Praise for 2nd XI after three-day victory

July 21, 2022

SUFFOLK 2nd XI coach Adam Mansfield has praised both the performance and attitude of his players after beating Buckinghamshire Cricket Academy.

The Suffolk side, who were playing in their first-ever three-day fixture, beat their hosts by eight wickets at Slough CC on Wednesday.

Bucks were bowled out for 181 in their first innings as George Heldreich (13-2-36-4), Daniel Shanks (10.2-5-12-3) and Luke Froggatt (14-2-47-3) shared the ten wickets between them.

The visitors then established a 93-run first-innings advantage thanks to 122 off 235 deliveries from the county’s first XI red-ball skipper Jack Beaumont, batting at No.6, who put on 94 for the fifth wicket with Callum O’Connell, who made 43.

Bucks then made a solid start to their second innings late on day two, before Suffolk’s bowlers struck back the next morning to claim five wickets while 33 runs were added to leave the hosts 114 for 5.

They then rallied before Suffolk wrapped up the innings for 244 with the last four wickets falling in the space of 16 runs.

Heldreich and Shanks took three more wickets apiece and Tom Harper weighed in with figures of 6.5-1-22-3, while wicket-keeper Jacob Marston (pictured above) added five catches to his six in the first innings.

That left Suffolk requiring 152 for victory, a target they achieved for the loss of just two wickets after Billy Amass (35) and Alex Quin shared a stand of 59 for the first wicket and then Quin (53) and O’Connell, who ended undefeated on 57, added 90 for the second.

Coach Mansfield said: “We are in a period of transformation and need to get some of our young players to experience three-day cricket, so they can learn what it is like.

“Callum O’Connell, who plays his club cricket for Mistley, played really nicely and learnt a lot from his first innings. He was very positive in the second innings, pushing the fielders back.

“Jack Beaumont batted really well and in a fashion he would not normally play, which is good for the first team moving forward, and it was also good for him to see these young guys play close up.

“Jacob Marston caught well behind the stumps, and although you need your bowlers to perform well to create the opportunities, you still have to take the chances.

“I was very impressed with our seamers – Daniel Shanks, George Heldreich, Luke Froggatt and Max Dias – who all performed well to bowl out Bucks in just 69.2 overs in their first innings after they won the toss and batted, and then helped dismiss them a second time.

“Billy Amass and Alex Quin then gave us a really good start to our second innings before Alex and Callum O’Connell saw us home.

“I was really happy with they way they performed, especially considering most of them had never played in a three-day match before.

“They didn’t have a poor session across the three days and kept going. That impressed me as well as their attitude and the way they played as a team.”

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