Staffordshire fell to a heavy defeat in their opening NCCA Championship game against Buckinghamshire.
The county were thrashed by 187 runs at Chesham on the third and final day as champions Bucks kicked off the defence of their title in style.
Staffs were set a hefty target of 385 to claim an unlikely victory in the Division One East clash, but were dismissed for 197 in the afternoon session.
James Kettleborough’s 55 and 30 from fellow opener Sam Kelsall were the only noteworthy contributions from the top order.
It was spin twins Connor Haddow (5-45) and Bertie Foreman (4-54) who did the damage to leave Staffordshire licking their wounds on the way back home.
Staffs still had faint hope of saving the game after reaching lunch on 120-3 – mainly thanks to the efforts of Kettleborough and Kelsall.
However, those aspirations were swiftly extinguished on the resumption as they lost four wickets in the space of 11 balls.
From that point on, it was only a matter of time as to when Buckinghamshire would wrap up their victory.
Sam Keeling-Wright enjoyed himself late on in the innings with some lusty blows in his 35, but that merely delayed the inevitable.
And the end arrived at 3pm when Tom Brett was caught in the deep off Haddow for 22.
‘Solid start’
Staffordshire pair Kettleborough and Kelsall strode out to start the morning’s play knowing that positive intent needed to be displayed in order for their side to bat out the day.
Chasing down such a mammoth target was never truly on the agenda, but Staffs knew that keeping wickets in hand and building partnerships could cause some frustration in the home ranks.
And Kettleborough and Kelsall delivered on that front as they carved out a first-wicket stand of 61 in 16.1 overs. They dealt admirably with the threat of Bucks’ first-innings new-ball heroes Ed Bragg and Tom Weymes.
However, as expected, it was the introduction of spin which would prove to be the catalyst for Staffordshire’s demise.
Left-arm spinner Haddow, a prolific wicket-taker on the National Counties Cricket Association circuit, got the ball rolling when he pinned Kelsall in front.
That rewarded Buckinghamshire’s patience and proved to be a blow to Staffordshire’s ambitions.
But there was still a platform in place for Staffs to take the game deep into the third day.
Reeve Evitts joined his skipper and looked to be in decent touch on his way to 16.
His stay was ended with the score on 80, though, as he mis-timed a pull shot off seamer Josh Lincoln to Weymes at mid-wicket.
That meant there was a battle of the Lincoln brothers as Dan strode out to face his younger sibling.
He was greeted with a bouncer first ball – and another shortly after – to provide an entertaining sideshow to proceedings.
It was a key partnership between Kettleborough and Lincoln as they looked to repel Bucks’ attack.
Kettleborough reached his 50 off 88 balls, hitting seven fours in the process.
‘Big wicket’
But with 10 minutes to go until lunch, Staffs suffered a hammer blow when their captain was dismissed.
It was off-spinner Foreman who was the Bucks hero as he breached Kettleborough’s defence to bowl the opener.
Still, Staffordshire made it to lunch on 120-3 – and although they had lost a wicket more than they would have liked, there was a modicum of hope.
However, the outcome of the contest was decided in the first few minutes of the afternoon session as Buckinghamshire ripped the heart out of the visitors’ middle order.
Michael Hill was the first to go when he nicked a Foreman delivery through to keeper George Harvey to depart for seven.
Haddow then struck twice in one over to account for the Hawkins brothers.
Callum was trapped lbw for a duck, while Joe also failed to score as he offered a sharp chance to Aum Raykar at silly point.
And in the next over, Foreman struck again when Lincoln was adjudged lbw for 13.
Lincoln was really Staffordshire’s last hope of achieving anything, and his exit was met with glee by the Buckinghamshire fielders.
‘Late fun’
Staffs now found themselves 129-7, but Keeling-Wright came in and was intent on enjoying himself in a hopeless cause.
Liam Hurt was the next to go when he was lbw to Foreman for two.
Keeling-Wright hit four fours and two sixes in a breezy 35, although it was always going to be too little too late.
And such an attacking approach was always going to present an opportunity for the hosts.
It came when he launched Haddow into the air and was caught by Billy Dodds.
The last rites were then read when Brett attempted to clear the ropes but was well held Aaryan Sawant at deep mid-wicket.
It was a hugely disappointing start to the Championship season for Staffordshire.
The encounter against the champions was always going to be a tough assignment, but they fell short in key areas.
Notably, the first-innings deficit they gave up gave Buckinghamshire an advantage which they never surrendered.
It’s now how Staffs bounce back – and they have the chance to do that when they entertain Cambridgeshire at Checkley on Sunday, July 26.
Main image: James Kettleborough made 55 for Staffordshire in their second innings. Picture: Roger Byrne