Review of men’s 2024 season
In all 2024 can be seen as another highly satisfying season for our men’s 1st XI. Consistency wise we were the leading side in the country across the three formats and were delighted to regain the Western division title having surrendered it to Devon in 2023. An improved showing in red ball cricket was high on our agenda and we achieved that. Whilst disappointing not to win the outright championship following our draw with Staffordshire, we can be more than satisfied with having our name on the trophy again, all be it not the way we wanted it to be on there.
Our T20 cricket continued to show an upward trajectory as we seek to win the trophy for the first time since 2018. It’s the one that’s alluded us the most in recent times so it was disappointing not to be able to have a crack at it this year with all three days of finals day defeated by the weather. To go back to back finals day qualification was encouraging though and we’ll continue are hard work in this format this winter.
The competition we were knocked out in was the NCCA trophy and whilst the atmosphere was somber in the changing room after our semi final defeat in Alderley Edge I took the opportunity to remind the boys that what we’ve achieved in that competition since 2017 should be celebrated in times of defeat and the loss gave us the opportunity to remember that. To reach the final and win it 5 times in 6 years can only really get acknowledged when the run comes to an end so I took that opportunity to remind the boys what an incredible achievement it’s been. Cheshire outplayed us and you congratulate them on that and move on. We will be looking to return to Wormsley next year. Congratulations to Norfolk on their victory.
As we’ve been accustomed to in recent years, the team once again evolved dramatically this summer and here probably lies where I’m most satisfied with the outcome of the summer. We decided, as did they, that we wouldn’t use our professionals this summer unless it greatly benefitted both parties. Therefore we only once saw Toby Albert and didn’t use Jack Davies, Tom Scriven or Jafer Chohan, players who have greatly contributed to much of our recent success. They’ve essentially flown the nest now and continue to go from strength to strength in the first class game. Alongside them Savin Perera missed the entire summer with SACA commitments taking priority and Luke Beaven only returned in the last month of the summer after long term injury. Tom Nugent, arguably our greatest ever seamer only played one game which meant 7 players required covering this year affording opportunity for many of our young up and coming players.
READ HEAD COACH TOM LAMBERT’S TRIBUTE TO THE RETIRING TOM NUGENT HERE
Knowing this, over the winter we decided to bring in Tommy Sturgess who had moved into the area and his contributions throughout justified this decision and gained him a short term deal with Worcestershire for the metro bank. I personally look forward to working with Tommy much more in the future. Well done mate.
It was unquestionably a break through summer for many of our young home grown players. Johnny Connell was outstanding, ending the season as the stand out batter in NCCA cricket. He formed a brilliant opening partnership with Rhys Lewis who’s first full season in NCCA cricket was excellent. Charlie Dunnett shone with bat and ball and has the potential to be the outstanding all rounder in the competitions in the years to come. All 3 players making significant scores in the championship final underlined their quality and this point.
Adam Searle, Sully Akhtar and Yash Lakhani showed how well stocked our spin department is for years to come and they will no doubt take on the reigns next year which has been outstanding looked after by Chris Peploe and Luke Beaven for the last decade. It’s their time now.
James Isbell played a significant role in our victory in Cheshire which helped set up our Western Division victory and continues to grow from strength to strength with not only Middlesex but also England Young Lions. Eddie Campion was part of our finals day squad in September and I expect great things of him in the years to come. Matt Dalrymple enjoyed his first summer with us and showed what he’s about moving forward. In all we debuted 7 players this summer, 6 of whom came through our player pathway and alongside player production and trophies, this is our biggest objective. Of the 21 players we used this summer only Tommy Sturgess, Tom Nugent, Dan O’Driscoll and Yash Lakhani didn’t come through our player pathway, the other 17 did, most of whom started at the very bottom.
Johnny Connell and Toby Greatwood received their county caps at Septembers Championship Final and were fully deserving in becoming the 130th and 131st players to be recognised as such.
In my opinion NCCA cricket is at its strongest right now and the challenge that brings is exciting for everyone involved. It’s because of this I sign off the summer a satisfied coach with what we’ve achieved. Thank you to our supporters for following us up and down the country and for those behind the scenes that help myself and Dan.
Final word to my Captain, thank you for all your support again this summer Lincs. The work you put into this project and our players doesn’t get seen. Week off mate and we go again!
T20 Finals Day preview
Our men’s first XI return to Chester Boughton Hall this Sunday to compete in the NCCA T20 finals day, 3 months on from the first attempt to complete the day was ruined by two days of rain.
The schedule remains the same with the first semi final between Oxfordshire and Cumbria taking place at 10am whilst our re-run of last years semi final with Staffordshire takes place straight after the completion of semi final 1.
Head coach Tom Lambert has named a 13 man squad for the day with 18 year old Berkshire pathway and Middlesex Academy player Eddie Campion set to make his debut for the Stags. Also returning to the group are Sully Akhtar, Andy Rishton and Rhodri Lewis from the squad that shared the NCCA title with Sunday’s opponents on Wednesday. Luke Beaven and Yash Lakhani miss out on this occasion.
Our men will be looking to win the title they last won in 2018 at Wormsley when they defeated Devon and Cheshire on the way to lifting the trophy.
A shared title in West Bromwich
Our men completed four days in West Bromwich with a draw against Staffordshire meaning they shared the NCCA Durrant Championship with their opponents.
Weather robbed the game of 130 overs and in doing so left not enough time for a definitive winner in a game Berkshire, in the main, dominated for large periods.
We caught up with Tom Lambert, our head coach to get his thoughts on the four days.
“I was really happy with how the boys went about the four days. We have a huge amount of respect for Staffordshire and like all our opponents put a lot of work into how we wanted to approach the game. We selected an extra batter and wanted to put runs on the board in an aggressive fashion when our turn to bat came in the game.”
Having lost the toss our men were inserted with the early morning start on day 1. At 84-1 leading into the lunch break a positive start had been made but the introduction of Tom Brett and Tom Moulton checked the progress as our men slipped to 105-5.
“I thought we started well having lost the toss but as can happen, through good bowling, we found ourselves in a tricky situation at 105-5. What really pleased me was how we reacted to that set back. Firstly Matt and then Josh took the attack to Staffordshire in an attempt to wrestle back the initiative whilst Johnny set his stall out to anchor the innings. Josh’s innings and partnership with Johnny was outstanding. To put 170 on in 30 overs was as skillful as it was brave and committed to the cricket we wanted to play.”
This partnership in the main enabled our men to post 383 in their first innings. Staffordshire’s response was cut short on day 1 by bad light. Day two saw our opponents build steadily through James Kettleborough and Tom Moulton before both were removed in quick succession to Tommy Sturgess and Charlie Dunnett. Day two was again cut short due to the weather as Staffordshire closed 164-3 meaning day three would hold potentially the answers to how this game might unfold. When play eventually got under way our bowlers were able to remove the last seven wickets for 120 runs leaving a lead of 99 on first innings.
“The boys bowled well with both control and threat. To take a lead was a great effort and plenty of the credit for that must go to Sturg who took his maiden five wicket haul for us.”
The third innings always shapes a game and our batters again took a positive approach to some challenging bowling, particularly from Liam Hurt who put in an excellent spell of hostile bowling for 12 overs on the bounce. As play drew to a close on day three Rhys Lewis and Charlie Dunnett had repelled the dangers and closed on 168-3, an overall lead of 267. It would all come down to day four.
Overnight rain brought a frustrating start to the final day with play unable to begin before 1pm. When it did begin Berkshire used just 13 overs to add another 115 runs and in doing so set Staffordshire 383 in a minimum 55 overs. Rhys Lewis completed his maiden championship 100 whilst Charlie Dunnett fell three runs short of his second hundred in two games.
“Rhys and Charlie batted beautifully and continued to rise their stock in NCCA cricket. I thought the battle between Liam Hurt and the two of them the end of day three was quality cricket and they handled themselves really well as young players and in doing so earned the right to make the scores they made.”
Staffordshire had a minimum of 55 overs to bat out and in the main did it comfortably when the two captains shock hands with half an hour of the final day remaining. With that, the title and the trophy was shared meaning our men had won/shared the trophy six of the last eight seasons.
“Overall I can’t have asked more of the lads. They committed to everything we had planned and that’s good enough for me. To have three players score hundreds and Charlie get 97 was extremely pleasing in a dominating batting display. To have taken a 100 run lead out of the first innings having lost the toss was equally pleasing. To lose the time we did was frustrating of course but we can’t do anything about that and in the end we had to settle for a share of the spoils. Congratulations to Andy, Ketts and the Staffs lads. They haven’t had an easy season with the battles Andy has had so to be Eastern, Western Division and joint NCCA champions is the reward both teams deserve for the hard work they put in. We look forward to doing it all again on Sunday in the T20 semi-final on finals day in Chester.”
Sunday September 1st – Wednesday September 4th – 10:30am Start
Berkshire will face Eastern Division Champions Staffordshire in the NCCA Championship final starting this weekend. Berkshire qualified for the final with a record of 3 wins and one draw as they regained the Western Division Title, whilst Staffordshire had a record of 2 wins and 2 draws as they secured the Eastern Division Crown.
Berkshire will be looking to regain the championship they last won in 2022 with Staffordshire chasing their first victory since 2014.
Keep an eye on our socials media channels across the weekend for Squad announcements and score updates . . .
Western Division Championship Regained – Review – Berkshire v Oxfordshire at Falkland CC Sunday 11th, Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th August
Dan Lincoln and Euan Woods both scored centuries as Berkshire clinched the Western Division One title of the National Counties Championship by drawing with Oxfordshire at the Falkland club in Newbury after a marathon second innings that lasted for more than a day.
In Sunday’s first innings, Berkshire were in deep trouble at 81 for six but Charlie Dunnett and Dan O’Driscoll added 188, a club record seventh-wicket stand, as they steered their side to a 90-over total of
317 for seven.
Dunnett made 118 not out off 228 balls, while O’Driscoll fell when four runs short of his century.
Their partnership bettered by three runs the previous seventh wicket record set by James Morris and Bjorn Mordt, also against Oxfordshire at Falkland, in 2009.
Berks looked like enjoying a healthy first-innings lead when they reduced the visitors to 118 for seven, but Tristan Rossouw led a bold fightback with 95 not out. With Prav Chahal making 36 and Tommy Rex 34 not out, Oxfordshire declared on 278 for eight with one ball of their allocation of 90 overs unused which denied Berkshire maximum bowling points.
Luke Beaven took four wickets for 80 and Woods three for 77.
Berks, needing only to draw to knock Oxon out of the title race, increased their lead of 39 to 168 by the close on Monday and then batted for the whole of the final day.
Openers Rhys Lewis and Johnny Connell were both run out for 14, while Archie Carter made 25, the third wicket going down at 97.
There were also useful contributions from Dunnett (23) and Rhodri Lewis (38), but Woods and Lincoln then took command The Wargrave team-mates shared a fifth-wicket partnership of 113 before Woods departed for 133 from 259 balls Skipper Lincoln went on to make 147 from 194 balls, striking 22 boundaries in the process. When he was ninth man out, he declared at
469 after 134.3 overs, bringing the game to an end.
Berkshire now have more than two weeks to prepare for the four-day final at West Bromwich Dartmouth starting on Sunday, September 1, when they will face the Eastern Division One champions. Staffordshire and Buckinghamshire, captained by Wokingham bowler Tom Hampton, currently occupy the top two places ahead of their clash at High Wycombe starting next Sunday.
Championship Preview – Berkshire v Oxfordshire at Falkland CC Sunday 11th, Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th August
Our mens first XI return to Falkland CC to face Oxfordshire in the final game of the 2024 Western Division 1 season knowing victory will secure them top spot.
Head Coach Tom Lambert has a strong side to pick from as Berkshire look to continue their 100% record in the competition this season including Johnny Connell fresh from his 100 for the Challengers in their drawn fixture with Zimbabwe this week and the current leading wicket taker in the competition this season Andy Rishton who’s 16 wickets have come at an average of just 16.5.
BERKSHIRE SQUAD – NCCA Championship ROUND 4
Johnny Connell
Rhys Lewis
Euan Woods
Archie Carter
Charlie Dunnett
Dan Lincoln
Rhodri Lewis
Dan O’Driscoll
Toby Greatwood
Andy Rishton
Luke Beaven
Adam Searle
NCCA Trophy Semi Final preview
Our men return to Cheshire this weekend as they continue the defence of the NCCA trophy at Alderley Edge CC on Sunday, 11am start.
They will return with confidence after their hard-fought victory against the same opponents in the championship just 5 days earlier. The different format brings a different challenge though as Cheshire have been in excellent form in the competition this year and come off the back of a showcase win against Derbyshire.
Head Coach Tom Lambert looked back at last weeks Championship match, “We thoroughly enjoyed our three days in Nantwich and drove away very satisfied with our three days work. I thought Cheshire were outstanding in the game and both teams put together an excellent three days of cricket.”
“The change in format brings different challenges and we are aware of the task in front of us. We’ll do the usual work we need to in prep for the fixture and remind ourselves of what has got us to this stage again. It will be a vastly different Cheshire side we face, and we fully respect the dangers they will pose us. We can’t put a foot wrong if we want to return to Wormsley again.”
Tom Lambert makes just one change to the squad that beat Dorset in the 1/4 final stage as Tom Nugent comes in for Tommy Sturgess who is away on metro bank duty with Worcestershire.
“To have Tom back in the squad is a huge lift. He’s the most decorated Berkshire player of all time and his experience and quality will be vital on the day. To have played in and won 6 semi finals and gone on to lift the trophy on each occasion, often being the man with bat or ball to get us over the line, offers us valuable experience and quality.”
Our mens team will be looking to take a step closer to winning their 9th NCCA trophy having won it previously in 2004, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Semi Final Squad:
Johnny Connell
Rhys Lewis
Euan Woods
Archie Carter
Dan Lincoln
Rhodri Lewis
Charlie Dunnett
Matt Dalrymple
Andy Rishton
Toby Greatwood
Tom Nugent
Sully Akhtar
Men win in Cheshire – NCCA Championship review:
Last weekend our Mens first team completed a hard fought 3 wicket win against Cheshire to make it three from from three in Western Division One of the Durrant NCCA Championship.
Having lost the toss on the opening morning the task was made a little harder on what looked like a good wicket but one that would offer assistance to the spinners later down the line. Two early wickets from Andy Rishton, the second of which took him past 100 championship wickets in his NCCA career and one from Charlie Dunnett had our hosts 68-3 in the early stages. A partnership of 131 between Luke McCoy and Sam Perry then put Cheshire on top on a wicket that had already started to take spin as the temperature continued to rise over the 3 days.
McCoys departure did open the door for Luke Beaven who was returning for the first time this summer and he started to get into his work alongside Rhodri Lewis as Dan Lincoln’s side started to wrestle back some control in the game. A steady flow of wickets continued with Luke eventually finishing with 5-73 and Rhodri Lewis 2-65. 287 felt around par and a little less than looked on at one stage but with the ball turning, a workman like first innings total.
Berkshire’s innings started with a flurry of wickets as Luke Young and George Valentine made use of the new ball to restrict us to 48-5 with forty minutes of day one remaining and Cheshire very much in the ascendency. Rhodri Lewis then counter punched and set the tone for how our men would look to bat for the remainder of the game and alongside Dan O’Driscoll got us to 108-5 at the close of day 1. The significance of Rhodri’s intent would course through the team for the remainder of the game.
Day 2 began as day 1 ended with Dan and Rhodri playing positively and those that followed them followed suit. We were eventually bowled out for 254 inside 66 overs but the intent to score meant we spent less time on a wearing wicket. Rhodri (63), Dan (59) and Andy Rishton (46) were the mainstays as Cheshire took a 33 run lead out of innings one.
Innings three, often where the game accelerates quickly began slowly as the battle between bat and ball created a lull in action but an increase in tension as both teams worked hard to wrestle the initiative. At 136-1 Cheshire had worked extremely hard to take a grip on the game at the drinks break of session three. What then took place in the last hour of day two arguably decided the fate of the game. Adam Searle and Luke Beaven made the pressure toll taking the last nine Cheshire wickets for 41 runs in a momentum shift that now had the game set up perfectly with 211 required for victory. Adam in the process picked up his first 5 wicket haul in a mammoth 36 over spell. Both teams had a win in their sights and the large local crowd over the 3 days were to be rewarded with a fascinating finish to a brilliant contest.
17 year old debutant James Isbell and partner Johnny Connell set the platform for the chase with an aggressive 44 run stand. Johnny’s dismissal bought about a change in order as captain Dan Lincoln came in at three to continue to attack and break the back of the chase. He duly did so with a quick fire 36 off 24 balls to take a chunk out of a difficult third day chase. His dismissal bought Archie Carter to the crease and alongside James the two played beautifully through to 138-2 as the game looked done.
138-2 quickly became 154-6 as Cheshire fought back brilliantly to put the game in the balance again as spinners Selby and Wilson used the pressure of the chase and a wearing wicket to their advantage. Archie Carter remained strong and alongside Toby Greatwood and Andy Rishton continued to play positively at the right times to ease the pressure on watching team mates and his 66 not out was the backbone of the chase that was to eventually reach the target of 211 seven wickets down to bring us home to a three wicket victory.
A fantastic game of cricket played at a brilliant venue by two excellent teams. An advert if one was ever needed for the beauty of red ball cricket. Victory keeps our men top of Western Division one on 70 points with our final game Vs Oxfordshire to be played in two weeks time at Falkland CC.
Thank you to Nantwich for their excellent hospitality. An outstanding ground to play at and supporters and players were looked after brilliantly.