Mellor is backing county to improve on last season

ALEX Mellor believes that Staffordshire boast a core group of players who can help them to make an impact in the white-ball arena.

The County’s season starts this weekend in the Twenty20 Cup as they host Northumberland at Porthill Park.

The Leek skipper took the reins for the county in the Knockout Trophy campaign last summer – his first experience of Staffs captaincy – and despite not qualifying from their group, he insists there were mitigating circumstances.

Staffordshire were beaten at Cumbria in their first match, but bounced back to defeat Northumberland and Shropshire.

They needed to beat Cheshire, at Knypersley, in their last game to progress to the quarter-finals, but the match was rained off, which sent their local rivals through instead.

“The fact is we ended up in a really good place in the whiteball format,” said Mellor.

“That first game, we hadn’t played together for a while and it was difficult for us.

“Cumbria had already played a match and were getting towards full swing and they caught us out and put us under the pump.

“If we were to play them again, I’d back us to beat them.

“We then had the rained off game against Cheshire and we were going into that match on the back of comprehensively beating Shropshire.

“I couldn’t see us losing a game after the way we recovered from that first defeat.”

The elements ultimately denied Staffordshire the chance to prolong their 50over journey, but Mellor says he took plenty of positives from the campaign.

And he says those qualities will be needed in abundance if Staffs are to go deep into the competition this time around.

“We had a core group of players who worked really hard for each other and we pushed ourselves,” he explained.

“We got the best out of the players, but fortune wasn’t always on our side.

“People bounced back as well, which was pleasing, after missing a game they proved a point. We had all aspects covered.

“We’re more experienced now and we’re bringing in a high-class white-ball cricketer in Riki Wessels, who is only going to make us stronger.”

Mellor has to wait until June to commence his second season as Staffordshire’s 50over leader.

First up is the challenge of the Twenty20 Cup, which has been played since 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Staffordshire have yet to finalise their captain for the short format, but either way, Mellor will be involved in his role as the county’s playercoach. And he has some new experiences to draw on after being part of the England side which were crowned European T10 champions in Spain last year.

“Twenty20 cricket is still a bit of a mystery at minor counties level,” added Mellor.

“I did learn a lot from playing the T10 format for England, though, and there are skills that are massively transferable.

“It helped me as both a player and a coach. You pick up knowledge and can look at things from a different perspective.

“It reiterated to me that although it doesn’t seem as though you have much time, you do, so there was stuff to take away.”

There is also a mouthwatering Showcase game on the agenda this summer as Staffordshire play Leicestershire at Knypersley in July.

All NCCA counties are taking on a first-class side – and after a couple of years of false starts, the fixture is set to be staged this time around.

“It’s a definite highlight,” said Mellor, who is set to captain Staffs in that 50-over contest.

“It’s not a big journey for them to come to us and we’ll be playing against professional cricketers.

“They will bring a good side with them, but it’s an opportunity for us to show what we can do.”