire 205 (Jonny Cater 58, Ollie Clarke 53), Sussex 208-5 (Delray Rawlins 82). Sussex won by five wickets. 

Shifnal: Derbyshire 325-4 (Billy Godleman 111, Luis Reece 76, Tom Wood 75 not out), Shropshire 89 (George Hargrave 69 not out). Derbyshire won by 236 runs. 

Knypersley: Staffordshire 179-7, Leicestershire 181-6. Leicestershire won by four wickets. 

Woolpit: Kent 431-7 (Ollie Robinson 139, Ben Compton 133, George Linde 56 not out), Suffolk 291-5 (Darren Batch 72, Jack Beaumont 69, Darren Ironside 53 not out). Kent won by 140 runs. 

Cardiff: Glamorgan 331-7 (Colin Ingram 110, David Lloyd 56,Billy Root 51), Wales NC 198 (Tom Bevan 80). Glamorgan won by 133 runs. 

Cheltenham College: Gloucestershire 367 for five (James Bracey 125 not out, Ben Wells 124, Ben Charlesworth 67), Wiltshire171. Gloucestershire won by 218 runs (DLS).