Shropshire name 14-man squad for Twenty20 matches

Shrewsbury’s Will Parton will captain Shropshire in two T20 matches on each day in a group which also features Herefordshire and Buckinghamshire.

The group winners will progress to the Unicorns Counties Twenty20 Finals Day at Wormsley in August.

All-rounder David Laird, who joined Bridgnorth from Sentinel during the winter, receives his first county call-up.

There is also a place in the squad for Wellington seamer Jack Twigger, who was 12th man for last Sunday’s Unicorns Trophy victory over Herefordshire at Whitchurch.

Former Worfield batsman Will Cook, now with Wombourne, Bridgnorth’s Ryan Lockley and Shifnal’s Jack Edwards are also added to the players on duty last weekend.

Bryan Jones, Shropshire’s chairman of selectors, said: “Everybody is really looking forward to what will be a busy two days of cricket to get this new competition under way.

“We’re starting off against arguably the strongest team in the competition in Berkshire, last year’s double winners, but it’s a test we are looking forward to. We want to give it our all and put on a show.

“Twenty20 cricket is very exciting both to play and watch, so we’re hoping for a good crowd at Shrewsbury to support the team in the two matches against Oxfordshire on Monday.”

Squad: Will Parton (Shrewsbury, captain), Omar Ali (C&R Hawks), Alexei Kervezee (Halesowen), Will Cook (Wombourne), Ryan Lockley (Bridgnorth), Jack Edwards (Shifnal), Ross Aucott (Shifnal), Simon Gregory (Bridgnorth), Sam Whitney (Bridgnorth), Gurjit Sandhu (Twickenham), Mike Barnard (Shrewsbury), Alex Wyatt (Shifnal), Jack Twigger (Wellington), David Laird (Bridgnorth).

Meanwhile, Shropshire’s Development XI will open their season by playing their traditional curtain-raiser against Shrewsbury School’s first team on Friday.

The match will be a Twenty20 contest which will get under way at Shrewsbury School at 4.30pm.

Wem’s Harry Chandler will captain the Shropshire side, which continues to play an important role in helping talented young cricketers from around the county fulfil their potential.

Ian Roe, Shropshire’s Development XI coach, said: “With so much white ball cricket now being played, we’ve decided to make this year’s fixture with Shrewsbury School, which we always enjoy, a Twenty20 match.

“This will be of benefit to both teams and for our players it is a chance for them to impress and show just what they can do.”

The Shropshire Development XI team: Harry Chandler (Wem, captain), Matty Simmonds (Wellington), Ismail Anwar (Shifnal), Sam Ellis (Whitchurch), David Laird (Bridgnorth), Will Fox-Davies (Worfield), Lewis Evans (Shrewsbury), Matt Batkin (Whitchurch), Ben Lees (Bridgnorth), Henry Davies (Shifnal), Dan Kearsley (Bridgnorth).