COUNTIES CRICKET Dorset bid for special National double
- Details
- Last Updated on Sunday, 24 August 2025 10:13
- Published on Sunday, 24 August 2025 09:10
- Written by PAUL BOLTON Cricket Correspondent
Norfolk face Oxfordshire in the first semi-final at 1000 with the winners meeting the winners of the second semi-final between Dorset and Northumberland in the final at 1630.
Norfolk include eight members of last season’s National Counties Trophy-winning side in their squad for today's return trip to Wormsley for NCCA T20 Finals Day.
Norfolk won the 50 overs competition 12 months ago when they beat Cheshire in the final at Wormsley, the stunning private ground on the Getty family estate on the Buckinghamshire-Oxfordshire border, and they return today attempting to win the T20 title for the first time.
Norfolk will be making their second appearance in Finals Day having been beaten by Cheshire in the semi-finals at Wormsley in 2018.
Oxfordshire, who won the T20 in 2022 when they beat Cambridgeshire in the final at Tring, are the only past winners involved this weekend.
They will also be in familiar surroundings having used Wormsley as one of their regular home venues in recent seasons but they will be without Harrison Ward, their white ball captain and Sussex batter, who is ruled out by an injury sustained against Berkshire earlier in the week.
George Tait will lead Oxfordshire and, in Ward’s absence, is the only survivor from the 2022 final.
Batter/left-arm wrist spinner Tom Hinley, who is a contracted Worcestershire player, is available having made his seasonal debut in the rain-blighted Super-12s event at Wadebridge where victory over Cornwall in a rain-reduced five overs-a-side contest at Wadebridge which clinched Oxfordshire’s place in Finals Day.
Dorset, beaten finalists at Wormsley in 2019 and losing semi-finalists at Tring in 2022, have named Scotland international seamer Brad Currie in their squad.
Currie, who is contracted to Sussex, made his seasonal debut in the Super12s victories over Berkshire and Suffolk at Wargrave and he is available again for Finals Day.
Contracted Hampshire batter/wicketkeeper Joe Eckland who, like Currie, is a product of Dorset’s pathway programme is also available with former Hampshire Academy batter Wilf La Fontaine-Jackson a possible competition debutant having made a century on his NCCA Cluberly Championship debut in the victory over Wales NC on Tuesday.
Dorset will be attempting to complete a white ball competition double having already secured the National Counties Trophy by beating Shropshire in the final last month.
Northumberland will be making their first appearance in Finals Day and their first in a National Counties competition final in ten years since they were beaten by Cornwall in the Trophy finale at Wormsley.
Their side includes four former Durham players in batters Harry Crawshaw, Ross Whitfield and Sol Bell plus all-rounder Jonny Bushnell with Bell set for his T20 debut having made his first appearance for Northumberland in three years in the Championship victory over Cumbria earlier in the week.
Chris Youldon, who played a match-winning innings of 43 not out in the victory over Cambridgeshire in the first of their Super-12s matches, returns to keep wicket having missed the Cumbria Championship match.
Northumberland seamer Calum Fletcher will go into Finals Day as this season’s leading T20 wicket-taker with 18 while Dorset’s Will Tripcony is the leading run-scorer with 378.
NCCA Dojo T20 Finals Day
Wormsley
Sunday August 24
First semi-final: Norfolk v Oxfordshire (10am).
Second semi-final: Dorset v Northumberland (1.15pm)
Final at 4.30pm.
Dorset: Luke Webb (C), Alex Eckland, Brad Currie, Connor Smith, Dylan Church, Ethan Baker, Finn Gordon, Joe Carson, Joe Eckland, Matt Burton, Mo Abbas, Wilf La Fontaine-Jackson, Will Tripcony.
Northumberland: Oli McGee (C), Alasdair Appleby, John Oswell, Matt Oswell, Ross Whitfield, Harry Crawshaw, Jonny Bushnell, Sol Bell, Chris Youldon, Joe Stuart, Calum Fletcher, Max Williamson.
Norfolk: Sam Arthurton (C), Freddie Fairey, Ben Wilcox, Alfie Cooper, Charlie Hood, Arthur Wilcox, Hamidullah Qadri, Joe Everett, Callum Metcalf, Brett Stolworthy, Andy Hanby, Ethan Metcalf.
Oxfordshire: George Tait (C), Prav Chahal, Tom Davis, Arthur Hanson, Luke Hayes, Tom Hinley, Ahmed Khan, Julian Laird, Ayush Patel, Haydn Rossouw, Tristan Rossouw, Freddie Smith.
Previous finals
2015: Cheshire beat Oxfordshire by 119 runs at Banbury. Losing semi-finalist: Devon and Bedfordshire.
2018: Berkshire beat Cheshire by six wickets at Wormsley. Losing semi-finalists: Norfolk and Devon.
2019: Hertfordshire beat Dorset by nine wickets at Wormsley. Losing semi-finalists: Buckinghamshire and Lincolnshire.
2022: Oxfordshire beat Cambridgeshire by two wickets at Tring. Losing semi-finalists: Cheshire and Dorset.
2023: Staffordshire beat Cornwall by four runs at Tring. Losing semi-finalists: Berkshire and Hertfordshire.
2024: No winner. Semi-finalists: Berkshire, Cumbria, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire.
Highest totals
252-2 Staffordshire v Berkshire at Tring (2023). Semi-final.
240-0 Cheshire v Oxfordshire at Banbury (2015). Final.
Lowest totals
88 Devon v Berkshire at Wormsley (2018). Semi-final.
104-9 Dorset v Hertfordshire at Wormsley (2019). Final.
Highest scores
147 not out Nils Priestley Staffordshire v Berkshire at Tring (2023). Semi-final.
132 not out Warren Goodwin Cheshire v Oxfordshire at Banbury (2015). Final
101 not out Ollie Law Cheshire v Oxfordshire at Banbury (2015). Final.
Best bowling
7-12 Ollie Currill Oxfordshire v Cheshire at Tring (2022). Semi-final.
4-11 Chris Peploe Berkshire v Devon at Wormsley (2018). Semi-final.
4-17 Jack Williams Cheshire v Oxfordshire at Banbury (2015). Final.
4-19 Ross Dixon Cheshire v Oxfordshire at Banbury (2015). Final.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
