Durant Cricket National Counties Championship: Week 5 - Day One Review

Buckinghamshire booked their place in the Durant Cricket National Counties Championship final by securing top spot in Eastern Division One. 

Buckinghamshire went into their final divisional match against Suffolk at Copdock needing a maximum of six points to end their hosts’ hopes of overtaking them and four to eliminate Staffordshire, who began the day with a four points lead but with their four-match programme completed. 

Buckinghamshire collected four bonus points by dismissing Suffolk for 197 which also restricted Suffolk to just one batting point when they needed all four to keep the title race alive. 

Buckinghamshire, who were promoted a year ago, will now face the winners of Western Division One at West Bromwich Dartmouth from September 3 to 6 in their first appearance in the final since 2012. 

Alex Oxley (50) and Jack Beaumont (39) helped Suffolk into a promising position at 151 for five but they lost their last five wickets for 46 against another excellent team bowling display from Buckinghamshire. 

Seamer Ed Bragg (four for 68) was well supported by Tom Weymes (two for 27) and Conner Haddow (two for 16) with 17-year-old wicketkeeper George Harvey taking four catches on debut. 

Bragg and Harvey ended an eventful day at the crease as Buckinghamshire also struggled for runs, closing on 141 for five, despite another half-century from Alexei Kervezee and 44 from Ewan Cox. 

At the opposite end of the table captain Tom Keast led from the front with a maiden century for Lincolnshire in the relegation decider with Norfolk at Cleethorpes. 

Keast finished unbeaten on 125 and shared an unbroken ninth wicket partnership of 108 with Josh Knapton, who made a maiden half-century. 

With opener Jaden Fell also contributing a half-century, Lincolnshire reached 317 for eight with slow left-armer Ryan Findlay taking his second five wicket haul in a week. 

Norfolk lost Ethan Metcalf and Freddie Fairey to successive balls from Alex King and the experienced Sam Arthurton and Tom New to Mark Footitt as they reached 61 for four by the close. 

The Western Division One title has yet to be decided but Oxfordshire strengthened their claims by bowling out Cheshire for 170 at Banbury and then closing to within 40 for the loss of opener Jamie Harrison. 

It would have been worse for Cheshire – who were 27 for four at one stage – had former Glamorgan batter Joe Cooke not rescued them with a Championship-best 96. 

Seamer Prav Chahal (four for 31) and left-arm spinner Tom Hinley (three for 57) were mainly responsible for Cheshire’s struggles. 

Although Oxfordshire were missing Zach Lion-Cachet, who made his Sussex debut in the Metro Bank One Day Cup match against Worcestershire, maiden half-centuries from Luke Hayes and Dylan Driscoll – on his Championship debut – kept them in command. 

Elliot Hamilton celebrated the award of his county cap by batting Devon into a strong first day position against Herefordshire at Sidmouth with a career-best 154 not out. 

Hamilton batted for four-and-a-half hours and struck 24 fours from the 230 balls he faced and was well supported by opener Ben Privett with a maiden half-century and useful cameos from James Horler and Matt Thompson. 

Herefordshire openers Ben Chapman-Lilley and Rehaan Edavalath made a positive start to their reply, reaching 47 without loss in 17 overs by the close. 

In Western Division Two Wales NC piled up 474 for eight – their highest-ever Championship total – against Dorset at Wimborne. 

Player/coach Brad Wadlan led the way with 134 – his second century in successive matches and 11^th in the Championship – with Milo Ayres making a half-century on debut and Kurtis Marsh 81 in only his second match. 

Tegid Phillips also topped 50 as Wales passed their previous competition-best of 456 for nine against Devon at Sandford in 2018. 

Eighteen wickets went down at Whitchurch where Shropshire were dismissed for 183 but still ended the day four runs ahead of Wiltshire. 

Worcestershire Academy off-spinner Joe Stanley took a career-best seven for 58 on his first Championship appearance for Shropshire to undermine Wiltshire who slipped from 106 for one to 154 for eight after he had Dylan Church LBW for 69. 

The most bizarre dismissal of the day came early on when Shropshire opener was stumped for an eight-ball duck on his Championship debut. 

Lamb, who was batting outside his crease, watched a delivery from Arthur Godsal pass harmlessly into the gloves of wicketkeeper Tom Cullen. But Lamb had failed to regain his ground when Cullen under-armed the ball into the stumps. 

Off-spinner Joe King (four for 36) and Godsal (three for 25) made short work of the hosts before Stanley took control for Shropshire. 

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire fought out a fascinating opening day at Flitwick where the Eastern Division Two title and promotion to the top-flight for next season is likely to be decided. 

There were half-centuries for captain George Thurstance and former first-class batters Sam Bates and Oli Soames but Bedfordshire were pegged back by excellent bowling from slow left-armer Andrew Neal whose five for 44 was a career-best. 

Hertfordshire lost openers Dominic Chatfield and Charlie Mumford cheaply then David Burnell and Jamie Southgate in the space of seven balls after they had repaired the early damage. 

Cambridgeshire’s hopes of overtaking Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire receded after a century from Sam Dutton took Cumbria to 342 for eight and full batting points at Peterborough. 

Dutton shared a fourth wicket partnership of 170 with Matt Sempill (72) and pushed on to his second century in successive Championship innings. 

Captain Wayne White’s unbeaten half-century helped Cambridgeshire make a positive start to their reply. 

 Durant Cricket National Counties Championship  

First day of three  

Eastern Division One  

Cleethorpes: Lincolnshire 317-8 (Tom Keast 125 not out, Jaden Fell 72, Josh Knapton 53 not out, Ryan Findlay 5-111), Norfolk 61-4. 

Copdock: Suffolk 197 (Alex Oxley 50), Buckinghamshire 141-5 (Alexei Kervezee 53).  

Western Division One  

Sidmouth: Devon 377-9 (Elliot Hamilton 154 not out, Ben Privett 57) Herefordshire 47-0. 

Banbury: Cheshire 170 (Joe Cooke 96), Oxfordshire 130-1 (Dylan Driscoll 57, Luke Hayes 56) .  

Eastern Division Two  

Flitwick: Bedfordshire 297 (Oli Soames 62, George Thurstance 51, Sam Bates 50, Andrew Neal 5-44), Hertfordshire 75-4. 

Peterborough: Cumbria 342-8 (Sam Dutton 104, Matt Sempill 72), Cambridgeshire 90-1 (Wayne White 52 not out). 

Western Division Two  

Wimborne: Wales NC 474-8 (Brad Wadlan 134, Kurtis Marsh 81, Milo Ayres 74, Tegid Phillips 52), Dorset 37-1. 

Whitchurch: Shropshire 183, Wiltshire 179-8 (Dylan Church 69, Joe Stanley 7-58).  

Image Credit: David Weaver