James Kettleborough insists Staffordshire are not just satisfied with reaching finals day of the NCCA Twenty20 Cup.
Staffs produced a dominant performance to see off Lincolnshire by seven wickets in the Super 12s at Wolverhampton on Sunday to book a third finals day appearances in four seasons.
Lincolnshire had earlier beaten Cheshire in the morning eliminator, but then couldn’t cope with Staffs in the afternoon battle to reach Wormsley.
That has left Staffordshire preparing for a finals day date with Bedfordshire on Sunday, August 30, with Berkshire facing Devon in the second semi-final.
Kettleborough was understandably delighted by his side’s performance, but says the ultimate goal is to win the competition, as they did at Tring Park in 2023.
“It’s not far off one of the best performances we’ve produced in T20s,” said captain Kettleborough.
“We had home advantage and only had to play one game because we won our group, but that brings it’s own pressure.
“It would have been really easy to be complacent, but the players nailed their skills.
Super Staffordshire book place at NCCA T20 Cup finals day
“But all we’ve done is reach finals day. It’s a feather in our cap, but counts for nothing.
“At the start of the season you don’t want to just be reaching finals, you want to be winning trophies – and we’re still in the hunt for two.
“However, the three other sides at finals day are there by rights and will also see it as a great opportunity.
“We’ll look forward to it and focus on trying to win two games of cricket.”
‘Bowlers to the fore’
Lincolnshire had successfully defended 150 in the eliminator to beat Cheshire by three runs.
And skipper Nic Keast opted to bat in the Staffordshire clash after winning the toss.
But Staffs’ bowlers kept a tight rein on proceedings and limited their rivals to 115-8. Sam Keeling-Wright claimed three wickets, before Nils Priestley’s 47 powered Staffs home with 5.5 overs remaining.
“I got there before the first game and so I could get an idea of what conditions were like and watch the other two teams play,” explained Kettleborough.
Reeve Evitts: I never thought I’d get another chance to score 200
“We found out what worked well and what didn’t and then we sat down as a group for our prep and put plans in place.
“I would have looked to bat as well, given the nature of the wicket.
“It looked like it would get more difficult to score on, so we wanted to take first use.
“However, the bowlers’ performance was high class and they showed how good they can be.
“A couple of overs went for a few, but you’d be deluded to think that isn’t going to happen at some stage in the 20 overs.
“You just know you’ve done a good job when you restrict the opposition to less than a run-a-ball.”
‘Quick out of the blocks’
The relatively small target meant Staffordshire didn’t have to go gung-ho in their run chase.
They made a flying start, though, which ultimately ended any small chance Lincs had of defending their total.
“In the first game Lincs managed to defend 150, and it’s the sort of ground where when the rate gets up, you can defend it,” added Kettleborough. “Anything around the seven-and-a-half to eight runs an over could have been difficult.
Staffordshire 2nd XI claim victory over North Wales
“But we got off to flier and broke the back of the target in the powerplay.
“We’ve got different ways of approaching chases. Nils and Reeve (Evitts) at the top play how they do, while numbers three to eight are all adaptable.”
‘Three-day focus’
Staffordshire have a couple of Championship encounters to negotiate before they turn their attention to Wormsley.
Staffs head to Northumberland this weekend for their latest three-dayer, before welcoming Suffolk to Stafford the Sunday after.
Kettleborough says that his squad make the long journey north to South Northumberland in good heart after their T20 success.
Super Sam’s wicket-taking rhythm gives Cambridgeshire the blues
“What happened on Sunday gives us confidence and people will have enjoyed the day,” he said.
“We will take that up to Northumberland and although it’s a different format, we can use that feel-good factor to our advantage.
“It’s going to be a tough three days of cricket up there, but confidence is high around the group.”
Main image: Staffordshire captain James Kettleborough has led his side to finals day in the NCCA Twenty20 Cup. Picture: Pete Stonier