National Counties XI Make Solid Start in European Championship

National Counties XI made a solid start to their Dream 11 European T10 Championship campaign with victories over Switzerland and Malta at the Cartama Oval near Malaga. 

Having eased to a six wickets win with ten balls to spare in their opener against Switzerland, National Counties – playing in the competition as an England XI – then needed a nerveless innings from Wales NC and Glamorgan batter Tom Bevan to get them home in a tense finish against Malta. 

An upset was on the cards when National Counties slipped to 34 for four in pursuit of a target of 138 but Bevan, a late inclusion in the squad following the withdrawal of Sussex’s Harrison Ward, calmed any nerves by clobbering seven sixes in his unbeaten 68 from just 25 balls. 

Oxfordshire’s Tom Hinley played an excellent aggressive supporting role with 27 from eight balls in a fifth wicket partnership of 59 with Bevan and National Counties were helped by being awarded five penalty runs because of Malta’s tardy over-rate. 

The penalty meant that instead of needing 12 off Varun Prasath’s final over, National Counties required only seven and Bevan settled the issue by thumping the second ball for six and the next for a one-bounce four. 

The contribution of Berkshire and former Middlesex seamer Toby Greatwood should also not be under-estimated. 

He bowled only one over – the last of Malta’s innings – but took three wickets in it and conceded just three runs. Greatwood’s wickets included left-hander Basil George who struck ten sixes in his 33-ball 84 before he picked out long-on. 

Until Greatwood took the ball, National Counties had taken only two wickets in nine overs with George taking five of his sixes in an over from Cornwall’s Tommy Sturgess. 

George and Gopal Thakur added 86 for the second wicket but Thakur struggled to time the ball and his 16 from 14 balls combined with Greatwood’s accuracy ultimately proved decisive. 

In the opening match Wales NC seamer Richard Edwards, a member of the National Counties side that won this competition two years ago, found himself on a hat-trick at the start of his second over. 

Edwards had Idrees Haque taken by Hinley at deep midwicket from his fifth ball and Izhar Hussain by Buckinghamshire slow left-armer Conner Haddow at short third from the next. 

Hassan Ahmad survived the hat-trick ball – the first of Edwards’s second over – but perished two balls later, caught behind by captain Dan Lincoln. 

Edwards finished with three for 17, both his overs bowled in the power play, but it took a little while for the other bowlers to find their line and length with 15 wides boosting Switzerland’s total. 

Malyar Stanikzai and Switzerland captain Ali Nayyer added 69 for the fourth wicket before Haddow ended the entertainment by having Stanikzai taken by Andy Rishton aiming to straight drive his sixth six. 

Jai Smith was run out next ball and Haddow added a second wicket two balls later when Asaf Mahmood top-edged to short third. 

Nayyer’s late flurry of boundaries got Switzerland to what appeared a competitive total but which was soon made to appear inadequate by Dorset’s former Somerset batter Sam Young and Lincoln who plundered 64 in four overs for the first wicket. 

Young struck four sixes and three fours in his 13-ball 39 before he drove to mid-off and Lincoln, who already has a century in this format to his name, added two sixes and three fours in his 26 from ten balls before he found deep midwicket. 

Wales NC left-hander Cam Hemp survived an injury scare when he was struck on the helmet by a bouncer from Abdullah Rana which dislodged the protective neck flaps. But he was passed fit to carry on and he got National Counties to within six of their target in partnership with Bevan. 

Hinley completed the win with ten balls to spare by pulling a legside which was caught inside the rope but carried over with the force of the stroke. 

National Counties used all 13 of their squad over the two matches with Cumbria pair Matt Siddall and Freddie Fallows coming in for Hemp and Haddow against Malta. 

National Counties continue their Group E programme on Tuesday against Cyprus (1pm) and Romania (7.30pm) 

Dream 11 European Championship 

Cartama Oval, Malaga 

Match One 

Switzerland 119-6 (Malyar Stanikzai 47, Ali Nayyer 30 not out, Richard Edwards 3-17, Conner Haddow 2-22), National Counties XI 121-4 (Sam Young 39, Dan Lincoln 26). National Counties XI won by six wickets. 

Match Two 

Malta 137-5 (Basil George 84, Toby Greatwood 3-3), National Counties XI 141-6 (Tom Bevan 68 not out, Tom Hinley 27, Waseem Abbas 3-22). National Counties XI won by four wickets.