Cheshire edged out in Super 12s thriller

NCCA T20 'Super 12s' (Cheshire, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire), Wolverhampton CC, Sunday 9 August 2026

Lincolnshire 150-7 (20), Cheshire 147-9 (20). Lincolnshire won by 3 runs

Scorecard & highlights    

Cheshire were left to rue missed opportunities as their NCCA T20 campaign came to a desperately close conclusion, Lincolnshire squeezing home by just three runs in a Super 12 thriller at Wolverhampton.

With six required from the final ball, Archie Barraclough almost produced a spectacular finish. His powerful swipe towards the mid-wicket boundary briefly offered hope of a match-winning maximum, but dropped agonisingly short as Lincolnshire held on.

It was a frustrating end for Sam Perry’s side, who had done much right on a roasting morning but will know this was a game that slipped through their fingers.

Alfie Usher — one of the heroes of the dramatic final group game in Newcastle — returned to the side, while Alex Young was recalled, Alex Money returned from injury and Chester Boughton Hall’s Noah Vickery made his Cheshire debut.

Winning the toss and inserting Lincolnshire, Cheshire made regular inroads and generally kept the Imps under control. But on a lightning-fast, parched outfield, an unusually below-par display in the field proved costly, with perhaps 20 runs more conceded than Cheshire would have wanted.

Sam Evans held the Lincolnshire innings together with 53, while Pranav Pothula contributed 29 as Cheshire continued to chip away.

Barraclough was the pick of the attack with 3-41, while Will Valentine returned an excellent 2-24.

At 114-7 with three overs remaining, Cheshire appeared to have their opponents where they wanted them. But Tom Currie’s unbeaten 32 transformed the closing stages as Lincolnshire plundered 36 from those final 18 deliveries to reach 150-7.

Those late runs would prove decisive.

Cheshire’s reply initially struggled for momentum on a large ground where boundaries were difficult to manufacture, but Perry and the returning Money began to give the chase some shape.

Money, back after missing the middle part of the season with a finger injury, quickly rediscovered his touch and played the outstanding innings of the Cheshire reply.

When Perry departed for 19 at 76-3, the game remained firmly in the balance, with Money increasingly taking control.

His excellent 73 kept Cheshire right in the hunt and, even when he was dismissed, the target remained within reach.

But Lincolnshire found a way back.

A couple of tight overs increased the pressure and, with Cheshire searching for the big shots rather than working the sizeable Wolverhampton outfield, wickets began to tumble. Seamus Nazir’s 3-18 proved crucial as the Imps tightened their grip.

Still Cheshire refused to go quietly.

Barraclough took the chase all the way to the final delivery, but with six needed for victory his last throw of the dice fell just short of the ropes.

Three runs separated the sides — and Cheshire were left reflecting on a game they will feel was there for the taking.

Lincolnshire’s reward was a final against hosts Staffordshire, who prevailed by seven wickets to book their place at NCCA T20 Finals Day.

Cheshire: Sam Perry (capt, Alderley Edge), Alfie Usher (Alderley Edge), Freddie Vaughan-Hawkins (Timperley), Alex Young (Didsbury), Kevin Carroll (Brooklands), Alex Money (Chester Boughton Hall), Noah Vickery (Chester Boughton Hall), Archie Barraclough (Bradford & Bingley), Will Valentine (Alderley Edge), Andy Dufty (Oulton Park), Will Street (Didsbury).
12th man: Genaro Fernando (Toft).
Scorer: Inge Bevers. Coach: Gavin Colebourn. Team Manager: Nick Brooks.