James Kettleborough says Staffordshire’s final-day approach at Suffolk shows they’re prepared to take on any challenge.
Staffs were set 260 to win in 33 overs in the closing stages of their Division One East Championship encounter at Copdock.
Plenty of sides would have happily batted out time to leave the match meandering to a draw.
But skipper Kettleborough and his players went for the aggressive option and looked to chase down the testing target.
A switch in the batting order saw Callum Hawkins, Liam Hurt and Sam Atkinson make up a revamped top three.
And despite a flying start, Staffordshire ultimately had to settle for a draw as they shook hands on 210-5 after three energy-sapping days in the East Anglian heat.
‘Collective call’
“We had a good chat at tea as a group and we made the decision, collectively, to give it a good go and how we wanted to go about that,” said Kettleborough.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t quite able to get over the line, but I’m proud of the lads for the effort that they put in.
“We always want to look at how we can win any game of cricket. We were there for three days and we wanted to win and how we approached the chase reflected that. The lads gave it a good go.
Day Three report: Callum Hawkins hits maiden Staffs century in Suffolk draw
“If we had lost a couple of early wickets it might have been different, but given the start we had it gave me lots of confidence we could do it.
“But when you have to go an eight an over from the get go, it’s always going to be difficult.
“The opposition are always going to have chances to take wickets in that situation. We knew when we were four or five down we were done, but at least we went out there and gave it a go.”
‘Landmark effort’
The run chase did come with a huge positive, though, as Hawkins chalked up his maiden National Counties Cricket Association century for Staffs.
Hawkins had come close before, having hit 99 in a Trophy game against Shropshire at his home ground of Moddershall & Oulton last season.
However, he wasn’t going to miss out this time and he smashed the final ball of the game for six to walk off unbeaten on 103.
Day Two report: Hurt’s late assault puts Staffordshire in promising position
“There were plenty of positives over the three days and it was a really special moment for Callum to get his first hundred,” added Kettleborough.
“Callum is still pretty young and in the few years he’s been involved with us, he’s played some impressive innings.
“He actually played really well in the first innings and had lots of confidence to go out and play like that.”
‘Leading the way’
The draw, which saw Staffordshire pick up 12 points, saw them cement their place at the top of the table as they attempt to defend their divisional title.
They are a point clear of Cambridgeshire, who have played a game more, after two outings.
There’s two matches left to go, starting with this Sunday’s home game against Buckinghamshire at Stafford. That’s then followed by a trip to Peterborough to take on Cambs on Sunday, August 31.
Staffordshire to host reunion event at Buckinghamshire game
“We picked up the most amount of points we could from the draw, which is great,” explained Kettleborough.
“We batted for 60 overs less than the opposition and fell only a few short, so that a really good position to come out of.”
Main image: James Kettleborough was proud of Staffordshire’s attempt to chase down a tough target at Suffolk. Picture: Roger Byrne