Champions Staffordshire are eliminated after weather woes
Staffordshire’s defence of their National Counties Cricket Association Twenty20 Cup title has come to an end.
Staffs were eliminated from the competition at the group stage yesterday after their double-header against Cumbria at Carlisle was abandoned.
That left them banking on other results to see whether they might progress to the Super 12 stage.
However, fortune didn’t favour Staffordshire and they finished third in Group One.
The top two in the five groups advanced, along with the best two performing third-placed sides.
But Herefordshire and Cambridgeshire – in third place in their respective groups – both had better records than Staffordshire, so move through.
The abandonment at Carlisle added to the frustration for Staffordshire players.
Four of their six matches fell victim to the weather, starting with the games against Cheshire at Checkley.
The only action they managed to get in was on Sunday when they won one and lost one against Northumberland at Burslem.
Staffordshire won the T20 Cup for the first time in 2023 by beating Berkshire and Cornwall on finals day.
However, their focus will now be on the Knockout Trophy campaign which starts this Sunday.
Staffs’ first assignment is a trip to Mildenhall to play Suffolk.
Elsewhere, Walsall-born batter George Hargrave scored 129no off 44 balls to help Shropshire progress to the Super 12s stage. He starred in both games against Wales, teeing off particularly in the second one.
