MVP Winner Sehmi Gutted To Miss Showcase Fixture

Rob Sehmi is “gutted” that he will not have the honour of captaining Cheshire in their Showcase match against defending LV County Champions Warwickshire at Chester Boughton Hall on Sunday (11am). 

Batter/wicketkeeper Sehmi captains Cheshire in three-day and 50 overs cricket but he will be a frustrated spectator on Sunday having sustained a broken finger in their National Counties Championship Western Division One defeat by Herefordshire at Brockhampton earlier this week. 

“I won’t be playing on Sunday unfortunately because broke my finger against Herefordshire which I am absolutely gutted about,” Sehmi said. 

“We are expecting a big ground on Sunday. I’ll be down watching too and grinning and bearing it as I won’t be on the field. 

“Chester is always a fantastic place to play and watch cricket, the facilities there are excellent and we are looking forward to the day.” 

It will be second time lucky for Cheshire who were forced to cancel last year’s scheduled inaugural Showcase match against Warwickshire due to COVID restrictions. 

But for Sehmi it will be double frustration with his injury setback interrupting a season that has seen him score and keep wicket consistently, performances which were reflected in him becoming the first winner of the National Counties T20 Most Valuable Player Award. 

Sehmi made four half centuries in the T20 competition to help Cheshire through to Finals Day at Tring where they were beaten in the semi-finals by eventual winners Oxfordshire. 

“Winning the MVP is a nice accolade but I would definitely have swapped it for winning the T20 competition,” he said. 

“The MVP reflects the all-round contributions that players make and in T20 cricket in particular, there are lots of ways that you can contribute, probably more so than in three-day cricket. 

“It wasn’t until we’d beaten Northumberland twice away and I’d got a fifty in each match that I realised I was heading the MVP. 

“I went on the NCCA Podcast with our scorer, Jim Law, and Richard Logan, the NCCA Operations Director, and Richard very kindly informed me that I was leading the rankings. 

“That put the pressure on for the last few games. I try not to think too much about stats but winning the MVP is definitely something that’s nice to have in the back pocket.” 

Although Sehmi will not be able to showcase his own skills against Warwickshire in Sunday’s 50 overs contest, he believes that Cheshire have players who have the ability to follow the likes of Danny Lamb and Rob Jones (Lancashire), Ben Gibbon (Worcestershire), Ben Aitchison (Derbyshire) and Jack White (Northamptonshire) into the first-class game. 

“Sunday’s match is a fantastic way for the county to show how strong we are and it also gives players who are still looking to be professional cricketers a platform to showcase their skills against the best,” he said. 

“It’s also a chance to show how strong the National Counties Cricket Association is and that players who might not be getting a go at the top level are still able to play at a seriously high level. 

“For guys who are seriously on the peak of becoming professional cricketers, giving them the chance to go and show what they can do against the best is a fantastic opportunity. 

“We have definitely got a few guys who would love to take that opportunity. The three that come to my mind immediately are Sam Perry, Luke Young and Chris Sanders, all guys who are trialling around on the county scene and training with first-class counties in the winter. 

This is an opportunity for Chris to get some wickets, for Luke to get some runs and wickets and for Sam to go and get loads of runs. 

“It’s a fantastic platform for them to show the guys from the counties they are training with and trialling with how good they are and that they are able to take that step up to the next level.”