Parker relishing ‘unique’ challenge ahead

SUDBURY’S Ben Parker is relishing the ‘unique’ challenge of playing on his home ground for Suffolk.

The 25-year-old is expected to be included in the Suffolk side to face Cambridgeshire in the NCCA Trophy match at Friars Street a week on Sunday, start 11am.

Suffolk defeated Norfolk by nine wickets in their opening Group 3 game, before their match at Shropshire last Sunday was washed out without a ball being bowled.

They now face Cambridgeshire, who top Group 3 from Suffolk on net run rate, in a match sponsored by Fenn Wright, the region’s leading, independently owned firm of chartered surveyors, estate agents and property consultants.

The former Felixstowe and Hadleigh batter (pictured above) said: “It always special to play for Suffolk and obviously nice to play at Sudbury. I’ve been at the club for five or six years now so I would certainly consider it a ‘home’ game for me.

“There are so many fantastic people at the club who all work really hard to make the club as successful as it is, so it’s nice recognition for them to get a county game.

“This was evidenced in the Suffolk fixture last year when it rained for most of the day but thanks to the work by the ground staff we were still able to get a fantastic game on.”

Parker was in the Suffolk side that defeated Hertfordshire by one run on DLS in the county’s first full competitive match to be played at Sudbury, which is renowned for its short straight boundaries.

Parker said: “The dimensions of the ground are certainly quite unique compared to the other grounds in Suffolk. It’s easy to get sucked in by the short straight boundaries and it can be a difficult ground to defend on because of the different angles.

“Ultimately though it will be the same as any other ground and the side that plays the best on the day will come out on top.”

Parker, who is a PE and mathematics teacher at Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham, and his Suffolk team-mates were left frustrated by Sunday’s wash-out at Oswestry CC.

He said: “Obviously, it was quite frustrating for us as we made such a positive start against Norfolk it would have been nice to hopefully carry some of that momentum into the game but that’s the nature of playing cricket unfortunately, particularly in England!

“We are still joint top of our group so I’m pretty sure if we win our two remaining games we will go through. You never go into a game of cricket wanting to lose, so it seems a bit of a cliché but I imagine we will just be taking it one game at a time and trying to win each game. If we do that then I’m sure the rest will look after itself.”

Tags: Ben Parker, Cambridgeshire CCC, Fenn Wright, Sudbury CC

Categorised in: Suffolk CCC