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Staffordshire make it through to semis

Staffordshire have made it through to the semi-final of the Unicorns Trophy after winning a sudden death bowl-out with Norfolk.

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Matthew Coxon hit the winning stumps at Longton, before Norfolk captain Chris Brown missed his bowl to give Staffs a 4-3 win.

It was 3-3 after the first over of the bowl-out, Brinder Phagura hitting twice for Staffs and Coxon removing the bails as well.

Captain Kadeer Ali said: "It doesn't matter which way you get through, as long as you get through we're happy.

"It's the first time most of the lads have been involved in a bowl-out, so it's good experience. It's a bit harsh on Norfolk, but that's the way it is."

Only 18 overs were completed before the 21-over match was abandoned with Norfolk on 134-4.

Ali said: "They were looking at 170, which we would have been happy to chase because it's a tough ground to defend on.

"We won four out of four in the group stage and played some really good cricket. We came into this game really confident, so we were pretty confident we would have chased that total."

Meanwhile, Staffordshire's up and coming cricketers play the latest of their matches against first-class opposition tomorrow (11am).

They take on Lancashire at Audley Cricket Club's Kent Hills Ground. Included in the Staffs squad are Mitchell Spencer, Tom Steele and Dan Richardson who have all turned out for the county's first-team.

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