James Kettleborough is looking for his Staffordshire side to put the icing on the cake as they wind up their season this weekend.
Staffordshire head to Chester Boughton Hall on Sunday for the rearranged NCCA Twenty20 Cup finals day, which was originally abandoned in May.
Oxfordshire and Cumbria compete in the first last-four tie in Cheshire.
Staffs are the defending champions having beaten Cornwall in last year’s showpiece at Tring Park.
And their opponents in the second semi-final will be Berkshire, who they have just faced in the four-day Championship final.
The two sides shared the title after a rain-affected draw at West Bromwich Dartmouth – and skipper Kettleborough wants to finish in style by becoming the first side to successfully defend the T20 crown.
‘Trophy quest’
“Finals day seems a long time ago up in Chester. It’s a change of format for us but it’s the chance for us to try to defend the trophy,” said Kettleborough.
“This will be a tough challenge but we have to shift our focus. It’s about talking to the lads, and we’ve had conversations and they will be ready for the new format.
“At the start of the season we didn’t set a limit on what we could achieve because we knew we could compete on all three fronts.
Staffordshire select squad for NCCA Twenty20 Cup finals day
“We didn’t have the best 50-over campaign but we moved on. We have to do the same this weekend and forget what we have done over the past few weeks in the red-ball format.
“It’s a massive day for us and we want to sample the same feelings from last year when we won the competition.
“It’s not going to easy but it’s an exciting opportunity. If we can come away with the trophy, it would make it an incredible season for us.”
Staffordshire’s displays are head coach Andy Carr’s cup of tea
Staffordshire face a quick turnaround after only just finishing their Championship commitments this week.
They shared the Championship title to be crowned winners for the first time since being outright winners in 2014.
‘No temptation’
Staffs were set an improbable 383 to win in a minimum of 55 overs to defeat rivals Berkshire on Wednesday.
That was never likely to be a consideration but they comfortably saw out a draw by reaching 142-2 before Kettleborough shook hands with counterpart Dan Lincoln.
“Once they set us that target it was pretty clear about how we wanted to play. We had clarity in our approach and it was important to get through the first 10, 15 or 20 overs,” added Kettleborough.
“That helped us to put the game to bed. We had a brief discussion but it was really an unachievable expectation to chase that down especially with the risk involved which would have played into their hands.
“They had full control of the game at that point and the hard work we had put in over the course of the final, we didn’t deserve to lose the game.”
Berkshire went into the contest looking to win the title for the sixth time since 2015.
‘Captain’s pride’
Staffordshire didn’t give an inch, though, and Kettleborough was proud of his young team.
“Everyone is quick to put Berkshire on a pedestal as the best NCCA side in the country and they have deserved that tag given what they’ve achieved,” he explained.
“But we managed to battle it out and we’re immensely proud of that. Berkshire like to play on the front foot but we were not just there to make up the numbers. We went toe to toe with them and deserved to share the title.
“You play against Berkshire and they try to bully you when they are on top.
‘You won’t see a spell of bowling as fast as that in NCCA cricket’
“We had six or seven lads who were at least 10 years younger than me and to have youth in the side is exciting.
“But what was more pleasing is that they stood up to the test and they will gain a lot of experience from that.”
Main image: Staffordshire captain James Kettleborough picks up runs in the NCCA Championship final against Berkshire. Picture: Roger Byrne
