Berkshire progress into National final
HOLDERS Berkshire booked their place in the National Counties Trophy final with an emphatic 62-run win over Wales National Counties at
Port Talbot Town CC, writes DAVID
WRIGHT.
In a game reduced to 40 overs a side after a delayed start, Berkshire posted 182-9 and then restricted the Red Dragons to 120, with nine wickets falling to their formidable spin department.
Toby Albert went for a duck and the dismissals of Savin Perera (13), Richard Morris (26) and Dan Lincoln (1) left them Berkshire 43-4 inside 14 overs.
But Andy Rishton and Euan Woods improved the total to 127 before the latter was lbw for 30.
Josh Lincoln made only four (135-6) and five runs later Rishton fell for 46 to a brilliant catch by Brad Wadlan.
Chris Peploe made eight and Luke
Beaven was caught without scoring to leave Berks 150-9 in the 37th over, but then Tom Nugent and Max Uttley finished the innings in spectacular style, scoring 17 runs each as they added a valuable 32 runs to take the Berkshire total to a very respectable 182-9.
The hosts started well enough with an opening stand of 45 which came to an end when Tom Bevan was stumped by Dan Lincoln off Woods for 21, while Luke Beaven trapped Wadlan lbw for 23. Berkshire now had their tails up with their spinners – intelligently used in stages by shrewd skipper Morris – cutting their way through the Wales innings.
The only resistance came from number three batsman Oskar Kolk, who stayed to the very end, scoring 41 off 48 balls. Berkshire’s impressive bowling figures were Nugent 4-0-13-0, Rishton 3.2-0-20-1, Beaven 8-1-21-2, Woods 4-0-13-2, Uttley 6-029-2 and Peploe 8-0-19-3.
It was their second win over the Red Dragons this season, having beaten them in a group game at Newport in June.
They will meet Cumbria – who beat Cambridgeshire 3-2 in a bowl-out after rain prevented any play in their semi at Keswick – in the final at the picturesque Wormsley ground in Buckinghamshire on Thursday, September 2.
However, before that Berkshire continue their defence of the National Counties Championship with two Western
Division 1 games, the first of which is against neighbours Oxfordshire at Thame CC next week, August 15-17.