A National Counties rivalry renewed... and the Essex keeper's dentist brother

As Cambridgeshire's Foxton Granta prepare to defend the Voneus Village Cup at Lord's on Sunday, we take a look at the two squads' county connections

For more than 50 years, playing in the Voneus Village Cup final has been the pinaccle of the careers of many amateur cricketer lucky enough to have made it to Lord’s.

But it’s also played host to plenty of players with past links to county sides too, who are now enjoying their time playing at club level at the weekend.

Young players on various counties’ youth books have also played in Village Cup finals. Fourteen-year-old Will Sweeting kept wicket for Dumbleton at Lord’s last year, having made his debut for Gloucestershire 2nd XI just a couple of weeks beforehand.

Foxton Granta, who defeated Dumbleton and will defend their title at Lord’s tomorrow, can also claim a few links to county clubs in their squad.

Middle-order batter Chris Pepper is the older brother of Essex wicketkeeper Michael Pepper and has previous National Counties experience himself.

Related: The county and England players who've left their mark on the Voneus Village Cup

^{Liam Parkinson has been a key player for Stayley (Jeni Harney)}

The older Pepper, a dentist by profession, represented Cambridgeshire in the past (players are disqualified from playing in the Village Cup if they have played a National Counties game within the last two seasons), along with his captain Lewys Hill and fellow Foxton teammate Johnny Atkinson.

Foxton’s Richard Kaufman, who scored a match-winning century in last year’s final, also had a career spanning more than two decades in Minor and National Counties competitions with Oxfordshire and Bedfordshire.

Kaufman will be familiar with at least one player from his team’s opponents this Sunday, Stayley.

Opening batter Liam Parkinson, a former Lancashire Academy player, appeared for Cumberland between 2014 and 2016.

Parkinson’s time with Cumberland included their National Counties Championship final win over Oxfordshire in 2015, when he caught Kaufman behind in the game’s first innings.

Parkinson also kept wicket for Lancashire’s 2nd XI in a 2012 game at Southport, recording no fewer than 10 dismissals (eight catches, a stumping and a run out) against Derbyshire’s second string.

Tickets for this Sunday's Voneus Village Cup final, between Stayley and Foxton Granta, are still available - priced at £20 for adults, £5 for seniors and FREE for Under-16s.

Though they will not be available on the day at Lord's, they can be bought here.