Shropshire will be looking to build on last weekend’s fine NCCA Trophy win over Norfolk when they face Cambridgeshire at St George’s Cricket Club on Sunday (11am).
The county responded impressively to defeat in their opening Group Three fixture at Suffolk last month to beat Norfolk by five wickets in the 50-over competition at Whitchurch.
Ed Home, Shropshire’s head of cricket, said: “We were pleased with what we did last Sunday, but that’s the start as far as I’m concerned.
“The first win in any competition is always important, but now the question is can we back it up with another performance and I see no reason why not.
“We got a lot of things right against Norfolk, but we still have areas that we probably need to look at and work on.”
Shropshire make one change against Cambridgeshire as promising all-rounder Theo Wylie returns to replace his unavailable Shifnal team mate Jack Home.
It’s a welcome return to St George’s for Shropshire this weekend as the county has not played a first team match at the Telford club for more than 20 years.
It was the venue when Shropshire memorably beat Yorkshire in the NatWest Trophy in 1984, one of a number of Shropshire matches against first-class opposition hosted by the club.
Shropshire’s last appearance at St George’s came in the same competition in June 2000 when James Ralph scored an unbeaten century against Somerset.
The county had been scheduled to face Gloucestershire at St George’s in the C&G Trophy in 2002, but the wet weather meant the game eventually took place at Shrewsbury School the following day.
“We are very excited to be going back to St George’s,” added Home. “I can remember watching when Shropshire played some of their biggest games there against the likes of Northamptonshire and Somerset.
“It will have happy memories for a lot of Shropshire supporters, so it’s fantastic that they are hosting this weekend.
“One of Shropshire’s all-time greats, Peter Bradley, was a player and is president there, so it’s wonderful that we can go back to St George’s.”
Cambridgeshire, Sunday’s opponents, lost by 27 runs against Suffolk last weekend.
That followed defeat by five wickets in a high-scoring match at Cheshire a week earlier when Wayne White, the former Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lancashire all-rounder, hit a century for Cambridgeshire.
The top two teams in Group Three qualify for the quarter-finals of the NCCA Trophy, with leaders Suffolk, having won three of their four games, guaranteed a top two finish.
Shropshire will complete their group fixtures against Cheshire at Toft on June 25.
Admission is free for spectators to attend Sunday’s match against Cambridgeshire.
Shropshire: George Hargrave (Shrewsbury), Theo Wylie (Shifnal), Tom Fell (Wolverhampton), Ollie Westbury (Himley), Andre Bradford (Swarkestone), Matt Simmonds (Bridgnorth), Charlie Home (Shifnal, captain), Andy Sutton (Barnt Green), Ben Lees (Shifnal), Sam Ellis (Wolverhampton), Ben Roberts (Shifnal).
Pictured: Ed Home, Shropshire’s head of cricket, and Dave Nock, the team’s coach, talking to the players before last weekend’s victory over Norfolk at Whitchurch.