Andy Rishton produced an outstanding performance with both bat and ball as Berkshire defeated Devon by five wickets at a sunny Sidmouth on Sunday to reach the semi-finals of the National Counties Trophy, writes Dave Wright.
Berks will be away to Wales NC in the next round, the side they recently defeated in the group stages.
The 26-year-old allrounder took 3-18 off 9.2 overs as Devon were dismissed for 253 and then blasted 57 not out in Berkshire’s reply of 256-5 after they had been struggling at 59-4.
Henley paceman Tom Nugent and Wokingham’s Rishton did an excellent job in tying down the early Devon batsmen with Matt Thompson taking more than an hour to move into double figures, but Thompson went on to play a vital role for his side, spending more than two-and-a-quarter hours at the crease in making 52 to move Devon on to 149-4 by the 36th over.
The hosts put their foot on the accelerator thanks to Calum Haggett, with 87 runs in 81 minutes, and Ben Beaumont (42 from 39), moving the total along to 237, but Chris Peploe (3-54) and his Wokingham team-mate Rishton cleaned up the tail with the hosts all out for a 253.
Berks lost Savin Perera for 11 and Toby Albert for five, while skipper Richard Morris managed only five before losing his wicket to Fahad Sabir, who then had Josh Lincoln caught behind for six.
The Trophy holders were wobbling at 59-4 before Henley duo Woods and Tom Scriven lifted the total to 148 when Scriven’s patient innings of 75 (off 99 balls) came to an end in the 38th over.
With 11 overs to go, they still needed 92 runs but Woods and Rishton sensationally swung the game around by smashing 50 runs in the space of three overs.
Woods finished on 75 which came off 77 balls and contained two sixes and six fours, while Rishton had the same boundary count but scored his 57 off just 37 deliveries.
Berkshire got home with three-and-a-half overs to spare and will now travel to Wales on August 8 with the winners taking on Cumbria or Cambridgeshire in the final at Wormsley on September 2.
