Report 02.07.11
Gunn and Moore South Notts Cricket League Report Saturday 2 July 2011
By Phil Johnson
Saturday was the day of the underdog in Division A with George slaying the dragon in all five matches.
The biggest surprise came at Plumtree, where the leaders were held up in their quest for the Premier League by bottom club Attenborough. The visitors finally used up their allotted overs and posted 196 after a sticky start following a couple of cheap wickets for Scott Bailey. The score owed much to a fourth wicket stand of 75 between Craig Heiden (64) and 16 year old Callum Taylor (43).
Plumtree would have been confident of overhauling the total, but in truth the innings never got going, thanks in part to some accurate bowling at the outset from Martin Rayner (2 for 28). However, the star of the show was Tom Murray whose bowling has come on leaps and bounds in the last couple of years. His five wicket haul included the key scalp of Matthew Wood (14) and despite useful knocks from Steve James (44) and Matt Milnes (39*), Plumtree had to settle for a losing draw on 148 for 8.
All was not lost for the leaders though as closest rivals Rolls Royce Leisure only gained one point on them after a pulsating encounter at Balderton. Rolls made 230 with Ansar Khan (48), Waheed Khan (41*) and Saleem Karim (38) in the runs whilst Chris Dobbie (4 for 35) and Ian Sellars (3 for 53) took the bowling honours.
Balderton would have to bat well to win, a task made more difficult with the absence of Jackson and Clipsham through injury. However this was evened up with the unavailability of Aslam and Gorman for the visitors.
Balderton got off to a good start through Sellars (48) and then a partnership of 85 between Dobbie and a blast from the past, Chuck Tansley (45) brought victory ever nearer. Balderton could afford to be cautious, having 58 overs to achieve the target, but then the nerves set in and wickets began to fall, predominantly to Tayub Khan (5 for 47). It was now all down to Dobbie (59*) and in the penultimate over he struck the winning runs with one wicket intact.
Third place Unity (217 for 8) got the worst of a draw at home to Ellerslie who had the Mierkalns brothers of Daniel (73) and Caleb (49) performing again, along with Jon Wakeling (72) who was making his debut having signed from Papplewick.
Chasing 289 to win, Ravinderpal Singh(4 for 45) could not follow up his exploits with the ball and all Unity had to show in reply was a fifty for Adeel Shafique. For Ellerslie there was four wickets for their player of the year so far Usman Mussafer who was playing against his former club.
Radcliffe travelled to Hyson Green and scored a formidable 298 with Rob Sutton (130) striking his second century of the season. Radcliffe’s talisman’s innings came off just 97 deliveries and included eight sixes. Surely this would be too stiff a task for a struggling side who have not done themselves justice with the bat in recent weeks.
The result was a reply of 300 for 3 in just 42 overs. It all began with a return to form for Suranga Morathota (58) then Zak Hussain (49) carried on from where he left off last week. Finally came the match winning partnership between Moshin Alam and the hard hitting Shahid Khan who flayed the bowling to all parts. The pair both finished unbeaten on 77 and the victory will give the winners hope of avoiding the drop.
Southwell made it three wins out of four after Matty Davis (59) got the home side off to a good start. They were stopped in the tracks somewhat by Hucknall’s Robin Maxwell (5 for 29) and Josh Buckley (3 for 60), but Dave Rimmer (30) continued his knack of making useful contributions late on.
Chasing 188 to win, Hucknall, who until last Saturday averaged over 250 an innings, capitulated for the second time in seven days. The top five scored just five runs between them as Steve Wright (5 for 19) and James Johnstone (4 for 20) reaped the rewards. Lee Smith (21) held up the inevitable for a while until he was the last man out to Ted Behl. The losers managed 66 to add to their 101 last week and skipper Maxwell will demand that this trend is reversed immediately.
Clifton Village II carry on relentlessly at the top in B, scoring a whopping 315 at home to Collingham. It was a real team affair too with seven batsmen scoring over 20, the highlight being a quick fire 55 from number 9 Craig Fairhall.
In truth, Collingham would have needed a miracle to overhaul this total and settled for a losing draw on 229 for 6. This was a decent effort with 76 from Oliver Dyson and 52 from Joe Edge, whilst David Pipes (34) added to his earlier four wicket haul.
West Bridgfordians are now second after a good batting performance at struggling Gotham. The losers made 219 with Gary Kerslake top scoring with 60 and Kushal Shah (4 for 77) and Chris Navin (3 for 37) the best bowlers.
Gotham’s bowlers just haven’t performed as expected so far and 56 from Andy Sharpe, 41 from Nick De Villiers and an unbeaten 43 from Jon Sheard saw the winners home with six wickets intact.
Gedling Colliery slipped up again, this time at home to Plumtree II (283) who had Paul White (85) making a return to form. White was eclipsed though by an impressive 117 from Justin Stockdale as the home side were set a daunting target.
Colliery made a decent fist of it at first with Shane Pidgeon (42) and Graham Burton (38)opening up. However the pair were dismissed when looking set, as were Steve Burton (28) and Rhys Hayes (23) who were both ran out. This was the continuing trend with batsmen making starts then getting out, credit must go to fourteen year old Stan Carter (5 for 50) whose leg spin paved the way for a 48 run success. Carter’s five wicket haul also included a hat trick.
Gedling and Sherwood are still in trouble after failing to defend 197 at home to Long Eaton. Keith Hammond (52) again showed his potential for the losers but they were pegged back somewhat by Mark Harrison (3 for 60). After a poor start to the season, Brett Scothern is beginning to show his class again and his undefeated 94 saw the winners home with eight overs remaining.
It would be fair to say that Eastwood’s Gordon Pearson has failed to do himself justice to date since his move from Rolls Royce. How that changed on Saturday at Calverton!
Jason Wooliscroft (74) struggled early on and survived a dropped catch but went on to make valuable runs, as did Neil Gregory (43) who also profited from a spilled chance.
Then enter Pearson who teed off from ball one. He crashed 82 in just 33 balls, including eight sixes, and not even Kevin Evans was spared the onslaught. The fun wasn’t quite over with another quick fire effort from Dean Blake who smashed 40 in 20 balls. Eastwood who have struggled from day one with their batting finished on an incredible 319.
Calverton settled for the losing draw and Eastwood badly miss Josh Buckley and the unavailable Luke Elderkin to bowl sides out. Calverton had teenager Billie Bennett (49) top scoring whilst James Longden (3 for 41) continues his successful education in the firsts
Division C leaders Kimberley (197 for 8) were the latest club to feel the full force of Kirkby Portland’s renaissance. The visitors started well with Richard Underhill (73) leading the way but the turning point came in the latter stages with Kirkby’s Andrew Dallison (51) and Jason Caunt (44*) dominating the bowling.
Kimberley needed an improbable 287, a task made even harder when you know Caunt (4 for 54) will bowl 16 of the overs. Ben Johnson (67) and Dominic Brown (34) did well but in the end it was down to Prabhdip Sidhu and skipper Peter Wright who batted out the last eight overs to save the game.
Wollaton II (242) are still very much in the promotion frame with Andy Bayley falling just three runs short of a century. Out of form Wilsons (218) tried to hit 13 year old spinner Nick Kirkwood out of the ground but it all ended in failure with the youngster picking up four wickets.
The game of the day came at Radcliffe II who were chasing Attenborough II’s 205. Three wickets for former player Louis Holliday put a dent in Radcliffe’s hopes but up stepped fifteen year old Ben Bhabra (59*) who kept a cool head when wickets were falling around him. The last over came with four required and one wicket remaining and Bhabra calmly struck a boundary off the first ball.
Hoveringham gained swift revenge on last weeks defeat by comfortably disposing of Gedling Colliery II (173). In the successful run chase Paul Reddington made 66 whilst Mike Cupit (38) enjoyed his elevation from the second team.
After a couple of promising performance, Newstead Village (172) allowed fellow strugglers Thurgarton to pick up their first outright win of the season. Making runs in the successful run chase were James Mitchell (46) and Ed Mordaunt (26).
Thrumpton continue to set the pace in D after putting Southwell II (123) to the sword. Arivandan Ilangoven was agonisingly run out on 96 backing up at the non strikers end and Arpan Desai (65) carried on the good work. Requiring 249 to win, Southwell were solely relaying on the opening pair of John Richardson and Mark Bowie. However, Richardson was soon dismissed by his namesake Joe and despite a fifty from Bowie, the losers got nowhere near with Frank Forman picking up five wickets.
Risley are keeping up with the pace though after winning a thriller at West Bridgfordians II. Risley made a below par 150 but had the home side in trouble early on at 10 for 3. Recovery came in the form of Dave Terrell (40) and Nathan Anthony (30) but then some poor shot selections saw wickets tumbling again. The final over arrived with seven runs required but only one wicket intact. On the third ball, Jack Hawley induced the edge and Pete Jordan was caught behind by Marc Addison.
There is no change in E with easy wins for the top two of Ellerslie II and Hucknall II. Farndon lie in wait though with Daniel Hubbard (115) the man of the match in their 97 run win at home to Hickling (184).
The bottom of the table clash between Newark R&M II and Wymeswold was as close as expected with Newark nudging past the 129 target with just two wickets to spare thanks to Jack Beard (54*). Earlier in the day, new winning skipper Sam Robinson had taken 5 for 20.
There was very little change in F either with wins for both Kinoulton and Eastwood II. Kinoulton had Shaun Campbell taking five victims in their seven wicket win at Calverton II (116) whilst Jake Humphries (6 for 17) of Eastwood II went one better at home to Epperstone (114).
The top two of Belvoir II and Unity II had no game in G so Burton Joyce (208) took advantage to close the gap. They were made to fight all the way though at Collingham who failed to score the boundary required off the last ball to win. In the end it was the 23 wides that Collingham sent down which was the difference.
Another close finish at West Park where John Fletcher (73*) hit the winning runs for Long Eaton II with four balls and one wicket remaining. Defeat was harsh on Lowdham’s Adam Martin who took 5 for 34.
The top two clash in H had a thrilling climax with Rolls Royce II needing a boundary off the final delivery to beat Flintham (174). Joel Wright looked to have become the hero with a great shot but that was bettered by a fine stop on the boundary line and Rolls lost by one run. Earlier, Matt Lyas (71) had continued his excellent season for the winners.
West Bridgford Legion are on a great run of form and had Shahid Guklzar (88) again mastering the West Park track. Sutton Bonington (79) simply folded chasing the 161 target thanks to five wickets for Adil Awan.
In J Thrupmton’s last pair put on 12 to win at Caunton (212) whilst there was six wickets for Elliott Burnett of Lambley who stay in the promotion slots.
Beeston & Toton Sycamore II (306) have snuck in almost unnoticed into the promotion places in K with their latest victory coming at home to Newstead Village II (242). For the winners, James Rhodes (140) hit the highest score of the day.
Another man in form is Stuart Hubbard of Risley II who scored his third century in four innings in the 86 run win at home to Stapleford (160) in L. Also in the win there was a first wicket in senior cricket for Risley’s 15 year old Ryan Taylor. Elsewhere in L, Andy Carden of Hucknall III’s return to action after a broken finger was a successful one. The opening bat hit 96 and was the catalyst behind his teams return to winning ways at Radcliffe III (193).
Division M leaders Belvoir III wasted little time seeing off Wymeswold II, needing only 16 overs to pass the losers meagre 97. For the winners James Keywood (62*) and Harry Adams (40*) shared a century opening stand.
The days best bowling performance came from sixteen year old Jonathan Arthur in N. Defending 148, the teenager took 7 for 38 as his Flintham II side ran out winners at Lowdham II (136).
Finally, In P, the talented Abhishek Jha was at it again for Poplars. Chasing 178 to win at home to West Bridgford Legion II, the opening bat bludgeoned an undefeated 136 in just 21 overs, including sixteen fours and ten sixes.
