Shropshire’s focus turns to three-day cricket as they get ready to begin their NCCA Cluberly Championship campaign against Cheshire this weekend.
Shropshire’s Western Division Two campaign starts against one of their neighbouring counties at Whitchurch Cricket Club on Sunday (11am), with admission for spectators free on all three days.
Shropshire make six changes from the team selected for last weekend’s NCCA Trophy final with Dorset as George Hargrave, Rahul Kaushal, Jacques Banton, Andre Bradford, Lewis Evans and Cameron Jones are all unavailable.
That provides opportunities at the top of the batting order for Shrewsbury’s Seb Scott and Wem’s Harry Chandler.
Barnt Green batter Amrinder Brar, who captains his club in the Birmingham League, comes into the team, along with Shifnal all-rounder Ollie Parton, who had been scheduled to make his first-team debut for the county in the Twenty20 Cup against Northumberland last month until he was injured playing for his club the day before.
Seamers Ravan Chahal of Worfield and Chester Boughton Hall’s George McCormick, who have both appeared regularly for Shropshire in the Twenty20 Cup this season, are called up to make their Championship debuts.
Ed Home, Shropshire’s head of cricket, said: “Seb Scott played in our Twenty20 campaign and was very impressive. He got a 50 and made some other strong contributions, so we want to give him more opportunities.
“Harry Chandler played in the T20 matches against Cheshire, getting 40 not out in one of the games. He opens the batting every week for Wem and now he will doing the same for us this weekend.
Looking to give more opportunities
“Having several senior batsmen unavailable for this game, we felt we needed to bolster the batting department and Amrinder Brar is a seasoned performer in the Birmingham League
“Ollie Parton has come through the Shropshire junior pathway and has a lot of potential with both bat and ball. He bowls offspin and is a top order batter.
“Ravan Chahal has been very impressive this season in both the T20 Cup and Trophy. He was one of the people we were looking to give more opportunities to and he fully deserves them.
“George McCormick is another to have played in our Twenty20 campaign and, living in Whitchurch, this is certainly a nice ground for him to play his first Championship match as a local lad.”
Shropshire performed well in the Championship last season and still had a chance of promotion from Western Division Two long into the final day of their last match against Herefordshire.
They were eventually beaten by four wickets at Eastnor, a result which secured top spot and promotion for Herefordshire, with Shropshire finishing second in the table.
Shropshire’s opening three-day match against Cheshire this weekend will be followed by trips to Dorset and Wales, with a home game against Wiltshire at Bridgnorth next month in between.
“Different skills are required in three-day cricket,” added Home. “We play a lot of one-day cricket, the 50-over and Twenty20 formats, but in the Championship you have to bat for sessions and long periods of time.
“With the ball, you have to have patience and bowl to a plan, so I’m sure the guys who are playing will learn quickly and adapt accordingly.”
Shropshire: Seb Scott (Shrewsbury), Harry Chandler (Wem), Tom Fell (Wolverhampton), Amrinder Brar (Barnt Green), Charlie Home (Shifnal, captain), Ollie Parton (Shifnal), Ben Lees (Shifnal), Joe Stanley (Wolverhampton), Ben Roberts (Shifnal), Ravan Chahal (Worfield), George McCormick (Chester Boughton Hall).
Pictured: Shropshire will open their NCCA Cluberly Championship campaign against Cheshire at Whitchurch Cricket Club’s Heath Road ground this weekend.