Reprieved Staffordshire chase more glory

Staffordshire won the competition for the first time 12 months ago when they beat Cornwall in a tense final at Tring after they had ousted Berkshire in the semi-final courtesy of Nils Preistley’s brilliant 147 from 66 balls.

But Staffordshire’s hopes of making this Sunday’s Finals Day at Chester Boughton Hall appeared to have ended after four of their six group matches were completely washed out and they managed only one win and a defeat in their two matches against Northumberland at Burslem.

A double washout against Cumbria at Carlisle meant that Staffordshire were eliminated but within 24 hours they had been reinstated after it was discovered that Northumberland had played two players – Jacques du Toit and Stuart Poynter – with more than 40 first-class or List A appearances between them in their double-header against Cheshire when the competition regulations permit only one.

Northumberland were deducted two points and Staffordshire were given an unexpected reprieve, which they made the most of by beating both Hertfordshire and hosts Norfolk in last Sunday’s Super 12s event at Horsford to secure their place in Finals Day.

“Our group phase of the competition was very much impacted by the weather and we only had the opportunity to play two games against Northumberland of which we won one and lost one,” Kettleborough said. “Unfortunately, the manner in which we lost was more significant than the way we won so it impacted on our net run-rate.

“For 24-48 hours we were out of the competition and we were feeling sorry for ourselves.

“So, the news that we had actually got through was a great relief and probably gave us the determination to prove that we did belong in the competition.

“Last Sunday was a fantastic day with the way the guys played, the manner we played and the results reflected that.

“It has been a bit of rollercoaster but we feel in a really good place going into what is going to be a very exciting day on Sunday.”

The defeat against Northumberland could be excused by ring-rustiness as Staffordshire had two pre-season friendlies washed out along with their opening T20 double-header against Cheshire.

Since then they have hardly put a foot long with a century from Kettleborough setting up victory over Suffolk at Mildenhall in their opening 50 overs National Counties group match followed by two emphatic wins last Sunday.

“The Northumberland double-header was the first outing for us. We had all our pre-season friendlies washed out and our league cricket pushed back so we hadn’t too much chance to get out on grass and our first game at Checkley was washed out as well,” Kettleborough said.

“But we played the first game against Northumberland pretty well. Our bowling was a bit under-cooked and we missed our areas a little bit early on but we pegged it back really well and our run chase was a well-timed one.

“The second game we let ourselves down with the bat. Overs six to 15 pretty much cost us the whole competition.

“We spoke afterwards, when we thought we hadn’t qualified, and we had a real determination to put things right in the 50 overs competition. There were also things we wanted to put right from last season. There was a real determination in the group to do that.

“The way we played our cricket in Suffolk is pretty much how we want to go about our business in that campaign. If we can play anywhere near where we played that day, I don’t think we will go far wrong.

“Then we were given another opportunity in the T20 competition. Yes, we felt very fortunate but we spoke about the fact that we are still champions and about creating the mentality of playing like we are champions not just a lucky side who have scraped through.

“We didn’t see any disadvantage in having to travel as far as we did because we have to do that most weekends if we are playing away.

“We knew we had to do the job at hand and we did that really well, which was very satisfying, and I feel we are in a really good place going into Sunday.”

The draw for Sunday’s semi-finals has paired Staffordshire with Berkshire in a rematch of 12 months ago and although both sides will look a little different on Sunday, Kettleborough knows that Berkshire will be on a revenge mission.

“We probably caught them off guard a little bit last year. That won’t happen again. They will want to put that right and it’s up to us to stop that from happening,” Kettleborough said. “Berkshire’s reputation and track record over the last ten years speaks for itself. We just happened to get the better of them last year for three hours of the season. It was our day, it was Nils’s day and it was brilliant.

“But it was 12 months ago and it’s almost irrelevant going into Sunday. They will certainly want to put things right but equally we want to prove that it wasn’t a one-off

“It’s going to be an incredibly tough fixture but that’s what you want with Finals Day. You have got four very, very strong sides and, indeed, any of those four sides can win it.

“We are going to do everything we can to try and ensure that it’s us again.”

The Staffordshire v Berkshire semi-final will be the second match of the day at Chester with Cumbria facing Oxfordshire, the 2015 and 2022, champions in the first semi-final at 10am and the final at 4.30pm.

Pace bowler Tommy Sturgess, who was a member of the Cornwall side beaten by Staffordshire in last year’s final will again be playing in his second successive Finals Day, this time as a Berkshire player.