T20 FINALS DAY: Ormskirk and Rainford keen to prove their progress in the shortest format

Ormskirk skipper Gary Knight admits he is a little bit surprised by how well his side have done in the ECB National T20 so far this year.

They have already seen off last year’s national winners, Northern, who host Sunday’s regional finals day.

And Knight knows two more wins could set them on the path to further glory.

The Love Lane Liverpool Competition leaders, aiming for a third successive title, have been dominant in the longer formats of the game lately.

And they were the regional winners of the T20 competition six times out of seven attempts between 2013 and 2019.

But the shorter format – with the exception of an ECHO Cup win in 2022 – has not been a happy hunting ground for the club post-Covid.

It’s a period which coincides with Knight’s captaincy, and a record he’s keen to put right.

He said: “During the mid teens, we won it five times in a row and had a really consistent run. 

“But lately it’s been tough getting teams out midweek, so we’ve suffered a bit in the last couple of seasons – to get back to finals day is really good.

“It wasn’t one we’d really planned to progress in. 

“But it was great to get past Northern and we’re looking forward to Sunday – we could be three or four games away from a national final.”

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Ormskirk’s opponents in Sunday’s second semi-final will be Rainford, who have been one of the strongest sides in the Comp since winning promotion back to the top flight in 2022.

John Dotters led his side to the final of the ECHO Cup last year, where they lost to Birkenhead Park; they also reached this same stage of the national competition before losing to another of Sunday’s semi-finalists, Formby.

Winning has become a habit over the past couple of years and Dotters sees no reason it can’t continue, despite the daunting opposition.

He said: “I think we’ve got a better game plan now – that comes hand in hand with playing more T20 cricket. 

“In the past few years we’ve gone pretty deep in the competitions, so we feel we’re better equipped and a little bit smarter.

“If you want to go far in these competitions, you have to beat the best teams, there’s no getting around it. 

“Ormskirk are a quality outfit and our idea is to make it as non-straightforward as we can for them, and you never know with T20 cricket – all it takes is for one person to come off and it can go either way.”

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Dotters’ left-arm spin is one factor which could prove decisive, as is the batting form of Jason Login at the top of the order.

On the other side, Knight himself has been one of the league’s most consistent batters – and Ormskirk will welcome SLA Toby Bulcock into the fold after he had to miss the previous rounds owing to midweek commitments away from cricket.

Dotters said: “It’s all about how quickly we can get into the game, and how quickly someone can have an impact. 

“With the bat, can someone start well and then kick on, and can others bat around them; with the ball it’s can you get their key players out as cheaply as possible.”

Knight added: “It’s an exciting finals day and I don’t think there’s a clear favourite – there’s really good players in every team.

“The weather is meant to be nice too – it should be a good day for the Comp.”

ECB National T20

Regional Finals Day

Sunday, July 13
Northern CC

10:15am — Wallasey v Formby

1:15pm — Rainford v Ormskirk

4:30pm — Final

Winners progress to the ECB National T20 Area Finals

from Merseyside Cricket Online https://ift.tt/VGZRWsL