Published: Thursday, 3rd July, 2008 09:00
Berks aiming for Wales success
By Anthony Smith
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Spin king: Carl Crowe returns to the Berkshire side as they look to continue their impressive season with success in Wales.
BERKSHIRE hope to carry their excellent form over the Severn Bridge when they head to Wales this Sunday for the start of a three-day Minor Counties Championship clash at Pontardulais (11am).
David Morris’ side have made an impressive start in their Western Division campaign by thrashing Cornwall by nine wickets at home and salvaging a nail-biting draw on the road against a strong Devon outfit last week.
And if anything the stalemate at Torquay felt more like a victory as Berks were heading for a certain defeat before they mounted a sensational fightback.
At tea on the last day Devon were coasting to victory on 71-0 chasing 167 to win.
But the Royal County had other ideas and a fantastic
display of bowling and fielding saw the hosts restricted to 151-8 at the close.
Now Morris wants his side to show those fighting qualities again when they head to the principality.
“It was an amazing game of cricket and I suppose you could argue neither side deserved to lose,” he said.
“But from the position we were in on the last day, it felt more like a victory against very strong opponents.
“The players deserve all the credit for delivering when the pressure was on. It really was phenomenal.”
Though Wales are yet to win in the Championship this season, Morris will not be taking them lightly.
Their first game against Dorset was abandoned due to rain then they lost at
division leaders, Cheshire, despite scoring 743 runs in their two innings.
Much depends on how many Wales players will be called-up by Glamorgan as most are contracted to the first-class county including star bowler James Harris and batsman Tom Maynard, son of ex-England star Matthew.
“To a very large degree they are Glamorgan 2nds,” explained Morris. “They had seven players contracted to the county last season when we beat them at Falkland.
“The likes of Gareth Rees and Tom Maynard are quality players, though I believe they may be called up to the firsts like James Harris.
“The thing with Wales is that they are a young, fit side with a lot of talented players.
“But their heads can drop if you get on top of them and that is what we’ll be trying to achieve.”
Berks are likely to make two changes with Carl Crowe and Mitchell Stokes replacing Dan Shilvock and Sam Woodward respectively, while Paul Carter is unavailable.
Competition for places is intense as players look to secure their places in the side for the Minor Counties Cricket Association Trophy semi-final against rivals Oxfordshire at Banbury.
The match takes place on Sunday, July 13 and the winners will book their place in the prestigious Lord’s final.
Berks won the trophy in 2004 and Morris added: “The season has gone well so far and the difficult part will be knowing which players to pick.”
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