Sandiacre Town one step from Lord's
by Alan Rowley, 6th August 2003

Sandiacre Town, current leaders and champions of the Derbyshire Premier League, are just one step away from a Lord's final. The club meet Nottinghamshire's West Indian Cavaliers in the semi-final of the ECB National Club Cricket Championship on Sunday.

Another trophy?		Sandiacre started on the long road to Lord's back in May with a 23 run victory over local rivals Kimberley Institute. Easy victories over Lascelles Hall and Treeton, as well as a concession by Delph and Dobcross saw the Town capture the Group 3 title and a place in the National Tournament. In the first round of the National competition, Sandiacre defeated Kearsley by six wickets before beating top club side Dunnington. The Yorkshire side, aided by former West Indian Test stars Alvin Kallicharan and Collis King, as well as former Yorkshire batsman Simon Kellett, were narrowly beaten by 3 runs which set-up a memorable clash with the Nottinghamshire giants.

Cavaliers currently top the Nottinghamshire Premier League, and look set to capture the title with ease. However, Cavaliers go into the match as underdogs on the basis that the Derbyshire side comfortably won their Derbyshire Premier Cup final tie at Caythorpe last back-end.

With the hot weather set to continue, the game could turn into a batsman's field day. Cavaliers have some formidable hitters in their squad, and skipper Carlos Remy will be looking for revenge from last year's cup drubbing. Former Derbyshire keeper Adrian Rollins joined the Cavaliers for the 2003 season, which also saw the return of Lindon Joseph, one of the fastest bowlers in local cricket.

Sandiacre will need to be in peak form for the match which is being held at the Cavaliers new ground on Birchover Park, Bilborough. Their excellent new pavilion was opened in 2002 by former West Indies paceman Courtney Walsh.

Directions to the ground (from the Premier League handbook)

From the M1 Junction 26 take the east exit to Nottingham. At the next roundabout (0.4 mile) take the 5th exit on A6002 signal Stapleford. Forward at next traffic lights and after a further 0.9 miles left turn on Cockington Road. 1st left on Richmond Road, 1st right on Brindley Road. Entrance to ground is 0.15 mile on left.

From the junction of A614 (Nottingham Ring Road) with A609 (Nottingham to Ilkeston) at SK544401 drive westward toward Ilkeston for 1.9 mile. Right turn on Cockington Road, 2nd right on Richmond Road, 1st right on Brindley Road. Entrance to ground 0.15 mile on left.

Once on Brindley Road, after the road curves left, entrance to the ground is half-way along straight section between the houses.

Local area map | A wider view map

The match starts at 13:00 with the final at the headquarters of cricket on Thursday 4th September 2003