Wiltshire CCC V Staffordshire CCC

NCCA KO Trophy @ Warminster CC 12th June 2022

Wiltshire won the toss and elected to bat first. Six hundred runs had been scored at Warminster on the previous day and Wiltshire realised that they would need a big score if they were to succeed. They lost Jack Mynott early on, but Jake Goodwin 73 and Josh Lawrence 66 set a cracking pace and gave Wiltshire a solid start. They were dismissed just a few runs apart and it was necessary to rebuild. Fortunately, they had the experienced pair of Jake Lintott 38 and Ed Young 29 to do just that and the run rate continued to look good with a score of 300 anticipated. However, they could not have anticipated the run spree produced by Wadworth man of the Match, Ben Draper 73 from just 42 balls and Mikey Reynolds 41 not out from just 26 balls who added 100 runs in 29 minutes with the Wiltshire total reaching a commanding 345 for 6.

Staffordshire had their own hero in wicket keeper captain Alexander Mellor, 70 from 52 balls with ten 4s and two 6s,who dominated an opening partnership of 96 with Tom Moulton 19. Moulton was the first to go dismissed by Mikey Reynolds with a catch from Josh Croom. The wile of Jake Lintott removed the dangerous Mellor when he bowled him for a fine 70. Lintott added two more victims, both LBW to finish with 3 for 63 trapping both Hope for 32 and Coates for 29. Before that Ed Young had claimed three victims of his own by bowling Redman 34, Wessels 24 and Wilshaw 25 to finish with 3 for 53. Joe King got in on the act when he had Alison caught in the deep by Jake Lintott. That brought exciting pace prospect Josh Croom back into action. The opening batsmen had found him difficult to score too freely against at the beginning of the innings, but his pace definitely proved too much for tail enders Byrne 8 and Atkinson 0 who were dismissed in successive deliveries to give Wiltshire a victory by 63 runs as Staffordshire closed on 282 all out.