Duo handed Championship debuts

July 26, 2024

SUFFOLK hand debuts to two bowlers in their National Counties Championship match versus Bedfordshire this weekend.

Mildenhall’s Jonah Handy, who is 23, and 18-year-old Freddie Cloud (pictured above) of Felixstowe Corinthians come into the side for the three-day fixture at the Victory Ground in Bury St Edmunds, starting on Sunday (11am).

With Matt Wareing (hamstring) and Dan Shanks (back) both injured and Charlie Bennett, who made his debut in last Sunday’s Showcase match unavailable due to commitments with Essex, Suffolk’s seam bowling resources are stretched.

Handy and Cloud, who have both previously represented the county’s 2nd XI, have been called-up for Suffolk’s second Eastern Division One match following the draw against Buckinghamshire at Tring Park CC.

Head coach Adam Mansfield said of Cloud, who is captain of St Joseph’s College 1st XI: “As a county, we invest a lot of time and money into our pathway, and when the opportunity arises, we need to be brave and select those young players that have been performing well. We were short of a seamer and felt Freddie could be a good fit for conditions at Bury.”

Handy hit the headlines in June 2022 when a video of him dismissing an opponent with a swinging delivery went viral, racking up more than one million views on social media. He then repeated the feat with a similar dismissal the following month.

Mansfield said: “Jonah has performed really well for Mildenhall this year and has been part of our 2nd XI for the past three years. He deserves his chance, and I have no doubt that if he bowls the way he can, he’ll have a great debut.”

Suffolk go into the game off the back of a spirited display in the 28-run loss to Essex Eagles in the NCCA Showcase match at Woolpit CC on Sunday.

“We were really happy with how we bowled and batted on Sunday, but we felt our fielding was not at the standard we believe it should be at.

“We spoke about this after and took a few things away from how Essex fielded, so hopefully, we can see an improved performance in this area over the three-day game,” said Mansfield.

There has yet to be a win in Eastern Division One this season, with Bedfordshire drawing both their matches so far after returning to the top flight at the first attempt following relegation in 2022.

Mansfield said: “In my opinion, Bedfordshire are a really good side. They have some former professionals, so we’ll need to be at our best to beat them.

“Anyone can beat anyone in this division, and we know if we play well for the remaining three games, we’ll be in with a great chance to win it.

“There is usually a result when we play at Bury St Edmunds, so hopefully we can start the game well and get ahead in the game. Three-day cricket is really tough, and a bad session can not only lose you the game but also the Championship, so we’ve got to be at our best throughout.”

Suffolk squad: Jack Beaumont (capt), Darren Ironside, Ben Parker, George Rhodes, Alex Oxley, Josh Cantrell, Jacob Marston (wkt), Tom Harper, Freddie Cloud, Jonah Handy, Raj Singh. 12th man: Alex Maynard.

 

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