COUNTIES CRICKET National Trophy round three round-up
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- Created on Tuesday, 06 May 2025 05:42
- Last Updated on Tuesday, 06 May 2025 06:38
- Published on Tuesday, 06 May 2025 05:42
- Written by PAUL BOLTON Cricket Correspondent
Norfolk needed to beat Herefordshire and win their final group match against Staffordshire to have any hope of progressing to the quarter-finals.
Instead a third straight defeat in Group Two meant an early exit with Norfolk’s fate sealed by an outstanding all-round performance from Olly Walker.
Seamer Walker took four for 52 to restrict Norfolk to 246 for eight in their 50 overs and then struck an unbeaten 108 from 97 balls – his second Trophy century – to see Herefordshire home with six overs to spare.
The match looked finely balanced when Walker was joined by Alex Hinkley with Herefordshire on 141 for but the pair saw them home without further alarm in a county record sixth wicket partnership of 107.
Norfolk’s innings included half-centuries from Alfie Cooper and Ben Wilcox but they lost skipper and potential match-winner Sam Arthurton, bowled by James Rudge, for a duck to the third ball of the match.
Suffolk followed up their opening day victory over Norfolk with another win on the road, this time a 67 runs victory over Staffordshire at Bignall End.
A competition-best 82 from opener Ollie Burle – who had made only 16 runs in two previous innings in the Trophy – helped to lay the foundations for a substantial total but it was Josh Cantrell’s aggressive 54 not out from 27 balls that eventually boosted them to 312 for six.
Cantrell then took three for 53 with his leg breaks to restrict Staffordshire to 245 with the loss of five wickets for 15 undoing much of the hard work of Matt Morris (55) and Nils Priestley (50).
Off-spinner Joe King equalled Wiltshire’s best Trophy bowling figures of six for 30 to set up a five wickets win over Wales NC at Warminster in Group Four.
King’s return matches the figures of former Worcestershire seamer Nick Harrison, also against Wales, at Pontarddulais 15 years ago.
Wales, missing their Glamorgan contingent, again relied heavily on player/coach Brad Wadlan whose 70 nursed them to a total of 189 but Wiltshire chased it down with 19 overs to spare thanks to Jake Goodwin’s half century.
Dorset made it two wins out of two by beating Hertfordshire by 47 runs at Wimborne.
Brothers Finn and Jacob Gordon again combined effectively with support from Alex Eckland to take Dorset to 248 for eight.
Hertfordshire responded with a series of cameo innings, the highest 42 from Dominic Chatfield, which were not enough to save them from successive away defeats.
Northumberland all but booked their place in the quarter-finals by beating Cambridgeshire in a high-scoring Group One contest at Peterborough.
John Oswell’s spectacular 107 not out helped Northumberland to pile up 331 for five which was again the day’s highest total.
Oswell reached 50 from 45 balls but needed only 12 more deliveries to complete his second Trophy century which included ten fours and seven sixes.
His assault overshadowed a third successive score of 50 or more from Ross Whitfield and a second in as many days from opener Alasdair Appleby.
Cambridgeshire pushed Northumberland hard with Ben Claydon making 78 and Lee Thomason his maiden century in the competition – 103 from 93 balls.
Lincolnshire opener Ben Wright also made his maiden Trophy century and finished on the losing side as Bedfordshire triumphed by five wickets at Dunstable.
Despite Wright’s 101 and 48 from Jordan Cook, Lincolnshire mustered only 227 and Bedfordshire chased it down with 20 balls to spare thanks to a county record fourth wicket partnership of 161 between captain George Thurstance, with his second half-century of the Bank Holiday weekend, and former Hampshire batter Oli Soames.
Berkshire opener Johnny Connell was another man in form as he followed his 65 against Oxfordshire on Sunday with his first Trophy century in a 62 runs victory over Cornwall at Slough.
Connell’s 120 from 132 balls included 12 fours and two sixes with Rhys Lewis sharing an opening partnership of 83 with him.
Will MacVicar and Graham Wagg shared six wickets to restrict Berkshire to 256 with Andy Rishton (22) the only other batter to reach 20.
Rishton then reduced Cornwall to 19 for three from which they never fully recovered. Captain Paul Smith (42), Max Tryfonos (34) and Xavie Clarke (47) played defiant innings but Tommy Sturgess took three for 28 against his former county who were dismissed for 194 with five overs unused.
Oxfordshire opened their account after two defeats with a 90 runs victory over Devon at Abingdon Vale, where they were hosting a match for the first time.
Solid batting down the order, including half-centuries for Dylan Driscoll and Hayden Rossouw, took Oxfordshire to 264 with Ben Privett’s competition-best figures of four 45 proving to be Devon’s highlight.
Captain James Horler held Devon’s innings together with 60 but Matt Thompson (32) was the only other batter to reach 30.
Leg-spinner Henry Welch unpicked the lower order as Devon came up well short, dismissed for 174 with more than ten overs unused.
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