Cambridgeshire 152 all out (Claydon 32, Peirson 37*, Keeling-Wright 8/60).
Staffordshire 115/2 (Kettleborough 42).
Staffordshire vs Cambridgeshire @ Checkley CC. Day 1.
Staffordshire’s second 3-day fixture takes them to the picturesque Checkley CC. Having suffered a heavy defeat on the road to Buckinghamshire in their opening fixture two weeks ago, they’ll be looking to bounce back strongly over the next three days. Jake Garlick’s Warwickshire call-up has meant a recall for Moddershall team-mate Sam Atkinson. Leek’s Tom Moulton replaces Callum Hawkins in the second change to the XI. Cambridgeshire sat out the first round of fixtures two weeks ago, and they will be hoping to start their season with a good performance. They last tasted defeat in this format in 2023 and they are a very useful outfit.
After overnight rain and intermittent light rain on Sunday, the morning session was lost to the weather and play finally began at 1.50 pm. Cambridgeshire won the toss and elected to bat in overcast and breezy conditions.
Ben Saunders guided a Liam Hurt delivery between 3rd slip and gully for the opening boundary in the 1st over. A loose drive from the next ball followed, and the ball flew through the same gap as 11 runs came from the over. Sam Keeling-Wright found extra bounce in the next over and Saunders could only glove a rising delivery to James Kettleborough, who took a smart catch at 1st slip.
Will Routledge found the third man fence for his opening boundary in the 3rd over before a seaming delivery from Hurt that rose sharply beat keeper Dan Lincoln and ran away for four byes as the score moved to 20/1. He drove Hurt handsomely through the covers for another boundary when he overpitched in the 5th over before playing a fine back foot punch that raced away for his 3rd boundary. Keeling-Wright got him in the next over when he nicked a cut shot through to Lincoln to leave the visitors 29/2.
Claydon timed his first ball superbly, and it raced to the mid-wicket boundary as he got off the mark in fine style. A second boundary followed two balls later when he stood tall and drove sweetly down the ground as the game continued to rattle along. Keeling-Wright struck again in the 8th over when he bowled Ethan Rice with a beauty. Rice attempted to drive the ball down the ground, but the ball nipped away and smashed into off stump. Cambridgeshire had now slumped to 42/3 as Keeling-Wright continued to be excellent with the new ball.
Hurt trapped the left-handed Oliver Dandy LBW with a full ball delivered from around the wicket when he shuffled across his stumps to leave the visitors 51/4. Alex Peirson guided another full ball from Hurt between gully and point as he got off the mark with a boundary. A loose drive from the next ball flew past the diving Sam Atkinson at gully and raced away for another boundary. Atkinson was not far away from taking a spectacular catch as he flew in the air.
Claydon cut the returning Keeling-Wright behind point to begin the 15th over. He cut the next ball, which was short again in front of point, for another boundary. He tried to force the next ball, which was closer to him through the covers off the back foot, but it flew off the edge and went over the top of gully for the third boundary in as many balls as Cambridgeshire moved to 80/4. Another boundary to third man for Claydon came when he flashed at a wide Keeling-Wright delivery in the 17th over. A wild delivery down the leg side then beat the diving Lincoln and ran away for 4 byes to finish the over.
Peirson drove nicely through the covers when Atkinson overpitched in the next over. A deft glance down to third man brought him another boundary two balls later before he lifted the final ball over mid-on to complete a useful over for the visitors. Keeling-Wright claimed his 4th wicket when Claydon nicked through to keeper Lincoln when he attempted to drive a delivery through the covers on the up. It was a much-needed wicket for the home side as the 5th wicket partnership was beginning to look dangerous. Keeling-Wright completed his 5-wicket haul two balls later when Henry Wilson played a ball back into his stumps to leave the visitors 102/6.
A 6th wicket for Keeling-Wright followed two overs later when Aum Patel was caught at the second attempt by Kettleborough at slip when he played a loose drive to leave the visitors 108/7. An excellent catch by Atkinson at 3rd slip gave Keeling-Wright his 7th wicket when Ben Clilverd became the latest Cambridgeshire batsman to play a loose shot outside the off stump. Jack Loveday cut away a short delivery later on in the over as he got off the mark with a boundary. He then ran a ball from Atkinson down to third man for his second boundary in the next over. Another boundary from Loveday came when he threw the kitchen sink at a wide delivery from Keeling-Wright, and the ball flew over Atkinson’s head at third slip and away to the third man boundary to end the 25th over.
Loveday became Keeling-Wright’s 8th victim when he chipped tamely to mid-on where Tom Brett took the simplest of catches as his innings ended in a tame fashion. Matthew Rees drove to the cover boundary before running the ball past backward point as he finished the over with back-to-back boundaries. The Staffordshire extra count rose to 30 when 4 leg byes ended the 31st over. Cambridgeshire had now moved along to 152/9 as the 10th wicket partnership was beginning to frustrate the home side. Tom Moulton ended the innings when he trapped Rees LBW in the next over. Peirson was left stranded on 37* as he ended up running out of partners. He played a very watchful innings, and Cambridgeshire could learn a thing or two from the way he applied himself. The superb Keeling Wright finished with outstanding figures of 8/60 from 13 overs as he put Staffordshire in a very strong position after the loss of the first session. He bowled with good pace and extracted bounce from the surface with the new ball.
Batting did look to get slightly easier as the innings wore on and the ball got older. The pitch also appeared to quieten down as the innings progressed. Cambridgeshire were guilty of playing numerous poor shots outside of the off stump to the rising ball. Their new ball bowlers will need to strike early if they are to give themselves a chance now in this match. Staffordshire need to be watchful against the new ball and try to build as big of a first-innings lead as they can. Conditions are not ideal for batting, but they will have seen in the 1st innings that the ball runs quickly across the Checkley outfield and you get excellent value for your shots.
Sam Kelsall played with soft hands as he ran the ball between 2nd slip and gully for the opening boundary in the 3rd over. A second boundary in the over followed when he picked up a short ball and flicked it over square leg. Kettleborough drove a half-volley from Rees handsomely through extra cover for his first boundary in the next over. A flick through mid-wicket brought Kettleborough his second boundary in the 6th over before Staffordshire picked up 4 leg byes as they moved to 25/0. A fantastic drive off the back foot through the covers brought Kelsall his 3rd boundary in the 7th over. Kettleborough then cashed in later in the over with a drive through the covers when Loveday offered him some width.
A fine cut shot from Kelsall raced away to the boundary in the 9th over before he was struck by a short ball that he seemed to duck into. He passed the concussion test and was deemed fit to continue his innings with the home side on 49/0. Kettleborough pulled a mighty six over mid-wicket when Loveday dropped short in the 11th over as Staffordshire’s good start continued. He nicked short of 2nd slip, and the ball ran away to the third man boundary when he pushed at a ball with hard hands in the 13th over as the score moved to 74/0. A good period then followed for Cambridgeshire; they cut out the four balls and restricted Staffordshire to only 6 runs in 6 overs as they finally put the brakes on the run rate as the bowlers began to find a good rhythm. The pressure finally told, and the opening stand of 80 was broken when Kelsall chipped a return catch back to Clilverd for 29.
Kettleborough quickly followed his opening partner back to the pavilion for 42 when he was brilliantly caught one-handed by keeper Dandy low down in front of first slip off the bowling of Rees in the 21st over as the Cambridgeshire fightback continued. They’d now taken two quick wickets, and runs had really dried up for the home side. The visitors were bowling one side of the wicket and were very disciplined with their line and length. The attritional play continued after Kettleborough’s dismissal, and only two singles were added in the next three overs as the scoring rate had slowed to a crawl.
Reeve Evitts finally broke the shackles when he flicked Rees away to the mid-wicket fence for the first boundary in 14 overs as the score moved to 93/2. Moulton brought up the 100 for the home side when he clipped left-arm seamer Rice to the fine leg boundary in the 31st over. Moulton square drove to the point boundary in the 33rd over as the score moved to 106/2. He was hit with a rising delivery on the hand from the left-arm seamer Rice later in the over and required attention from the physio as the clock ticked closer to the close of play. Evitts clipped Rees to mid-wicket boundary before nicking through the slips as he picked up two boundaries in the final over of the day as Staffordshire closed on 115/2 to trail by 37 runs.
Evitts finished the day unbeaten on 16, and he will continue his partnership with Moulton on the second morning, who has 17* as the home side will look to build a big first innings lead. The pair added 35 in 15 overs after both of the Staffordshire openers fell in quick succession after a fast start. Cambridgeshire will look for early wickets tomorrow as they look to get themselves back into the contest after Keeling-Wright’s excellent performance with the ball earlier in the day.
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