Suffolk ring the changes for final game

SUFFOLK ring the changes for their final NCCA Cluberly Championship match of the season.

Adam Jones, Alex Oxley (pictured above), Josh Cantrell and Tom Harper all return for the three-day Eastern Division One fixture versus Lincolnshire at Cleethorpes CC on Sunday, start 11am.

The quartet have all missed the last two games due to unavailability, but come into the side for a match Suffolk ideally need to win to avoid the possibility of relegation.

Their return means Nico Boje, Kieran Pell, Ishaan Rakesh and Raj Singh all drop out of the side that drew with Staffordshire at Copdock earlier this week.

Suffolk enter the game 12 points ahead of Lincolnshire, who will have one match – away to Buckinghamshire in a fortnight’s time – still to play.

Captain Jack Beaumont said: “It is a game we come into thinking we can win. I think we have competed brilliantly against all three sides we have played already and I don’t see that being any different when we come against Lincolnshire.

“We know what we will be up against as we have played against a lot of these guys before. We know Mark Footitt is a threat with the new ball and they have got three or four very good batters, who are capable of scoring big runs.

“However, I always back our lads in this type of scenario – I think we perform at our best when we are slightly up against it, and actually we perform our best on the road a lot of the time.”

A Lincolnshire win will most likely mean Suffolk are relegated to Eastern Division Two, but a draw or a Suffolk win by less than 13 more points than their hosts will mean Lincolnshire can still finish above them.

Beaumont said: “If we get a win at the end of three days of cricket that will put us in a great position.

“If it does end up as a draw, and that is much better than losing the game, we will have won one, drawn two and lost one, which will put us in a really nice place.

“But I am really hopeful with the players we have and the way we have been performing in the last few weeks that we can put in a good showing again and really put the pressure on Lincs knowing that they have to win their last game.”

Suffolk squad: Jack Beaumont (capt), Ollie Burle, Adam Jones, George Rhodes, Alex Oxley, Josh Cantrell, Jacob Marston (wkt), Freddie Heldreich, Tom Harper, Dan Shanks, Chris Steele. 12^th man: Ishaan Rakesh.

Tags: Adam Jones, Alex Oxley, Cleethorpes CC, Ishaan Rakesh, Josh Cantrell, Kieran Pell, Lincolnshire, NCCA Cluberly Championship, Nico Boje, Raj Singh, Tom Harper

Categorised in: Suffolk CCC