National Counties T20 Finals Day Preview

Oxfordshire have been given a boost ahead of Sunday’s National Counties T20 Finals Day at Tring Park with the news that three players contracted to Gloucestershire will be available to play for their native county. 

Brothers Tom and Ollie Price are in line to make their season debuts for Oxfordshire while seamer Luke Charlesworth, who signed a rookie contract with Gloucestershire in March, returns to the squad having made his debut against Buckinghamshire in a double-header at the start of the month. 

All three are products of Oxfordshire’s youth system with the Price brothers both former pupils of Magdalen College School and Charlesworth, brother of Gloucestershire batter Ben – another Oxfordshire product - playing for St Edward’s School. 

They are joined in Oxfordshire’s 13-man squad by Sussex pair Harrison Ward and James Coles, two more talented homegrown youngsters, who played in their last double-header against Bedfordshire at Wormsley three weeks ago. 

Oxfordshire face Cheshire in the opening semi-final on Sunday (10am) which will be a re-match of the 2015 final which Cheshire won by 115 runs at Banbury. 

Cater and Cheshire’s Jack Williams are the only survivors from that final who will be in opposition again on Sunday. 

Cheshire, who were beaten finalists in 2019, have added Hawk Green batter Elliot Young to the side that beat Northumberland twice two weeks ago to clinch top spot in Group One and a trip to Tring. 

Young, a former Lancashire Academy player, has yet to make his debut for Cheshire. 

Dorset take on Cambridgeshire in the second semi-final at 1.30pm and have made just one change to the side that beat Cornwall twice at Wadebridge two weeks ago. 

Former Loughborough MCCU seamer Ben Ladd-Gibbon comes in for Brad Currie with Joseph Eckland, younger brother of batter Alex, named as twelfth man. 

Dorset will be making their second appearance at Finals Day having been beaten finalists the last time the competition was played in 2019. 

But there are only four survivors from the side beaten by Hertfordshire – Alex Eckland, Ed Ellis, skipper Luke Webb and Sam Young – in Sunday’s squad. 

Cambridgeshire knocked out holders Hertfordshire by beating them in the second match at Welwyn Garden City two weeks ago to win Group Three on superior net run rate. 

National Counties T20 Finals Day  

Tring Park CC  

Sunday May 22  

10am: Oxfordshire v Cheshire  

1.30pm: Dorset v Cambridgeshire  

4pm: Final