Tight struggle for honours expected
by Paul Barker, 17th April 2003

After last season’s debacle which saw champions Cutthorpe denied their promotion chance to the Nottinghamshire Premier League because of the ground not being up to the required standard, this season will see a tough scrap at the top end of the table when the honours are dished out half way through September.

Cutthorpe remain rightly in many people’s opinion aggrieved over losing their place to Papplewick and Linby who finished a distant second to them in the league last season. Retford who were relegated maintain that if the champions were not being promoted then they shouldn’t have been relegated and on this score there is also some credence.

The idea of the Premier League’s was to get the best teams together and many would argue that that isn’t being the case. To throw things more into perspective the governing bodies virtually killed the sport of boxing from the mid 70s by taking world titles off people because they wouldn’t defend them against whom they were told to.

Consequently a committee sitting behind a desk decided who was world champion rather than the boxers in the ring. What happened next was that the public didn’t take to this idea and the aura of the sport diminished at breakneck speed. Sadly you get the idea that the same thing is happening in our cricket circles when winning the league seems now to count for nothing and a team who finished 41 points behind the champions are promoted once again by people sitting behind a desk and not for their performances on the field.

However what is done is done and the committee must think that they are right. Whether they are or not remains to be seen, but after another grueling massacre by the Australians again this Winter, are we going the right way to improving the state of the game when sub standard sides are being elevated to the higher echelons of the game whilst the better teams are left behind?

CUTTHORPE will once again lead from the front and one can be sure that they will have a formidable unit to rely upon. Asadullah Butt has been retained as their professional and he is certainly a major asset to them. The brilliant Pakistani scored 532 league runs last season at an average of 38.00 and picked up 71 wickets at just 13.42 runs each to top the bowling honours in Division 1. Opener Andrew Thompson averaged 58.73 with the bat and Nigel Kingham who amazingly like Retford did in 2001 was the only player to score a century for them in league matches scored at a ratio of 38.40 per match.

Chris Marples and Karl Fields both had good seasons with the bat, and Andrew Pierrepont with 43 wickets was the perfect foil for Butt with the ball. With all these players being available and the young batsman Matt Cluer improving all the while, Mark Barlow’s side won’t be far away at the end of the season and if anyone finishes above them they will most likely be champions.

RETFORD who were promoted to the Nottinghamshire Premier League on the very last day of the season in 2001 are back in the Bassetlaw League after under going possibly the worst season in their entire history when they finished bottom of the pile last season. Steve Musgrove will skipper the side this season, and that is bad news for other sides because without the shackles of the captaincy, Nigel Hall is likely to score even more runs than he usually does.

The Retford batting looks extremely potent with Henderson Jordan and Michael Moseley both being available this season. Pascal Broadley should again pose a threat to any side but the only chink in the Retford armory would seem to be with the ball. Steve Randall has joined them from Farnsfield and the club have high hopes of this good slow bowler, but the support might be on the thin side. We will have to wait and see but Retford won’t be too far away when the honours are being distributed.

A side who shocked many last term after gaining promotion in 2000 was KIVETON PARK but to many knowledgeable people it wasn’t as big a surprise as it seemed to be. Kiveton have always relied on a strong youth policy and bringing through their own players and although they have had a few lows over the years the vast majority have been highs.

Couple that to the fact that they have succeeded with a series of top up and coming Australians over the years and they have the perfect combination. Last season they reintroduced Steve Frost to their ranks and this brilliant Aussie paid them back in style scoring 1149 runs at an average of 76.60. Frost will be a hard act to follow but Kiveton are hopeful of another 18 year old from Sydney, Matthew Williams who in addition to being a very promising batsman is also a more than useful off-spin bowler.

Rob Coxon who did such a good job last season continues as captain and with batsmen of the quality of Richard Grainger, Adam Burgess and Richard Spurr getting his share of runs down the order, Kiveton should again trouble the best. They will miss Frost no doubt, but any side would and at times their attack is a little on the thin side. One has only to look at the number of runs they amassed in some matches and then lost to see that this is a problem.

When one considers that they only won one match in August and September and only finished ten points behind the runners-up, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that this is a very good side which is just boiling under the surface. The advice to all sides would be ignore Kiveton Park at your peril, you have been warned!

After a magnificent first ever season in Division 1, in which they finished fourth, CUCKNEY will be hoping to do even better this season and some shrewd strengthening would suggest that that might well be possible. They have hired the brilliant West Indian batsman Andrew Jackman as player coach and captain and their overseas player will be Greg Hunt an Australian who is so highly thought of that he captained his country’s under 19 side last year.

Aaron Thomas who has represented Nottinghamshire at second XI is another useful acquisition who can bat and also keep-wicket but Cuckney have lost the invaluable services of slow bowler Paul Gurnell who is now living in London. It is hoped that pace bowler Gavin Johnson will be back and the side should enjoy another good season on a ground whose facilities are absolutely first class.

FARNSFIELD who were capable of pulling off tremendous results and then losing to others who you would expect them to beat have lost the services of skipper Phil Creswell and batsman James Bennett to Mansfield Hosiery Mills. However the prodigal son Paul Delaney is back and he should still be the consistent run machine that he has always been in the past. In addition to this they have signed a very useful New Zealander in Mark Silcock an opening bowler of whom big things are expected.

Farnsfield will welcome back Kevin Wilson and Mick Hodgkin who suffered long term injuries and they will be a major boost to them. Andrew Edwards captains the side and it will be just like old times when he resumes his opening partnership with Paul Delaney which was very productive for them in the past.

At one stage in last season’s programme ARNOLD were doing so badly that their place in the top section looked under severe threat. They had lost their express Australian quick bowler from the previous year Matthew Barclay and other players were unavailable and certainly things were looking far from good. At this point the side got it together in good style and surged up the table finishing a respectable sixth which nobody would have envisaged at the half way point.

Their player coach Nolan McKenzie who has moved on to the Hosiery Mills really showed everyone what a good player he is and with skipper Andy Hobbs inspiring his team as he led from the front, Arnold looked a totally different side. They have acquired a medium pacer from Australia for the new season called Justin Foss and high hopes are expected of him. They have also recruited Richard Bostock a good quality batsman from Eckington and whilst the title would seem beyond them they do look capable of another good season.

The enigma of the league last season was undoubtedly MANSFIELD HOSIERY MILLS who many good judges tipped for the title at the start of the season. Apart from winning the Tomlins Trophy for the second consecutive season they were quite frankly a major disappointment losing eight of their 20 league matches and only finishing in seventh place.

This season they have recruited heavily again and whilst it would be unwise to go overboard about their chances they must be in with quite a shout of honours this time. Nolan McKenzie has joined them as Cricket Development Officer from Arnold and he scored three centuries last season and also captured some important wickets. They have been let down by Barry Tsatius an Australian who will not be available now, but Jonathan Smaill who scored 742 runs for them in 2001 is back and he will be a big asset

Other newcomers are the Farnsfield pair of Phil Creswell and James Bennett who is returning to the club after a productive stay at Station Lane. Matthew Thompson has also joined from Pretty Polly and the side will once again be captained by Mark Langford.

It is doubtful if they can flop as badly again as last season. The side looks very strong and they must surely be close when the honours are handed out at the end of the season.

KILLAMARSH had a very satisfactory season back in Division 1 after 31 years away last season. They made a pretty awful start but once they got into their stride they held their own rather easily. The side will once again be captained Mark Bull and they have recruited an Australian Andrew Hagnhofer who is primarily a batsman and can also keep wicket and bowl.

They have in Rob Carlisle, Dave Allen and Peter Allen some very useful batsman and the varied attack of Dave Barton, Parminder Mudhar and Steve Ludlam is capable of troubling the best on their day.

Martin Cheshire once again captains THORESBY COLLIERY who will this season have the services of a young Australian batsman Daniel Nash and a bowler from New Zealand who holds a British passport in Ben Winslade. Nash replaces Scott Lindsay who had a magnificent season for them last year and they will be hoping that he can emulate his predecessor.

The batting will once again rely heavily on Cheshire, Nigel Burkitt and Steve Willis, whilst Willis and David Evans will once again with Winslade bear the brunt of the attack with the ball.

GLAPWELL who struggled through last season have strengthened their side with the signing of a New Zealander Andrew Smith who is a more than useful batsman and an off spin bowler. Andy Pick will once again be with them and Tim Rice has returned after a spell with Mansfield and Pleasley. Also joining Glapwell is Lee Topham from Teversal and some other recruits are still possible before the season begins.

Phil Matthews will captain the side which includes stalwarts such as Gary Saxby, Dean Graney, Nick Bircumshaw and the precocious talents of young wicket-keeper batsman Travis Binnion. Glapwell do look stronger this time around and it will be interesting to see how they fare.

Promoted as champions of Division 2 NORTH WHEATLEY will be welcomed back after one season away. Most of the side is the same as last season and they are hopeful of having the services of Ashley Wright who has made the occasional appearance for Leicestershire but things are not totally confirmed as yet.

Jamie Bovill will captain the side this season and they will rely upon Wayne Harrison, Richard Robinson and Dave Waller for the bulk of their runs. Daniel Styring and evergreen David Edmunds are their main hopes with the ball and they will miss the outstanding talents of New Zealander Michael Davidson who scored almost 700 runs and took 52 wickets for them last season. Such players are rather difficult to replace.

Promoted BOLSOVER will once again have the important services of Pakistani star Tariq Rashid who scored 1029 runs at an average of 85.75 and took 43 wickets also last season. Charlie Walker will captain the side this season and they are hopeful of Steve Caddywood and Marcus Hindle joining them also.

The rest of the side will be based upon the players who won promotion for them with Andy Crooks, Neil Collings and Chris Cowley being the hopes for the majority of runs whilst Eddie and John Grant plus Chris Pemberton form a potent attack with the ball. With a player of Tariq’s quality in the side they will always be capable of pulling of a big surprise every now and then.

So another season is ready for the off. It looks an open bet for the title and nobody should simply walk away with it, but of course that theory could be so wrong.