Suffolk set up Shropshire NCCA Trophy semi-final after win over Cambridgeshire at Burwell & Exning
Suffolk will travel to Shifnal CC on June 22 to face Shropshire in the semi-finals of this season’s NCCA Trophy.
Josh Cantrell’s side overcame Cambridgeshire by five wickets in their quarter-final tie at Burwell & Exning CC on Sunday to set up a re-match with Shropshire, who defeated Suffolk in the group stage.
After Cambridgeshire won the toss and elected to bat, Suffolk bowled out their hosts for just 153 in one ball shy of 44 overs.
Matt Wareing produced two splendid spells to take 3-12 off nine overs and George Rhodes returned his best figures in white-ball cricket for Suffolk of 6.5-0-31-5.
After stuttering at 37-3 inside the opening 14 overs, Cambridgeshire had advanced to 139-5 when Wareing took two wickets in two balls to induce a collapse.
Cambridgeshire lost their last five wickets for just 14 runs, with Rhodes profiting from some poor shot selection with his off spin, leaving Lee Thomason stranded on 33 not out.
It meant Suffolk were chasing a smaller target than the 187 they were set to win against the same opponents at the same venue and at the same stage of last season’s competition.
On that occasion they were shot out for just 101 and there was a sense of ‘here we go again’ when Jack Beaumont slapped the third ball of the innings straight to point.
Suffolk had re-jigged their batting order, pushing Jacob Marston up to No.4, but when both he and Ollie Burle were out in the space of five balls to Mildenhall’s Jack Loveday in the 12th over, the visitors had slipped to 47-4.
Cambridgeshire had their tails up and sensed they could successfully defend their total, but Darren Ironside and Rhodes dampened their spirits by adding 44 for the fifth wicket.
When James Cox trapped Rhodes in front at 91-5 the outcome was still very much in the balance as Alex Oxley joined Ironside at the crease.
However, the pair withstood everything that Cambridgeshire threw at them across the next 15 overs while chipping away at the total to ensure their side’s progress to the last four.
Rhodes said afterwards: “We are delighted really. We are not a team that chooses to chase and we bowled really well to restrict Cambridgeshire to 153, but to be able to get over the line chasing was a great effort.
“We know we have depth in batting and there’s no reason why previously it has been a little blind spot for us when chasing, so this will give us loads of confidence going into the semi-final and the future.”
Shropshire, meanwhile, defeated Northumberland by 23 runs in their last-eight tie at Shifnal CC on Sunday, dismissing their visitors for 229 in response to the home team’s 252-9.
Berkshire will host Dorset in the other semi-final at Finchampstead CC.
