Inter Services T20 cricket: key players to watch at Lord's
The pressure is on as UK Armed Forces cricket returns to Lord's Cricket Ground on Thursday.
With an Inter Services title as well as UKAF pride on the line, it's a must-watch day of cricket on the Forces News YouTube channel and BFBS TV (for serving personnel only).
But which players will stand out among the rest to lead their team to victory?
Ross Dearden (British Army)
It's tough to follow in the footsteps of any previous captain, but for this year' Army skipper Ross Dearden, he picks up from the job left by Jay Boynton, the leading all-time wicket taker in the UK Armed Forces.
It sparks a new era for the Army, who have won this competition eight times in the last ten years but Dearden is a similarly key player for the men in red.
A middle order batsman designed to keep things ticking, Dearden also possesses the skills to take a few wickets of his own and got one of his best figures against the RAF in 2022 with two wickets for just 18 runs.
He's started 2024 in decent form and his 25 runs against Cambridge University could be something for Dearden to build on against the RAF.
Tom Shorthouse (Royal Air Force)
He's a batter in form, and the RAF will certainly hope a couple of commanding performances from Tom Shorthouse will lead them to glory.
He's got 2,302 runs across all forms of his RAF cricket career and smashed an unbeaten 89-run haul against Oxford University last month.
But in the Inter Services T20, he's struggled to really smash in a big haul, with a score of 36 his highest at Arundel Castle in 2021.
Is 2024 the year that Tom Shorthouse gets the job done for the RAF?
Ben Johnston (Royal Navy)
Since taking the captaincy in 2022, Ben Johnston has been a leading figure in the Royal Navy team.
He comes into the tournament in fine form which was highlighted by a half-century of runs against the Royal Navy development team last week.
That's not to say the Navy skipper can't be dangerous with the ball.
He has 59 wickets across his four-year spell with the Senior Service on a cricket pitch.
Amanda Potgeiter (UK Armed Forces)
With the UK Armed Forces women's team set to take on the Marylebone Cricket Club, let's highlight one cricketer who has been a leading light in the growth of military's women's cricket.
Amanda Potgeiter is a 20-year veteran of British Army cricket and became the first cricketer in the service to hit over 6,000 runs during their women's Inter Services T20 triumph last year.
She's also key for the UKAF team and will be looking to add to the 40 runs across two T20 games against the MCC.
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