Staffordshire and Suffolk provided plenty of entertainment on the opening day of their NCCA Championship clash at Stafford.
On a day where former Staffs players convened for a reunion, they were treated to a day of high scoring – and plenty of wickets – in the Riverway sunshine.
Former England internationals Dean Headley and Paul Taylor – who shared 16 wickets in the 1990 victory over the same opponents at Ind Coope – plus title-winning captains Nick Archer, Steve Dean and Paul Goodwin were among those in attendance.
It was a glorious day of NCCA cricket as battle to win the Division One East title – and also avoid relegation – continued apace.
Table-topping Suffolk rattled up a mammoth 398 all out after they had won the toss and elected to bat.
Openers Nico Boje (91) and Alex Maynard (79) set the tone in the morning session, before Josh Cantrell (88) followed their lead in the middle order.
Staffs seamer Sam Keeling-Wright (5-117) was the pick of the home attack on his return to the side after missing the Northumberland draw, while there were double strikes from Liam Hurt and Tom Brett.
In reply, Staffs reached the close on 97-2 from 26 overs.
Captain James Kettleborough and Reeve Evitts were both dismissed, but Matt Morris (50no) and Dan Lincoln (25no) saw them through to the close.
‘Quick out of the blocks’
Suffolk’s stand-in captain Dan Shanks didn’t hesitate to bat first after he called correctly as his side chase their first Championship final appearance since 2021.
But there may have been an air of trepidation about how matters would unfold with regular openers Jack Beaumont – also the East Anglians’ skipper – and Ollie Burle both unavailable.
Boje and Maynard were drafted into the side to take their spots against the new ball – and justified their inclusions with a fast-paced opening stand.
On a wicket offering very little to the bowlers, Suffolk seized on anything loose as they stuck 100 on the board inside 13 overs.
The ball was disappearing to all parts as Boje and Maynard both compiled half-centuries at better than a run-a-ball.
Kettleborough turned to Matt Morris’ spin early in the piece to try to stem the flow of runs, but it was seamer Sam Atkinson who eventually made the breakthrough.
Suffolk had 145 on the board in the 20th over when Maynard departed for 79 as his checked shot was collected by a galloping Kettleborough in the covers.
That wicket didn’t really alter the scoring rate too much as Suffolk looked to build on the platform created by their new-look opening partnership.
And with the in-form Darren Ironside toddling in at number three, Staffordshire could have been forgiven for fearing the worst.
As it was, Ironside missed out on the run fest when he became the second wicket to fall with the score on 171.
Keeling-Wright found Ironside’s edge and Hurt snaffled the opportunity in the slip cordon.
However, it was very much Suffolk’s morning as they reached lunch on 195-2 from 32 overs with Boje – son of former South Africa spinner Nicky Boje – unbeaten on 84.
‘Fighting back’
The interval provided Staffs with the chance to regroup – and they bowled a tighter line in the afternoon action.
And it was much needed as Suffolk looked like they would be capable of scoring beyond 450 or even 500.
However, Staffs made steady progress with the ball as they removed Boje, who was just nine short of his century when he presented keeper Dan Lincoln with a catch behind the stumps off Hurt.
Jacob Marston handed Lincoln another victim off Keeling-Wright and the Staffs gloveman then accounted for Alex Oxley off the same bowler
All of a sudden, Suffolk were 248-5 and in danger of wasting the explosive start given to them by Boje and Maynard.
However, Cantrell was in no mood to let that happen as he held proceedings together from a Suffolk perspective.
Debutant Hamad Arshad (29) helped to advance the score before he fell to Hurt as Lincoln pocketed another offering.
Suffolk reached tea on a mammoth 340-6 and still had 26 of their allotted 90 overs to bat.
And with Cantrell in residence, any score was seemingly possible.
But Staffordshire stuck to their guns and plugged away, with spinner Brett trapping Tom Harper lbw.
Cantrell then became the third Suffolk batsman to miss out on a ton when he was grabbed by a leaping Kettleborough at deep gully off Keeling-Wright.
The Staffs seamer completed another five-wicket haul with the wicket of Freddie Cloud after Shanks had been dismissed by Brett.
‘Early setbacks’
Staffordshire’s reply didn’t get off to the best of starts as Kettleborough and Evitts both fell to leave the hosts on 47-2.
Kettleborough edged Shanks to Ironside in the slips, before Evitts was bowled by Cloud.
Morris dropped anchor, though, and managed to reach a half-century just before the close.
Suffolk put down a couple of chances, but Staffordshire made it through to the close without further alarms.
With Cambridgeshire dropping bonus points against Bucks, Staffordshire now need one extra point – by reaching 175 – to secure their divisional status.
But they will be hoping that day two can deliver a platform for even grander achievements.
Main image: Staffordshire’s Liam Hurt in action on the opening day against Suffolk at Stafford. Picture: David Peters