Cricket Wales v Essex Falcons
ECB D40 Pursuit, Final
Collingham & District Cricket Club, Newark-on-Trent
Sunday 10 September 2023, 1:00pm start
Team News:
Wales: Daniel Quick, Ioan Martin, Callum Powers, Michael Weatherby, Rhys Gaskins-Davies, Rhodri Gaskins-Davies, Jack Page, Alex Lloyd, Adam Fowler, Cian Davis
Essex Falcons: Lee Wheeler, Benny Fryatt, Isaac Elles, Billy Gibbons, Joe Moss, James Cole, Jack Gair, Jack Flower, Martyn Doe, Glyn Thomas, Alfie Jeeves, Matt Thomas
Match Details:
Toss: Essex won the toss and elected to field first
Result: Wales won by 62 runs (DLS method)
Match Report:
Cricket Wales clinched the D40 Pursuit national title following a 62-run DLS-adjusted victory over Essex in a hard-fought rain-affected encounter at Collingham & District Cricket Club.
Wales had booked their final place by seeing off a strong Yorkshire side in their final group match to top the northern section ahead of Derbyshire, while Essex had remained undefeated in winning the south group, beating Middlesex, Surrey, Northamptonshire and Dorset/Hampshire along the way.
Indeed, the contest was perhaps closer than the scoreline suggested with both sides providing some excellent cricket for their enthusiastic audience that had travelled some considerable miles to witness the spectacle that was played in difficult humid conditions.
Notably, opening batter Daniel Quick top scored for the Welsh side, hitting 44, while Ioan Martin contributed 34 and Jack Page 27, helping their side to a competitive 213 for eight from their forty overs. Meanwhile, Joe Moss and Alfie Jeeves, as they have so often this summer, led the way with the ball for Essex, returning impressive figures of 8-2-40-3 and 7-0-34-3 respectively.
A thunderstorm during the tea interval led to a delay in the match restarting. When the rain stopped, Essex was handed a revised target of 187 from 32 overs.
But despite a knock of 40 from all-rounder Moss and a spirited unbeaten 37 from Benny Fryatt, some lean bowling from the Welsh attack, ably supported by an athletic performance in the field put a stranglehold on the Essex response.
Alex Lloyd took three for 17 and Kieran Williams 2/22 as Cricket Wales restricted their opponents to 125 for eight, securing a deserved success from what was an excellent match, played in great spirit.
