National Counties Xi Win European T10 Championship For Third Time

National Counties XI won the Dream 11 European T10 Championship for England for the third time in four years by retaining their title with a clinical 14 runs victory over Netherlands in the final at the Cartama Oval near Malaga.

A brilliant 32-ball 89 from Berkshire’s Johnny Connell was backed up by another outstanding team bowling and fielding display and some inspired captaincy from Dan Lincoln.

Connell’s spectacular innings included ten sixes and four fours and he batted throughout the National Counties innings before he sacrificed himself trying to take a second run from the last ball.

Connell was one of five competition debutants in the National Counties’ squad and he took his excellent form from the English season to the Costa del Sol to win the Player of the Match Award in the final. Surprisingly Connell’s talent appears to have gone unnoticed by first-class counties as none have yet offered the Exeter University right-hander a trial in Second XI cricket.

Northumberland seamer Seb Allison, Herefordshire pace bowler Sam Keeling-Wright and Staffordshire left-hander Nils Priestley also enhanced their reputations and made significant contributions both in the final and throughout the competition to help National Counties become the first side to successfully defend their title.

“We picked some exciting new players but we also went with some experienced players to help bed the new guys in,” said Lincoln.

“But all the new guys are explosive and they lit it up as much as the experienced players which was exciting and great to see.

“What this competition does is to put pressure on individuals. Taking that experience home and using it is vital to helping to develop their game.”

Connell’s 89 was his second half-century of the day against Netherlands as he made 65 in the seven wickets victory in the first qualifier which secured National Counties’ passage to the final.

Having made a century for the NCCA Challengers against Emerging Zimbabwe in August and another for Berkshire in the Durant Cricket National Counties Championship final last month, Connell again oozed class as he struck the ball powerfully.

He took 28 (66646) from five balls bowled by Netherlands captain Sebastiaan Braat which gave the innings early impetus and shared a second wicket partnership of 56 with Lincoln and 66 for the third with Priestley who struck three sixes and two fours in his 11-ball 29 not out.

National Counties needed early wickets to peg back a Netherlands batting line-up that included Musa Ahmad, who has played 15 One Day Internationals.

Allison supplied them by having Clayton Floyd and Noah Croes caught off successive balls in his first over.

The pace and bounce of Keeling-Wright again caused problems and he claimed the wicket of the dangerous Shariz Ahmad who pulled him to Allison at deep square leg in his first over.

Tom Hinley, the Oxfordshire slow left-armer who is now on a rookie contract with Worcestershire, struck with his first ball when Sikander Zulfiqar shovelled a full toss to deep square leg then had Musa Ahmad taken by Buckinghamshire’s Cameron Hemp at long on.

Keeling-Wright returned to have Saqib Zulfiqar taken low down by Sam Young who had been positioned at third man by Lincoln.

Allison collected his third wicket when Roel Verhagen picked out Priestley at long off and although Braat fired off a few defiant shots in his 31 not out from 11 balls, Berkshire’s Toby Greatwood bowled a nerveless final over – and Olivier Elebaas – to start the celebrations.

National Counties’ only defeat in the tournament came in a group match on Thursday but that was followed by three successive wins over the Dutch who beat them in allow-scoring final in 2022.

Dream 11 European T10 Championship

Cartama Oval, Malaga

Qualifier One: Netherlands 147-5 (Musa Ahmad 45, Tom Hinley 2-22), National Counties XI 150-3 (Johnny Connell 65, Dan Lincoln 46 not out, Tom Hinley 33 not out). National Counties XI won by seven wickets.

Final: National Counties XI 159-3 (Johnny Connell 89, Nils Priestley 29 not out), Netherlands 125-8  (Sebastiaan Braat 31 not out, Seb Allison 3-33, Tom Hinley 2-25, Sam Keeling-Wright 2-26). National Counties XI won by 14 runs.

📸 Diana Oros & European Cricket Network