T20 Finals Day Preview

The two most successful sides in the history of National – formerly Minor – Counties cricket will go head-to-head in the first semi-final at this year’s Finals Day at Tring Park on Sunday (10am). 

Until last August Staffordshire were the most successful side with 15 titles across all formats but Berkshire drew level when they won the National Counties Trophy at Wormsley then overtook them when they collected their 16^th piece of silverware by regaining the National Counties Championship title by virtue of their first innings lead against Lincolnshire in a rain-ravaged final. 

Staffordshire have reached T20 Finals Day for the first time under a new coaching and captaincy team of Andy Carr and former Northamptonshire and Glamorgan batter James Kettleborough. Staffordshire now have the chance to draw level with Berkshire again but will first need to beat a side who are seeking their eleventh title in seven seasons. 

The winners of the first semi-final will face either Cornwall or Hertfordshire, who meet in the second tie at 1.30pm, in the final at around 4.30pm. 

Staffordshire, who emerged as winners of a soggy Group One in which only eight of the scheduled 20 matches produced a result, have former England Under-19s all-rounder Zen Malik available for the first time this season. 

The former Worcestershire Academy prospect has been trialling with Leicestershire’s Second XI this month as well as the South Asian Cricket Academy. 

Wicketkeeper Spencer Byatt returns having been unavailable for the double-headers against Shropshire and Cheshire three weeks ago. 

Berkshire were the first team to qualify for Finals Day and lost only one of their six completed matches in Group Four. 

They have named a 15-man squad for Finals Day with four of their contracted county players – Jack Davies and Toby Greatwood (Middlesex), Toby Albert (Hampshire) and Tom Scriven (Leicestershire) – all available. 

Leg-spinner Shaariq Sheikh, who impressed on his competition debut against Bedfordshire at Wargrave, is also in the squad. 

Captain Dan Lincoln, Euan Woods and Andy Rishton are the three survivors from the Berkshire side that won the T20 competition in 2018. 

Hertfordshire have named five players that helped them win the competition in 2019 in their squad for Sunday. 

Reece Hussain, who captained Hertfordshire when they beat Buckinghamshire in the semi-final and Dorset in the final, is joined in this season’s Finals Day squad by current captain Ben Waring, former Essex all-rounder Tanveer Sikander, batter Jamie Southgate and seamer Jigar Mehta. 

Former Essex seamer Jack Plom and ex-Hampshire wicketkeeper.batter Charlie Mumford, two new recruits this season, in a 14-strong squad. 

Although Hertfordshire will, in theory, be playing Cornwall on home soil they have not staged a county match at Tring since 1999 but have played there since as the away team at a ground that is used regularly as a home venue by Buckinghamshire. 

Cornwall, like Staffordshire, will be appearing in T20 Finals Day for the first time having topped Group Two and managed to complete all eight of their group matches with six wins and two defeats. 

They can again call on the services of their homegrown Somerset all-rounder Lewis Goldsworthy who helped them to beat Devon twice in their final double-header at Cornwood two weeks ago. 

New professional Will MacVicar, a key player in their progression to Finals Day, is also included in an unchanged 13-man squad with in-form batter Christian Purchase the one survivor from the side that beat Northumberland in the Trophy final in 2015, Cornwall’s last title. 

Former Shropshire batter Xavie Clarke, younger brother of Nottinghamshire batter Joe, is also included in the squad having made his Corwall debut in the first match against Devon two weeks ago. 

National Counties T20 Finals Day 

Sunday May 21 (Tring Park) 

Berkshire v Staffordshire (10am) 

Berkshire: Dan Lincoln (C), Savin Perera, Jack Davies, Toby Albert, Andy Rishton, Euan Woods, Tom Scriven, Johnny Connell, Charlie Dunnett, Josh Lincoln, Rhodri Lewis, Toby Greatwood, Shaariq Sheikh, Luke Beaven, Lewis Sharp. 

Staffordshire: James Kettleborough (C), Sam Atkinson, Tom Brett, Spencer Byatt, Michael Hill, Liam Hurt, Zen Malik, Matthew Morris, Nils Priestley, Dan Richardson, Peter Wilshaw, Jack Redman, Tom Moulton. 

Cornwall v Hertfordshire (1.30pm) 

Cornwall: Paul Smith (C), Will MacVicar, Christian Purchase, Joe Phillips, Max Tryfonos, Xavie Clarke, Tommy Sturgess, Chris Gibson, Ben Ellis, Dan Lello, Alex Bone, Lewis Goldsworthy, Tom Dinnis. 

Hertfordshire: Ben Waring (C), James Latham, Charlie Mumford, Charlie Scott, Alan Jones, Tanveer Sikander, Jamie Southgate, Andrew Neal, Jack Plom, Lee Tyrell, Alex Gosling, Jigar Mehta, Luke Chapman, Reece Hussain. 

Away from T20 Finals Day Herefordshire host MCC in their annual 50 overs friendly at Brockhampton on Sunday (11am). 

Ben Chapman-Lilley will captain Herefordshire in the absence of Matt Pardoe with seamer Dan Conway set for his first county appearance in four years and all-rounder David Ball his first of the season. 

Suhayl Iqbal of Old Hill will keep wicket in place of Luke Powell who has Worcestershire Second XI commitments. 

Two former Worcestershire players Daryl Mitchell and Alex Milton – who played for Herefordshire between 2015 and 2016 – have been included in MCC’s side along with Wales NC and former Glamorgan all-rounder Sam Pearce. 

Devon’s leg-spinning all-rounder Ed Middleton has become the latest player to make the successful transition from National Counties cricket to the first-class ranks. 

Middleton has signed a contract with Gloucestershire until the end of the season after impressing while on trial in the second half of last season and the opening six weeks of the current campaign. 

Middleton becomes the 14^th player with National Counties experience on Gloucestershire’s books joining seamer Zaman Akhter (Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire) – who is making his County Championship debut in the current match against Durham at Bristol – David Payne (Dorset), Miles Hammond (Oxfordshire), Dominic Goodman (Buckinghamshire), Ben and Luke Charlesworth, Jack and Matt Taylor and Tom and Ollie Price (all Oxfordshire), Will Naish (Wiltshire), Ben Wells (Dorset) and Tom Smith (Buckinghamshire).