Top four gear up for Championship run-in
by Alan Rowley, 1st August 2001

With August upon us, the Derbyshire Premier League is reaching its climax with four clubs still in the race for the title. Who will win the race?

As the English cricket 2001 season reaches its climax with the arrival of August, the Beechdale Saab Derbyshire Premier League is still wide open with four teams in with a very real chance of lifting the title.

League leaders Denby have six games left to play and top the table by twenty points. Breathing down their necks with a game in hand are Ockbrook & Borrowash who have been sharing the leadership with Denby throughout the season.

Dunstall, 45 points behind Denby, and Quarndon, 53 points behind, are still lively outsiders, but both will need luck to go their way if they are to pass the top two.

Looking at the remaining fixtures, Ockbook would appear to have the easiest run-in as they play teams in the middle or lower reaches of the table. Denby, Quarndon and Dunstall all have to play each other, so these three will have to sit and wait for Ockbrook to slip up.

Remaining fixtures

Denby
August 4th - Ilkeston Rutland (home)
August 11th - Quarndon (away)
August 18th - Dunstall (home)
August 25th - Sandiacre Town (home)
September 1st - no game
September 8th - Wirksworth (home)
September 9th - Langley Mill United (away)

Ockbrook & Borrowash
August 4th - Heanor Town (away)
August 11th - Wirksworth (home)
August 18th - Langley Mill United (away)
August 25th - Alvaston & Boulton (home)
September 1st - Stainsby Hall (away)
September 8th - Chesterfield (home)
September 9th - Sandiacre Town (away)

Dunstall
August 4th - Quarndon (home)
August 11th - Sandiacre Town (home)
August 18th - Denby (away)
August 25th - Heanor Town (home)
September 1st - Wirksworth (away)
September 8th - Langley Mill United (home)
September 9th - Alvaston & Boulton (away)

Quarndon
August 4th - Dunstall (away)
August 11th - Denby (home)
August 18th - Heanor Town (away)
August 25th - Wirksworth (home)
September 1st - Langley Mill United (away)
September 8th - Alvaston & Boulton (home)
September 9th - Stainsby Hall (away)

The crunch for the third and fourth placed teams will come this Saturday (August 4th) when the two meet at Dunstall. Whoever loses this game will effectively be ruled out of the league title challenge. Denby's big game will be on August 11th when they visit Quarndon. A win for Denby in this game is vital.

Denby will also be praying for rain on September 1st when the other three challengers play their game in hand. Ockbrook have an easy game against Stainsby Hall on that day, so a victory could see them race back to the top of the table.

It's going to be an exciting six weeks, so log on to Sting In The Tail to keep up with the results on Saturday evening from 10:00pm.