Staffordshire march on

Staffordshire stormed into the quarter-finals of the MCCA KnockOut Trophy with a fourth consecutive victory to maintain their 100% record in the competition.

The 74-run win over Northumberland at Morpeth in their final group match ensured a home tie in the last eight, to be played at Leek on Sunday June 14.

Staffordshire recovered from slipping to five for two to make 144 after electing to bat first on a wicket which offered assistance to the bowlers throughout.

The pace quartet of Will Purser, Greg Willott, Mo Sheikh and Craig Barker then ripped through the Northumberland batting to dismiss them for a paltry 70.

Following the early loss of Peter Wilshaw and Jack Manuel, Staffordshire were grateful for a 39-run stand for the third wicket between Richard Harvey and Dave Wheeldon.

However, Wheeldon, Harvey and Nick James fell in quick succession as Staffordshire slumped to 50 for five, and their challenging total owed much to lower-order contributions from 17-year-old Ben McGuire and captain Paul Goodwin, who made 28 and 29 respectively.

Nick James’ direct hit accounted for Daniel Shurben early in Northumberland’s reply, and wickets tumbled regularly thereafter.

Willott claimed three victims and Purser, Braker and Sheikh two apiece as the hosts were hustled out in just 28.4 overs despite Alan Worthy’s dogged 30.

Coach Kim Barnett enthused: “It has been a wonderful four weeks. There can't have been much better Minor Counties cricket than we have played four weeks on the trot.”

Goodwin echoed Barnett’s comments, labelling the performance “absolutely tremendous”.

“The way we demolished them just proved that our bowlers were a different class to theirs,” he said. “Over the four games everyone has come in and done a fantastic job.”

In contrast to their previous triumphs, which Staffordshire had posted daunting totals, this victory saw the batsmen graft for their runs.

And Goodwin acknowledged: “In some respects it was a good test of character; we responded well in the conditions. We bat all the way down and that is a big bonus.

“There will be situations when the late order batsmen are asked to perform and today they responded. It is always important to get those extra runs at the end of the innings as it changes the momentum of the game.

“We are showing great strength in depth at the moment. The batsmen are scoring runs and the bowlers are taking wickets and not giving the opposition any free runs. Everyone has contributed and there doesn't look to be a weak link.”