NCCA T20 2025: Week 2 - Preview

Buckinghamshire will blood Northamptonshire Academy all-rounder Ben Taylor in their National Counties T20 Group Three double-header against Bedfordshire at Chesham on Sunday.

Taylor is a product of the Beaconsfield club and Buckinghamshire’s pathway system and was taken onto the academy at Wantage Road.

He has followed a similar path to Aadi Sharma, who will be a Buckinghamshire team-mate on Sunday, and Saif Zaib, who is now an established first team player with Northamptonshire.

Buckinghamshire will also give a debut to High Wycombe Archie Dodds with another all-rounder Teddy Fleming of Gerrards Cross, recalled for his first county appearance in two years.

Bedfordshire, who began their T20 campaign with a double over Wales NC two weeks ago, have made three changes with former Sussex seamer Abi Sakande, wicketkeeper Harry Gouldstone and left-arm quick Jack Fuller returning in place of Cameron Tredgett, Nabil Moughal and Muhammad Salahuddin.

Wales NC host Oxfordshire at Panteg buoyed by completing a double over Vitality Blast holders Gloucestershire in two T20 Showcase Matches at Usk on Monday.

Wales were boosted by the inclusion Billy Root, brother of England batter Joe, along with three more Glamorgan staff players, Callum Nicholls, Henry Hurle and Ben Morris, for those matches. Root will not face Oxfordshire but Nicholls, Hurle and Morris will.

A fourth Glamorgan staff man, Zain Ul-Hassan, comes into the squad for his Wales debut. Ul-Hassan has previous National Counties experience having impressed playing for Herefordshire in 2021 and 2022.

Oxfordshire are missing Sussex pair Harrison Ward and Zach Lion-Cachet but have been able to include their county team-mates Archie Lenham and Dan Ibrahim.

Lenham played in the double-header against Berkshire two weeks ago while Ibrahim played in four T20 matches for Oxfordshire last season.

Dylan Driscoll, who played for Gloucestershire against Wales on Monday, will be in Oxfordshire’s side on Sunday with batter Freddie Smith called up for his T20 debut.

Leg-spinner Charan Chahal will make his competitive debut for Wiltshire against Devon at Wimborne having impressed in last week’s Showcase match against Glamorgan.

The Welsh county required a super over to win that contest at Swindon after the sides were tied on 165 after 20 overs. Chahal took two for 27 and has been included in Sunday’s squad along with Tom Cheater who is set to make his T20 debut.

Devon include Sidmouth opening bowler Tom Hodgson for a county debut but they are missing slow left-armer George Addy who has been called up by Leicestershire Second XI.

Herefordshire head to Wimborne to face Dorset in the other Group Four match with three changes to the side that shared the honours with Wiltshire two weeks ago.

Worcestershire Academy and England Under-19 batter Seth Essenhigh will make his Herefordshire debut with Callum Bennett and Ben Clements also coming into the side for the unavailable Sinel Gunarathne, Sam Keeling-Wright and Ben Clarke.

Dorset have included all-rounder Alfie Appleby-Ingram, who has developed through their pathway system, in a 12-man squad as a potential debutant. Ben Rogers, who will keep wicket in the absence of Joe Eckland, and Jacob Stevenson will make their T20 debuts.

Former Surrey all-rounder Nico Reifer is one of two newcomers in Hertfordshire’s side for their matches against Lincolnshire at Welwyn Garden City in Group Two.

Reifer is joined by former Durham MCCU opening bowler Lewis O’Donnell with slow left-armer Troy Henry set for his seasonal debut.

Henry played in three of Hertfordshire’s four Championship matches last season which helped him to secure a rookie contract with Sussex.

Seamer Sam Jarvis, who makes his T20 debut, and batter Nic Keast, return for Lincolnshire who won one and lost one in their opening double-header with Norfolk.

Suffolk and Cambridgeshire face a quick re-match after last week’s National Counties Trophy quarter-final.

Suffolk won that tie and have home advantage on Sunday but they have made five made five enforced changes as Jack Beaumont, George Rhodes, Alex Oxley, Tom Harper and Matt Wareing are unavailable.

Henry Bevan (Woolpit) and Jack Auld (Hadleigh) have been called up for their county debuts with Alex Maynard, Kieran Pell and Freddie Cloud recalled.

Cambridgeshire introduce Reuben Thain, the younger brother of Essex batsman Noah. Thain, like his brother, is a product of the Leys School and Cambridgeshire’s pathway system and he has already played Second XI cricket for Essex.

Batter Mohammed Saif comes into the side for his seasonal debut.

Will Fraine, the former Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire batter, will make his first appearance of the season forCumbria against Northumberland at Keswick in Group One.

Glen Weightman returns to Cumbria’s side on his home ground after an absence of seven years and Carlisle’s Ben Davidson will make his first T20 appearance since 2019.

Northumberland have added off-spinner Max Williamson to the side beaten by Shropshire in their Trophy quarter-final.

Shropshire make a short hop across the county border to face Staffordshire at Burslem, five weeks after they beat them at Shifnal in a Trophy group match.

But it will be a much-changed Shropshire side that takes the field on Sunday as George Hargrave, Jacques Banton, Andre Bradford, Jack Home, Dan Lloyd, David Laird and Ben Roberts are missing.

Sahal Malvernkar, a batter who plays his club cricket in Staffordshire, for Milford Hall will make his Shropshire debut and Chester Boughton Hall seamer George McCormick his first competitive appearance having played in a pre-season match against Worcestershire Academy.

Lewis Evans, Rahul Kaushal, Seb Scott, Luke Thornton, Ravan Chahal and Will Jenkins return.

Staffordshire are boosted by the return of three players with experience at first-class counties in Liam Banks, Tom Brett and Reeve Evitts.

National Counties T20

Sunday June 8 (11am and 2.30pm)

Group One

Burslem: Staffordshire v Shropshire. Keswick: Cumbria v Northumberland.

Group Two

Ipswich School: Suffolk v Cambridgeshire. Welwyn Garden City: Hertfordshire v Lincolnshire.

Group Three

Chesham: Buckinghamshire v Bedfordshire. Panteg: Wales NC v Oxfordshire.

Group Four

Wimborne: Dorset v Herefordshire. South Wilts CC: Wiltshire v Devon.

Showcase Matches

May 30

Swindon: Glamorgan 165-8 (Ned Leonard 47 not out), Wiltshire 165-7 (Jake Goodwin 48, Tom Cheater 41). Glamorgan won on Super Over (Wiltshire 13-0, Glamorgan 16-0)

June 2

Usk. Match One: Gloucestershire 154-7 (Graeme van Buuren 88 not out), Wales NC 155-8 (Harry Friend 42). Wales NC won by two wickets.

Match Two: Wales NC 201-5 (Billy Root 79, Henry Hurle 52, Rhodri Lewis 42), Gloucestershire 141-7. Wales NC won by 62 runs (DLS)

�� Andy Bone - Sports Shots