Staffordshire fought back impressively to put points on the board in their opening NCCA Twenty20 Cup double header against Northumberland.
Staffs were beaten by 10 wickets in the day’s first Group One game at Allendale – a contest which was affected by the rain.
But the weather then helped their cause in the second encounter as they managed to secure a six-wicket win to get their short-format campaign up and running.
The Twenty20 Cup has been a profitable competition for Staffordshire in recent seasons.
Captain James Kettleborough and head coach Andy Carr masterminded the county’s first-ever success in the 2023 event with a final victory over Cornwall at Tring Park.
And last summer they reached finals day once again, but the weather prevented the showpiece from being played on three separate occasions.
Staffordshire didn’t make the best of starts to this year’s group stages, though, as they were comfortably beaten in the day’s opening match.
‘Early blows’
Kettleborough won the toss and opted to bat, but there were a couple of early setbacks for the visitors.
Nils Priestley, who made 12, mistimed a shot off paceman Matthew Oswell and was snapped up by Harry Crawshaw at mid-off.
And Staffordshire were soon 26-2 when Kettleborough was trapped lbw by Callum Fletcher.
Richard Harvey: Staffordshire exploring all options to shape future
Callum Hawkins and Matthew Morris looked to be getting into their stride, advancing the score to 52 – but both fell within six runs of each other.
Morris was deceived in the flight by spinner Mohsin Mukhtar to depart for nine, while Hawkins (29) feathered a catch off slow left-armer Crawshaw to keeper Chris Youldon.
And before the halfway point of the innings, Tom Moulton (13) also fell when he overbalanced to a Crawshaw delivery and was stumped by the alert Youldon.
‘Key stand’
Staffordshire desperately needed a partnership of some substance at that point – and it came in the form of a 47-run alliance between Callum Leese and Jack Redman.
From a precarious 74-5, the Staffs pair managed to churn out a key stand to take the innings into the latter stages.
However, just when they looked like opening their shoulders in the final few overs, they were both accounted for.
Leese (29) looked to play a ramp shot off Matthew Oswell, but only succeeded in scooping the ball to Mukhtar at short fine leg.
And Redman’s knock came to a conclusion when he was run out for 20.
Staffordshire struggled to find momentum after that and the innings ended with three balls to go as they were bowled out for 133.
Fletcher finished with 3-21 for Northumberland, with Matthew Oswell and Crawshaw sharing four wickets.
‘Weather woes’
The weather didn’t help Staffordshire’s cause after that as a long rain delay prevented Northumberland from starting their reply on time.
When the elements did relent, the home side were left needing a revised target of 42 off five overs.
James Kettleborough calls for Staffordshire pride and passion
They were always favourites to do that – and even more so when Alasdair Appleby took 17 off Rory Haydon’s opening over.
Northumberland comfortably completed victory inside 3.2 overs as Appleby finished on 32 not out and John Oswell ended unbeaten on eight.
‘Flying start’
Kettleborough won the toss again ahead of the second meeting and this time opted to field.
It appeared as though Northumberland would be setting a massive target for Staffs to chase as they made their way to 65-1 off 5.1 overs as Appleby (31) and John Oswell (24) made merry.
But a rain delay then worked in Staffordshire’s favour as they able to reset – and they impressed with the ball on the resumption after the contest was reduced to 16 overs per side.
Oswell had already fallen before the impromptu break, but Appleby departed immediately after the resumption when he was snapped up by Kettleborough off spinner Matthew Morris.
Morris (3-15) then had Ross Whitfield stumped by Hawkins and also removed skipper Crawshaw.
And with paceman Liam Hurt dismissing Jonny Bushall, Northumberland had tumbled to 88-5.
Their predicament became even worse when off-spinner Jack Redman saw off Robbie Bowman to leave Staffordshire well on top.
Development XI are beaten on trip to Cheshire 2nd XI
Haydon (3-36) returned for a second spell to pick up two more victims, while Hurt bagged his second to limit Northumberland to 115-9.
Staffordshire would have felt that target was well within range, but the chase didn’t start off well as Priestley fell to the first ball.
‘Back on track’
However, any nerves were soon settled by Hawkins and Morris, who put on 59 in just 6.1 overs.
Morris was bowled by Mukhtar for 24 and Hawkins followed in the same fashion to the same bowler for a well-constructed 38.
Staffs could afford to take their time at that point, with the run-rate no longer an issue.
Leese fell for 10, but captain Kettleborough (33no) used his experience and had Moulton (8no) for company as Staffs crossed the finishing line with seven balls to spare to provide a happy end to the day.
Main image: Callum Hawkins made 38 as Staffordshire won the second Twenty20 game against Northumberland. Picture: David Peters
Read more