Derbyshire Premier League 2001 review
by Gwyn Jones, 23rd September 2001

It has been another successful season with playing standards well maintained and grounds and facilities showing continued improvements.

There was great excitement on the final weekend with a double programme on Saturday and Sunday, and the League title in dispute literally up to the last ball. Three teams were in contention, Ockbrook, Dunstall and Denby. Ockbrook were surprisingly well beaten by Sandiacre Town, Dunstall had Alvaston & Boulton at their mercy with 8 wickets down at the final over, with a win ensuring that they would be Champions, and Denby were playing for their lives at Langley Mill. With five overs left Langley Mill's last pair was at the crease needing 11 runs to win, but Chris Meyer, coming on late, bowled Andrew McCulloch with his first ball. News of the draw at Alvaston & Boulton brought great jubilation to the sizable support that had assembled. So, Denby are the Champions.

During the season the League Representative side continued to perform with great distinction. As holders of the LCC President's Trophy they played against the Forester Kent Premier League, the Champions of the Club Cricket Conference, at Wolverton, near Milton Keynes. Played on June 6th it was a 50 overs a side match, and in an exciting finish the Derbyshire Premier League emerged as winners by the narrow margin of one wicket.

They were again successful in this year's LCC President's Trophy reaching the Final by beating the Durham Coast League, the Durham Senior League, and the Shropshire Premier League. The game against Shropshire ended in dramatic fashion, with Shropshire needing 7 runs to win with 6 wickets in hand off the final over. They lost 4 wickets in that over, bowled by Ian Darlington, and ended up 4 runs short.

In the Final against the Willows Notts Premier League Derbyshire were in contention up to the 20th over of the second innings when rain threatened to halt the game, and in their over-eagerness to increase the run-rate they lost wickets and ended up all out 86 runs adrift. Notts deserved to win, as they bowled and fielded like demons.

Denby were worthy winners of the League title, not least because of their attacking flair. The points system rewards the side batting first with 7 extra points if they win and Denby's captain Stuart Poplar was never afraid of taking the attacking option. In 20 out of 22 games Denby batted first. They won 9 games to Ockbrook's 13, but the extra points gave them the advantage.

Poplar led his side with courage and imagination, scoring 745 runs, always at a rapid pace, with an average of 35.48. Around him he had some talented cricketers. Ian Parkin, who has also been playing for Worcestershire 2nds came back to them this season and his contributions were crucial. He scored 644 runs at an average of 46, and took 55 wickets at an average of 23.52. They were fortunate to find somebody to fill the wicket-keeping vacancy. Peter Scott, coming from the North East, kept wicket confidently, but even more important he made runs, scoring 423 with a top score of 98 not out.

Their overseas player, Aussie, Shannon Waters, was a huge success as an accurate opening bowler and forceful bat, taking 59 wickets at an average of 16.85 and scoring 324 runs. There was the usual reliable support from Phil Glenn with 496 runs, Stephen Bullock with 562 runs and 29 wickets, Ian Burgoyne with 485 runs, Chris Meyer with 22 wickets and Matt Ball with 25 wickets.

There is no doubt that Denby's performance was a team effort.

Dunstall had a very good season, missing the League title by only 3 points and reaching the final of the Derbyshire B S Premier Cup. They again had the services of Phil Simmons, the West Indies star. He batted on 23 occasions, scoring 838 runs at an average of 49.29. Those who saw his innings of 98 not out to win the game at Denby will ever forget it; it included nine fours and six sixes.

Derek Randal was available after finishing his term at Bedford School. He turned in some good performances but wasn't as prolific with the bat as he was last season, but his influence on the team was strong. Danny Spasic was in his last year with the club, having played for them for 8 years, during which he has scored 9,619 runs and taken 273 wickets. He returns to his native Australia. This season he scored 891 runs at an average of 45.08.

James Benstead made good progress, scoring 937 runs at an average of 42.59 and was joined by his younger brother Matthew who showed genuine talent as a wicket-keeper batsman, scoring 284 runs and claiming 23 victims. Adrian Ball had a promising season with the bat, scoring 309 runs from 18 innings. In the bowling department Stephen Scrimshaw claimed 48 wickets at an average of 18.08, and the other work horses were Martin Clewley who took 38 wickets and Alan Gough who took 47 wickets.

Next season Dunstall will hope for great things from their home grown players, but there may be some interesting signings.

Ockbrook and Borrowash will be disappointed at losing out on the League title and in the Premier Cup, though there was some satisfaction in winning the Jackson Cup, the local knock-out competition. In the League they won more games than any other team, thirteen out of twenty two games, but they suffered because they batted second in most of their wins and hence got fewer points. Yet there is no denying that for most teams Ockbrook were the side to beat.

There were some fine performances, notably the batting of Johnny Owen who scored 853 runs, including 149 not out, at an average of 47.39. Dave Hallack captained the side astutely and produced some good knocks, including 109 not out, but he was not quite as effective as in other years. Ian Darlington had his moments as an all-rounder, scoring 356 runs and taking 26 wickets, and there were timely knocks from Dave Wood, James Cokayne and Simon King, the wicket keeper, who also claimed 20 victims.

Bowling was strong, but they suffered a devastating blow early in the season when their very promising leg spinner, Matthew Moss, had to have part of his leg amputated after being hit by a motor cyclist. We have all admired his fortitude and his determination to bowl again with an artificial extension.

Duncan Player has bowled at great speed to blast out 40 wickets, and Brian Gladwin, who joined them this season from Chesterfield has been a key player, claiming 37 wickets. Alan Green, the veteran in the side, was as economical as ever, taking 23 wickets and the club will be pleased with the progress of young Chris Windmill who came into the first team late in the season.

Quarndon had a mixed season, but they performed strongly at the end. Mark Tournier captained the side. He is currently a mature student at Loughborough University and played for the British Universities. His importance to the bowling is reflected in his haul of 50 wickets at an average of 18.40.

Phil Robinson, the ex Leicestershire and Yorkshire player, had a slow start but later showed what an exciting batsman he is. He ended the season at the top of the batting averages, with 891 runs at an average of 55.69 and made the season's highest score of 183.Billy Bagshawe who joined them from Wirksworth took a little time to settle, but was performing well by the end of the season, scoring 538 runs. Robin Williamson missed a part of the season with injury but came back strongly to score 513 runs. Amongst the bowlers Kevin Newbold took 41 wickets, Stephen Ellis 27 wickets and Chris Sanders 24.

This side could challenge for the title next season.

Sandiacre Town were seen as serious title challengers, but ended up in fifth position. No doubt their performance was affected by the loss of three key bowlers for much of the season, Parvez Iqbal, Neil Finlay and John Jordison.

Iqbal, from Pakistan, took 31 wickets to head the bowling averages at 14.52. Finlay, who has been a great servant of the club, has decided to call it a day and he will be missed. He took 26 wickets in a short season.

John Trueman captained the side and led from the front. He was second in the League's batting averages, with a total of 962 runs at an average of 53.44, and took 28 wickets. On top of this, he won the prize, offered by B W Financial Services, for most nominations (6) as Man of the Match,

Chris Attwood backed him up by scoring 824 runs at an average of 45.78, but it was a disappointment that his brother, Rob Attwood, a key batsman was out of action for much of the season. Simon Kinselle had a good season as wicket-keeper, claiming 26 victims, including 23 caught.

Building has now started on their new pavilion, which will be ready for next season.

Alvaston & Boulton slipped to sixth place this year. Darren Pooley led the side well, but there wasn't quite the enthusiasm that brought them the championship last season. He played his part by taking 68 wickets, the highest of any bowler in this League and came second with an average of 15.34.

Anthony Woolley was again a tower of strength, scoring 994 runs at an average of 41.42, but an injury hampered his bowling. Newcomer, Matt Boyer, was a reliable opening bat, scoring 867 runs, but the rest of the batting was disappointing apart from the odd innings from Gary Smith. Rick Crowther turned in some useful performances with the ball, taking 26 wickets and Adris Azam continued to make progress as a spinner.

It was a disappointing season for them, but they had their moments and showed real character on occasions, as in the last match when they were determined not to be beaten by Dunstall.

Ilkeston Rutland spent most of their season in the lower half of the table, but they rallied in the end and climbed to safety. They relied heavily on three players, Martin Brandrick, the captain, David Smit and their Aussie overseas player from Sydney Jason Kelly.

Brandrick showed that he is a genuine all-rounder, scoring 520 runs and taking 36 wickets, and this was matched by Smit with 861 runs and 24 wickets. Kelly took some time to settle but by the end of the season he was in fine form, scoring 89 and 123 in his last two games, with a total of 548 runs and 24 wickets.

Wirksworth were led by Neil Smedley, who took over the captaincy when Mark Tournier left for Quarndon. He concentrated on survival, a sensible approach for a side newly promoted. They succeeded, though with some concern at the end when they were dangerously close to the relegation zone.

They were well served by their overseas player, Adnan Naeem from Lahore. He scored 674 runs and took 55 wickets. Stalwart David Greatorex scored 609 runs and veteran Mark Woodward took 30 wickets and chipped in with the odd good score batting down the order. There were useful performances from Andy Barlow, Kevin Hunter and Richard Hosein, and they will be pleased with the achievements of Adam Barratt who heads the list of wicket-keepers with 36 victims, including 17 stumpings.

No doubt the priority for next season will again be survival.

Chesterfield had a moderate season but they were too close to the relegation spot at the end. Skipper, Tim Kirk led by example and kept a tight grip on things. He was one of the outstanding all-rounders in the League, scoring 421 runs at an average of 52.03 and taking 30 wickets.

David Adams, in his first season, gave him good support with 724 runs and 40 wickets, and Alan Gofton, the Oxford blue, made a difference when he came into the side following the end of the University season. Mackie Hobson strengthened the bowling when he was available, as did David Ward.

There was some encouragement from the batting of Peter Stokes and Paul Burdett.

Heanor Town had a mixed season. There was a lot of talent in the side but it wasn't always available.

Steve Brogan started off as captain but pressure of work caused him to hand over to Richard Bates half way through. Brogan played his part, scoring 586 runs at an average of 45.8 Bates was one of three ex Notts. players and he did well with the ball, taking 41 wickets.

Of the two other Notts players Kevin Cooper was only available for ten games, but Graeme Archer (pictured left) was a great success, scoring 913 runs at an average of 48.05. Graham Bush kept wicket superbly as usual and batted soundly to reach 619 runs.

Veteran Colin Taylor was brought into the side because they were short of bowlers and he didn't let them down, claiming 28 wickets. There was good support from Kaiser Altaf with 31 wickets, but there is a clear need to strengthen the playing strength of the club.

Langley Mill United had a strange season. In the first part they were performing dreadfully in the League and were 46 points adrift at the bottom at one stage. Richard Marsh gave up the captaincy to concentrate on his batting to be succeeded by Andrew Thompson, and things began to change.

What was strange was that during this bad spell they were playing with great confidence and winning in the Premier Cup competition, beating strong sides from the Notts. Premier League, including the Notts. West Indies Cavaliers. They showed great character in climbing to safety in the League and in reaching the final of the Derbyshire Building Society Premier Cup when they beat a strong Dunstall side comfortably by 8 wickets.

They had engaged Naved Latif, a member of the Pakistan National squad and he took some time to settle down. However, he did produce the goods in the end, scoring 652 runs and taking 35 wickets, but he returned to Pakistan before the end of the season. Andrew Thompson batted well for 777 runs and Ken Smith chipped in with 37 wickets, but the real success story was the performance of 16 year old Sam Patel who scored 680 runs and took 43 wickets. Clearly, here is a cricketer for the future at a higher level.

Another young player joined them late in the season; Rashad Shafayat slipped confidently into the opening spot and also bowled well, taking 22 wickets. Rahim Karim was a batsman who liked to get on with it and he showed great penetration as a bowler, taking 40 wickets. What they need for next season is a little more experience to help develop the talent.

Stainsby Hall had a strong squad at the start of the season and were confident of doing well. So, what went wrong?

Partly it was because key players were not always available at critical times because of injuries and holidays. Adrian Marsh scored 660 runs but for part of the season he was not fully fit. Peter Davies, the captain, scored 464 runs, but generally the runs did not come freely enough.

New Zealander Damien Collard bowled his heart out, taking 39 wickets and there was good support from Michael Deane with 36 wickets and Simon Lacey with 26 wickets, but the fact is that by the end of the season they had lost 11 games and won only 2.

So they go down to Division 1 of the County League. They remain an ambitious club and will aim to climb straight back. This is going to be difficult.