A double defeat for Staffordshire
CRICKET: Staffordshire suffered double defeat in their Twenty20 warm-up matches against the North Staffs and South Cheshire League representative team.
Staffs were putting the finishing touches to their preparations for their National Counties Cricket Association campaign, which starts this Sunday with two T20 clashes against Northumberland at Porthill Park.
Staffordshire were without several key players due to unavailability, but that gave director of cricket
Dave Cartledge the chance to cast his eye over other potential squad members.
There were some promising performances, but Staffs, skippered by
Jack Redman, lost by three wickets in the first match before suffering a six-run loss in the afternoon at Longton.
On a testing early-season pitch, Staffordshire were restricted to 98-9 from their allocation.
Leek’s Mahaaz Ahmed top-scored with 17, while Redman, Louis Allison, Jason Jakeman and Jack Hammond were the only other batsmen to reach double figures.
Dan Gibbs (3-21) was the pick of the NSSCL attack.
John Hancock (35) fronted the NSSCL chase - and they looked to be cruising to victory as they reached 82-2.
However, Knypersley seamer Joe Dutton produced a superb spell to capture 5-11 to give Staffs hope of an unlikely win.
But Staffordshire threeday captain Peter Wilshaw, playing for the NSSCL side, showed his experience to finish unbeaten on 34 to lead the league side to their target with an over to spare.
In the afternoon encounter, the North Staffs and South Cheshire League side batted first and posted 116-4 from their 20 overs.
Ryan Hassett top-scored with 39, while Tom Steele chipped in with 35 to give their team a defendable total.
Louis Allison replied with 22 for Staffs, but the county side lost wickets at regular intervals to keep the outcome on a knife-edge.
But Tom Moulton (4-21) kept his composure in the closing stages to ensure that Staffordshire closed on 110-9 at stumps.
Steele followed up his runs with a couple of key wickets to check Staffs’ progress. Staffordshire will now turn their attention to competitive matters this weekend.
After Northumberland, Staffs visit Shropshire.