Wiltshire CCC top group and qualify for home quarter-final despite narrow defeat to Berkshire in NCCA 50 over trophy
Wiltshire CCC v Berkshire CCC @ Warminster CC
NCCA Trophy Group 3: Sunday 17th May 2026
In their final group game Wiltshire came up against Berkshire who have always held the upper hand in recent years. Wiltshire began the day at the top of the table and knew that a victory would keep them there. They won the toss and elected to bat first. They were soon in trouble to the pace of skipper Andy Rishton (1 for 18) and Toby Greatwood (2 for 34) with Charlie Dunnett (4 for 40) then joining the party as Wiltshire slumped to 55 for 6 with all of their recognised batsmen back in the pavilion. It was at this point that Alfie Johnson and the ever-reliable Chris Aubrey, 19, joined forces to move the score on to 91 for 7 before Chris Aubrey became one of Charlie Dunnett’s victims. An early lunch was taken as a rain delay forced the players off the field at 115 for 8. When they returned Archie Pascoe, 12, put on 32 runs with Alfie until a mix-up saw him run out with the score then 138 for 9. In an enterprising final over Joe King took a single from the first ball to allow Alfie Johnson the strike … and what a feast he made of it by hitting 22 ( 4,4,2,6,6) from the final 5 balls of the innings to move the score on to a more respectable 162 for 9 with Alfie finishing on a splendid 54 not out.
Berkshire also had problems with the bat and lost wickets at regular intervals although looking capable of reaching their target comfortably despite Chris Aubrey (1 for 39) and Ed Young (1 for 27) keeping the run rate in check in the early overs. Rhys Lewis 24 fell to Joe King thanks to a catch from Tom Cheater. Charlie Dunnett 47 was one of Wadworth Man of the Match Archie Pascoe’s 5 victims. Archie turned the match on its head as Berkshire slumped to 101 for 8 with two players caught, one by Joe King and one with a superb diving catch from wicketkeeper Jake Goodwin. Of the other three, Berkshire keeper Andrew MacEwan was trapped LBW and Ben Salter and skipper Andy Rishton having their wickets flattened – Rishton from the very first delivery he faced! Berkshire had slumped to 101 for 8 with Wiltshire very much in the ascendency. However, at this point just one run was added before the players had to leave the field again as rain stopped play on 25.4 overs. When they were able to resume play Berkshire had a revised target of 163 from 36 overs. Unfortunately for Wiltshire this meant that Archie Pascoe was only able to bowl 7 of his expected 10 overs in which he claimed the remarkable figures of 7-2-15-5. The Berkshire ‘tail’ took a liking to the Wiltshire spinners and Samm Daniel, 19, assisted Toby Greatwood, 43 not out to their target with Greatwood sealing victory with a massive 6 as they closed on 166 for 9 from 34.2 overs.
And so the day ended with disappointment for Wiltshire and joy for Berkshire in a game of fine margins. However, this result meant that Wiltshire, Berkshire and Devon all finished the campaign with 6 points from 3 victories each. The positions would therefore be determined by run rate and Wiltshire who started the game in pole position, finished as group leaders with Berkshire second and Devon missing out. Today’s teams therefore have a quarter final to look forward to with Wiltshire welcoming Oxfordshire to Warminster on Sunday June 7th. Well played to all concerned today and good luck in the quarter finals.
Wiltshire CCC lost to Berkshire by 1 wicket
Report and photographs : Roy Honeybone
