Berkshire to begin season at Wargrave

BERKSHIRE remain with the club grounds that served them well last year for their 2018 Unicorns Championship home fixtures.

The Minor Counties cricket champions will open their defence of the title by playing neighbours Oxfordshire at Wargrave CC on June 24-26, while Finchampstead CC will host Shropshire on July 22-24 with Devon the visitors to Falkland CC on August 5-7.

Their away fixtures are against Wiltshire at Corsham on July 8-10, last season’s Western Division runners- up Cheshire at Chester Boughton Hall on August 19-21 and Dorset at North Perrott, which is just over the county border in Somerset, on September 2-4.

The Minor Counties programme takes on a new look next year, with the Unicorns Trophy, also held by Berkshire, switching to a straight knock-out competition, and the introduction of a T20 tournament.

Berkshire will start their defence of the Trophy with a home tie on May 20 at a venue to be confirmed - probably Henley or Falkland - against the winners of the match between Dorset and Cornwall, who play three weeks earlier.

With Matt Robins standing down, Henley batsman Matt Rowe is in line to take over as Cornwall’s new captain.

Berkshire’s T20 fixtures will be home to Shropshire at Wargrave on Sunday, May 6, Buckinghamshire at Amersham on Bank Holiday Monday, May 7, home to Oxfordshire on June 3 at a venue to be confirmed and Herefordshire away on June 17

Berkshire will defend the Marlborough Cup against Wiltshire at Marlborough CC on April 15 and two weeks later, on the 29th, they are likely to visit Bedfordshire for a T20 friendly.