NCCA T20 Finals Day 2024

Cumbria will be without their captain Michael Slack for Sunday’s National Counties T20 Finals Day at Chester Boughton Hall.

Cumbria have reached Finals Day for the first time and will face Oxfordshire in the first semi-final (10am) but Slack will miss out on the honour of leading out the county as he suffered a nasty fielding injury in fielding accident during last Sunday’s Super 12s event at Furness.

Matt Sempill will captain Cumbria in Slack’s unfortunate absence with Leicestershire pace bowler Roman Walker drafted in to strengthen the seam attack.

Walker is no stranger to National Counties cricket having played for Wales while he was on Glamorgan’s staff but this will be his first appearance since 2018.

Cumbria can also call on the services of England Under-19 all-rounder Harry Singh but his Lancashire team-mate Steven Croft is unavailable due to his coaching commitments at Old Trafford.

Millom seamer Graham Dawson has been recalled by Cumbria after an absence of 12 years and Cockermouth’s Josh Brown is a potential debutant in the Finals Day squad.

Oxfordshire, T20 winners in 2015 and 2022, have their homegrown Sussex pair Harrison Ward and Zach Lion-Cachet available.

But seamer Dan Ibrahim, who has played a major role in helping Oxfordshire reach Finals Day, misses out on the big day as he is required by Sussex this weekend.

Tom Davis, a seamer with Kent Second XI experience, is a potential debutant with off-spinner George Tait also added to the side that was involved in the Super 12s victories over Cambridgeshire and Dorset last weekend.

Holders Staffordshire and Berkshire meet in the second semi-final on Sunday (1pm) in a re-run of last year’s final which Staffordshire, powered by Nils Priestley’s stunning century, won by 68 runs.

Staffordshire, who have the shortest journey to make on Sunday, will make a late call on the availability of former Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire slow left-armer Tom Brett, whose partner has just given birth. Brett is one of eight survivors from last year’s final in Sunday’s squad.

They have added all-rounder Reeve Evitts and left-arm spinner Anis Raza to the side that beat Hertfordshire and hosts Norfolk in last weekend’s Super 12s at Horsford.

Berkshire are missing Toby Albert who has been called up by Hampshire for his first County Championship appearance of the season against Surrey at Southampton.

Seven of the side beaten in the semi-final 12 months ago have been included in a 13-man squad although pace bowler Tommy Sturgess was involved in Finals Day as a member of the Cornwall side beaten by Staffordshire by four runs in the final.

Batter Matt Dalrymple and spinners Sully Akhtar and Yash Lakhani have all made Finals Day in their first season of National Counties cricket.

National Counties T20 Finals Day

Chester Boughton Hall

Sunday May 26

First semi-final: Cumbria v Oxfordshire (10am)

Second semi-final: Staffordshire v Berkshire (1pm)

Final: 4.30pm

Squads

Cumbria: Matt Sempill (C), Josh Brown, Greg Cameron, Graham Dawson, Sam Dutton, Freddie Fallows, Ed Moulton, Finlay Richardson, Sam Sharp, Harry Singh, Roman Walker, Nico Watt.

Oxfordshire: Jonny Cater (C), Prav Chahal, Tom Davis, Joe Gordon, Jamie Harrison, Tom Hinley, Zach Lion-Cachet, Hayden Rossouw, Seb Stuart-Reckling, George Tait, Harrison Ward, Harry Welch.

Staffordshire: James Kettleborough (C), Sam Atkinson, Tom Brett, Reeve Evitts, Callum Hawkins, Rory Haydon, Michael Hill, Liam Hurt, Hishaam Khan, Zen Malik, Matthew Morris, Nils Priestley, Anis Raza.

Berkshire: Dan Lincoln (C), Johnny Connell, Matt Dalrymple, Archie Carter, Euan Woods, Rhodri Lewis, Andy Rishton, Josh Lincoln, Toby Greatwood, Tommy Sturgess, Sully Akhtar, Yash Lakhani, Rhys Lewis.