Captain Dan Lincoln, led from the front all week for England XI with his tidy wicketkeeping and fast scoring with the bat. A former professional footballer with Reading FC, Lincoln, 26, has also played for Glamorgan and Kent in the last two years in county cricket and brings a wealth of experience to this young side.
England XI finished top of the group standings, winning seven out of eight, only losing to Italy in a massive shock at the time on Wednesday. Italy turned the corner with six wins in a row, full of confidence and met England again in the Final. Italy posted an imposing total of 141 in their 10 over allocation, but England had no trouble in chasing the target with three balls to spare, thanks to a marvellous unbeaten century from skipper Lincoln.
Speaking about his expectations for Championship Week: “We obviously set out to get through the first week so we are very pleased to have done that. We’ve learnt a lot already; about how carefree and aggressive you can bat,” he said.
“It gets a bit nervy at times in such a short format and when things go wrong, they go wrong quickly, quite drastically. But we’ve done well with only one loss, but I think other sides have learnt from us as well so it’s been a good experience.”
WATCH THAT FANTASTIC CENTURY FROM CAPTAIN DAN!
