Star man Nils Priestley ‘on another level’ for Staffordshire in T20 final
Staffordshire captain James Kettleborough says Nils Priestley was ‘on another level’ as the all-rounder guided them to victory in the NCCA T20 final.
Staffs won their first-ever NCCA T20 title in just their first appearance at finals day on Sunday.
Priestley, who came through the youth ranks at Derbyshire, was in sensational form at Tring Park Cricket Club in Hertfordshire.
The left-hand opening batter smashed 147 off 66 balls in the semi-final against Berkshire before making a half-century and taking four wickets in the final to guide his side to victory.
And Kettleborough, who only took over as captain of the team in the winter, said his performance was a pleasure to be a part of.
“Nils Priestley was just on another level in the first game,” said the former Northamptonshire and Glamorgan batter. “We knew that he was capable of something like that, but to do it on a stage like that was just incredible. It was a pleasure to be part of it.
“Realistically, we have probably exceeded expectations.
“We have been heading in the right direction as a group that has come together.
“I am really proud of the group that we’ve won a trophy already. It’s a great achievement.”
The final was a low-scoring affair, and at the halfway stage it looked like Staffs were in trouble after Cornwall had bowled them out for 119 with 11 balls still remaining in their innings.
Cornwall were seemingly cruising to victory at 88 for 4 with Joseph Phillips set on 32 off 33 balls.
But Priestley made a telling contribution with the ball this time taking 4-27 as part of Cornwall’s collapse.
And the Staffs skipper said they knew they were under par at the innings break, but he said that with runs on the board, they knew they had a chance.
Kettleborough was proud of the way his side battled for victory.
He continued: “In the final, we did it the hard way. One thing we said at the break is that we hadn’t batted well enough, and we didn’t use up the overs, but the game wasn’t over.
“We had runs on the board. It doesn’t matter how big or small the total is it’s on the board.
“It was just a case of whether they were going to get them or not. But we said that they were going to have to work extremely hard for them and we did exactly that.”
