DOUBLE DELIGHT FOR STAFFS, BUT THEY JUST MISS OUT ON FINALS DAY SPOT
STAFFORDSHIRE’S hopes of reaching finals day in the National Counties Cricket Association Twenty20 Cup were ended, despite them claiming two victories against Cumbria yesterday.
Staffs made the long trek to Carlisle knowing they needed to win twice in the double header against the Sausages and hope that Group One leaders Cheshire came a cropper at least once at Northumberland.
That didn’t materialise, however, as although Staffs kept their end of the bargain, Cheshire produced two clinical batting performances to secure the four points on offer in the north east.
Staffordshire were left to rue a second-game defeat by Shropshire last month - when they were well in control of the contest - as a primary reason as to why they won’t be one of the four teams heading to Tring Park for finals day in a fortnight.
But Staffs’ performance in the short format gives them hope for the future after they made light of their previous poor showings in T20s to finish in second place in the group with six wins from eight matches.
And they secured wins five and six at Carlisle in contrasting circumstances with a brutal knock by Riki Wessels easing them to the points in the first encounter, before they pulled an unlikely success out of the bag in the afternoon, thanks to Grant Thornton’s batting, when all seemed lost.
Staffordshire made the perfect start to the first match against Cumbria when spinner Peter Wilshaw provided a killer blow to the home side’s innings from the first ball of the day.
Wilshaw, a late replacement for injured captain Zen Malik, deceived Cumbria’s best batsman, Sam Dutton, to rattle the timbers.
That would have been the opening stand-in skipper Alex Mellor would have craved - and his bowlers kept a firm grip on proceedings at Edenside.
Home captain Michael Slack fell to the pace of Thornton when he tamely chipped to Wilshaw in the leg side to go for 21, before Alex Coates bowled former Durham batsman Gary Pratt to leave Cumbria 42-3 approaching the halfway stage of the innings.
Nathan Waterston chipped in with 16, but it required an unbeaten
38 by Matthew Sempill to steer Cumbria to 107-7 from their 20 overs. Spinner Jack Redman weighed in with a couple of wickets to ensure that Staffordshire’s target looked relatively comfortable.
What followed was a remarkable batting performance by Wessels, who showed why he has enjoyed a fine short-form career around the world.
He needed just 14 balls to reach his 50 as he sent the Cumbria attack flying to all parts of the ground.
Mellor was no slouch at the other end, making 36 not out off 27 balls, but the innings belonged to Wessels.
He sealed a 10-wicket victory for Staffordshire in just 7.4 overs and walked off with an unbeaten 65 to his name.
In total he faced just 20 deliveries and hit three fours and eight sixes.
The second match was a tale of unlikely heroes for Staffs as they battled back from the brink to claim victory.
They were set 121 to win, but the chase was the polar opposite of the first as Mellor and Wessels were back in the pavilion in quick time.
And although Mahaaz Ahmed made 17, it looked as though Staffordshire would be on the end of a disappointing defeat when they slipped to 68-8 with just four-and-ahalf overs remaining.
Josh Stirling, Regan Jackson and Nico Watt all claimed two wickets to leave Cumbria on the cusp of a consolation win.
But opening-bowler Thornton strode to the crease to join Redman and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
Thornton tucked into the home attack, with the 18th over proving pivotal as Jackson disappeared for 21 runs.
So from needing 53 off 27 balls, Staffordshire got the equation down to 12 off six, which the visitors managed to achieve with a ball to spare.
Redman played his part with 16 not out, but it was Thornton’s 40 not out, off 17 deliveries - featuring two fours and three sixes - which was the difference.
The second unlikely hero for Staffs in that win was Wilshaw, who grabbed the bowling plaudits with a miserly spell.
He once again accounted for Dutton, this time second ball, and also added Slack (31) and Waterston (23) to his list on his way to figures of 3-7 from three overs.
Pratt made 26 at the top of the order as they closed on 120-6... and then seemed favourites for victory.
However, this new-look Staffs side refused to throw in the towel and found a way to a two-wicket win.
Staffordshire will be left wondering what might have been as they just missed out on extending their interest in the competition.
But there’s plenty of positives to take into the rest of this season, and next summer’s action in the T20 Cup.