Reflections On The 2022 One Day Trophy

Photo credit: Andy Bone - Sports Shots

The 2022 National Counties Trophy was played mostly in glorious sunshine but for one day at Jesmond in mid-June it rained…..sixes.

There were 24 maximums in a match that produced 716 runs and four centuries with Oxfordshire easing to a 70 runs victory over hosts Northumberland.

With its short straight boundaries Jesmond has long been a batters’ paradise and graveyard for bowlers, which is appropriate as two sides of the compact ground adjoin All Saints Cemetery.

Oxfordshire’s 393 for nine was the highest total in last season’s Trophy and included 134 from 100 balls with seven sixes from opener Jamie Harrison and a violent 52-ball 100 from captain Jonny Cater with 72 of his runs – eight sixes and six fours – coming in boundaries.

John Oswell and Stuart Poynter made centuries in Northumberland’s spirited reply and shared a third wicket partnership of 218, the highest for any wicket anywhere last summer.

But the next highest score was Mr Extras with 21 and a total of 323, which might have proved a winning one under normal circumstances, was well short on this occasion.

Cater’s century at Jesmond was his second in successive Trophy innings with his 104 against Cumbria at Banbury seven days earlier helping Oxfordshire to a tie after Gary Pratt had made 112 for the visitors.

Pratt, the former Durham batter and England ‘super sub’, had also made 122 the previous week to set up victory over Herefordshire Cockermouth.

Pratt missed the knockout stages – a quarter-final victory over Cambridgeshire at Exning and the semi-final victory over Oxfordshire at Great & Little Tew.

He was also missing when Cumbria completed an unhappy hat-trick in the final at Wormsley – a third consecutive defeat by Berkshire in the showpiece event.

As usual Berkshire’s success was built on an outstanding team effort rather than one-off performances of individual brilliance. No-one made a century but there were 11 half centuries and only slow left-armer Luke Beaven, pace bowler Mungo Russell and off-spinner Euan Woods took ten or more wickets.

The best bowling performance of 2022 came from Hertfordshire seamer Jigar Mehta whose six for 33 against Cornwall at Redruth came in a losing cause.

Cambridgeshire seamer Danny Mohammad announced himself by taking five for six against Shropshire at Exning in his first bowl in National Counties cricket after their opener against Norfolk was washed out at the midway stage.

Shropshire’s 90 at Exning was not the lowest total of the season as Bedfordshire were dismissed for 85 by Berkshire at Wargrave, where Beaven took four of his 12 wickets, and Wiltshire for the same total by Wales NC at Llandysul.

Former Northamptonshire batter and captain Alex Wakely marked his return to Bedfordshire’s ranks with 115 against Cornwall at Southill Park, 13 years after he had first announced himself with a brilliant century against Oxfordshire in the Trophy at Ampthill, his home club.