Sam Whitney delighted as Shropshire get their first win
Shropshire vice-captain Sam Whitney was delighted with his side’s efforts after they secured their opening win of the National Counties Cricket Association season in style, writes Stuart Dunn.
They impressively beat Staffordshire by 14 runs in the second game of their T20 double-header at Whitchurch.
After being edged out by five wickets with eight balls to spare by the same opposition in Sunday’s opening fixture, Shropshire responded well to win the second contest.
That sets them up nicely for a busy Bank Holiday weekend – they will follow up two matches against Cumbria at Netherfield on Sunday by making a quick return to Whitchurch to play Northumberland twice 24 hours later as they complete their group fixtures.
“We will just go into it full of confidence,” said Whitney. “I think we’re going to improve every game and hopefully we will finish the Twenty20 group on a high note.
“You never know, two wins next Sunday might put us in good stead, and the beauty of Twenty20 cricket is anything can happen.”
Shropshire had started their T20 campaign with two defeats at Cheshire, but this time they ensured it was honours even against a Staffordshire side boosted by two wins in their opening fixtures against Northumberland.
Whitney felt Shropshire took confidence from running Staffordshire close in Sunday’s opener and that helped them achieve victory when the teams met for a second time later in the day.
Opener Andre Bradford carried his bat to hit an unbeaten 87 before seamers Charlie Walker and Martin Boyle shared seven wickets to inspire Shropshire to victory.
Whitney, the vice-captain to Graham Wagg, said: “Andre batted brilliantly and took his form on from last week when he got 50 against Cheshire.
“This time he carried his bat and the guys supported him. He batted beautifully and the tempo of the innings was great.
“We knew after bowling in the first game that 145 was a very competitive total and I think the wicket just suited our bowlers.”
Whitney highlighted the contribution with the ball of both Walker and Boyle as they consistently troubled the visitors.
“It was fantastic for Charlie,” he said. “He’s only bowled a handful of overs for Bridgnorth this year, but you can throw him the ball in any situation and he doesn’t hide away from it. I’m so happy for him because he’s a great lad and he works really hard, so he deserves it.
“I’m also really pleased for Martin and what I really enjoyed was Graham showing faith in him by giving Martin the second-last over to bowl. Martin just bowled full and straight and for him to get the wickets of Zen Malik, who’s a very good player, and then Riki Wessels as well was great.
“For Charlie and Martin to share seven wickets and for us to get the win was brilliant. There were contributions throughout the side as I thought Matty Simmonds bowled fantastic in both games and Tyler Ibbotson as well.”
The day’s opening match at Heath Road saw Shropshire total 109-9, with Staffs getting home with eight balls to spare.
Whitney added: “We were below par in the first game, but we showed a bit of fight.
“Had a couple of things gone our way we could have took it down to the last over and anything could have happened, so we gained a lot of confidence from that.
“Knowing we could compete with Staffordshire meant we showed no fear going into the second game.”
