It epitomises the close nature of NCCA Division One East that one swing of the bat changed the Championship landscape for Staffordshire.
Before Sam Atkinson drilled a Jack Beaumont delivery through mid-wicket to clinch victory for Staffs over Suffolk this week, the county were bottom of the table.
Buckinghamshire’s win at Bedfordshire earlier in the afternoon had sent Staffs to the foot of the standings.
But in the blink of an eye, as Atkinson watched the ball race over the Stafford boundary, the county jumped from fifth place to first.
As they started their chase of 307 in 65 overs to beat the East Anglians, Staffordshire still had thoughts of how they would avoid dropping out of the top flight.
A few hours later, and thanks to the second-highest successful run chase in the county’s history, Staffordshire are now in the driving seat to win the division.
‘Leading the way’
They are four points clear of Buckinghamshire, who they travel to meet at High Wycombe on Sunday, which sets up a mouth-watering clash against the current champions.
The excitement levels have ramped up in a Division One East which has, in all honesty, proved to be pretty turgid up until Tuesday’s action.
Day Three report: Staffordshire move to top of table after epic run chase
All of the matches had been draws before Bucks struck first to see off Beds – and Staffordshire then followed suit by banking maximum points against Suffolk.
Staffs may be frontrunners going into this weekend’s final round of matches, but even Suffolk – who now sit bottom and entertain Lincolnshire – can still win the division.
Staffordshire captain James Kettleborough says his side is ready for a thrilling three days to bring the curtain down on the divisional season.
“It sounds nice to go from bottom to top in one chase, but it’s set up really well for an exciting game against Bucks,” he said.
“We will obviously be focusing on our game, but we will also have an eye on the other one match because teams can still catch us.
“There’s so much to play for and to be in the mix is what we wanted going into the season.
“We have a really great chance of winning the division and are in a strong position.
“For me it’s just excitement. We want to win trophies and compete to win things. These are the types of games we want to be involved in.
“We could, with the T20 Cup, still have four more games of cricket to try to win two trophies. That’s our aim.”
‘Memorable chase’
Kettleborough cuts a pretty calm figure when he speaks, but inwardly he would have been thrilled at seeing his side perform how they did on Tuesday at Riverway.
It was a testing target set by Suffolk, who rolled the dice in their own attempts to steal a march on the other sides in the division.
Kettleborough fell early, which in other circumstances might have proved to be a fatal blow to the home side’s chances of knocking off such a big total.
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But Tom Moulton (77), Reeve Evitts (53), Callum Hawkins (50) and Matt Morris (49) put Staffordshire in a commanding position.
Michael Hill orchestrated matters late in the day with 29 not out, while Atkinson’s carefree unbeaten 35 saw Staffs complete a five-wicket win with five-and-a-half overs to spare.
Staffordshire’s only run chase which has been higher was the 309 they knocked off to beat Cumberland at Kendal in 2003.
‘Big achievement’
And it was only the fourth time they have knocked off a score of 300-plus in 158 successful chases in their history.
“The run chase is the obvious highlight, but the three days were hard graft and it was a proper Championship performance,” added Kettleborough.
“To get over the line was satisfying and I’m proud to lead this group of lads. I think the hard work we put in was deserving of the victory.
“I wasn’t surprised they declared at lunch. It’s a difficult one because people look at us chasing 307, five down, with more than five overs to spare and it makes it sound like an easy run chase.
“But it was the way the lads played which made it easier. Going at the required rate they set us isn’t easy by any stretch, so I thought it was an even declaration.
“I thought they might have gone harder a bit early so they could have had more overs at us, though.”
‘Dramatic day’
Heading into the final day, Suffolk were 180-2, leading by 108.
George Rhodes compiled 130 and Darren Ironside added 89 as Suffolk reached 379-6 at lunch before pulling the plug on their second innings.
Kettleborough admits that he was seeing both sides of the coin – a Suffolk declaration or bowling them out – before the action started.
“Heading into the day it was a bit of both, There were conversations flying around about how they might go about things,” he explained.
Day One report: Staffordshire and Suffolk both satisfied with opening efforts
“But we also knew that if we could get a couple of early wickets, especially Rhodes, we could limit them and dictate the day from there.
“That’s the way we wanted to go, but Rhodes played brilliantly and they were able to declare.
“It’s very easy to say ‘let’s chase 300’. It’s easy to forget that’s a lot of runs and it requires skill and application.
“And all of the batters, each and every one of them, delivered and played their part in the run chase.
“That makes life easier in a chase of that magnitude, and that’s before you consider it was a day three wicket as well.”
It’s not often that a side knocks off in excess of 300 on the last afternoon of an NCCA Championship encounter.
‘Strong belief’
But Kettleborough says he had no doubts that Staffs could complete their epic mission.
“I believed we could do it. The way we have been batting in the last couple of weeks, there’s been a number of people putting their hand up and passing 50,” he stated.
“I just knew if one or two of them went big we’d have a chance. As it was, five or six lads all contributed.
“Did I believe we would do it as comfortably as we did? Probably not. But it showed how good we are.”
Staffordshire re-jigged their order as the run chase unfolded.
Hawkins moved up to number three, Moulton dropped to five and Hill went down to six.
“We wanted to play around with the combinations. It was looking at the partnerships and the match ups,” said the county skipper.
“We had a conversation with Cal and double checked with him he was comfortable going up to three (from number six) having kept for such a long period of time.
“He didn’t hesitate. Matt (Morris) then moved through the gears and played the role that he did.
“I’ve played a lot of cricket with Tom and know the ability that he has. He’s got all the shots he needs, maybe it was just a bit of confidence and belief.
“But he backed up his ability and maybe the situation dictated he played like that. He didn’t take a backward step and that’s perhaps the best he’s played for Staffordshire.”
‘Bowlers deserve credit’
Staffordshire’s batsmen might well take the glory for executing that final-afternoon chase.
But the bowlers also put in the hard yards on a flat wicket.
Left-arm spinner Tom Brett took four wickets in each innings, while debutant off-spinner Oliver Tucker also bowled nicely.
“The spell Olly bowled on day two was brilliant,” added Kettleborough. “The way he went about his work was impressive and he partnered Bretty really nicely.
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“Hopefully he got a bit of confidence from that and he didn’t look out of place. It’s a nice feather in the cap for him.
“Bretty is a close mate of mine and I probably don’t give him the credit he deserves sometimes.
“To come into the game with a big question mark over his fitness and to bowl 58 overs and take eight wickets, shows he’s leading from the front.
“It was a flat wicket, so it’s full credit to his ability and character to perform how he did.”
Main image: James Kettleborough is relishing the challenge of facing Buckinghamshire this weekend. Picture: Alfie Shenton
