Derbyshire Premier League report - 09/09/01
by Gwyn Jones, 9th September 2001

The final day of the season produced a great deal of excitement and some strong controversy. The League Championship depended on the results from the games between Sandiacre and Ockbrook, between Alvaston & Boulton and Dunstall and between Langley Mill and Denby. In the event it was Denby who emerged as the Champions, after batting first and beating Langley Mill by 11 runs in a tense finish. Dunstall ran them close after gaining a winning draw against Alvaston & Boulton. Ockbrook, who had been favourites for the title were beaten by Sandiacre Town in a very controversial match and fall to third place

Langley Mill 202-5 lost to Denby 202-5 by 11 runs
B W Financial Services Man of the Match - Peter Scott

Denby knew that they needed to bat first in order to get the extra points, and they batted well enough to to offer a realistic challenge to Langley Mill. Their wicket-keeper batsman, Peter Scott, was again their hero, scoring 98 not out. Skipper Stuart Poplar played his part in scoring 44 and sharing a stand of 112 with Scott. Langley Mill went all out for the win and whilst Rayim Karim was there they were in with a chance. He opened and was sixth man out when he had scored 99. Steve Bullock took 4-46 and all the early bowlers had completed their spells when Chris Meyer came on with five overs left and he finished the match by bowling Andrew McCulloch with his first ball. This is a fitting title for Denby who have played attacking cricket throughout the season

Alvaston & Boulton 172-8 drew with Dunstall 238-5
B W Financial Services Man of the Match - Danny Spasic

Dunstall were on course for the win which would have given them the title. They batted with determination, none more so than Danny Spasic (90) and Jamie Benstead (44) and posted a formidable total. Maybe they should have declared earlier, to give themselves more overs to dismiss A&B who showed themselves determined not to lose. Anthony Woolley dug in to score 67 and there was resistance from Adie West (37) and Gary Smith (35), but wickets fell at regular intervals. At the end there were two wickets still intact. For Dunstall Steve Scrimshaw took 3-21.

Sandiacre 48-2 beat Ockbrook 44 by 8 wickets
B W Financial Services Man of the Match - Paul Standring

This game led to serious controversy over the state of the pitch, and Ockbrook are so upset that they intend to make a formal complaint to the League. They arrived at this match as the Championship favourites but were not impressed by the state of the pitch. It had been heavily watered and then covered and was saturated when they started to bat, which they were required to do, having lost the toss. In the words of the Ockbrook captain, Dave Hallack, "the ball did every thing", and they were skittled out for 44 in the 20th over. Paul Standring took 6-16 off 9.2 overs and Neil Finlay 4-27 in 10 overs. The heavy roller was applied between innings and the pitch played easier for a while. Sandiacre hit off the runs in 13.5 overs for the loss of 2 wickets. The umpires, Mick Morley and Alan Crooks marked the wicket as "poor". Whatever the outcome it is clear that the result must stand.

Stainsby Hall 111 lost to Quarndon 278-7 by 167 runs
B W Financial Services Man of the Match - Robin Williamson

This was a heavy defeat for Stainsby and condemns them to relegation to Abbey Glass Division 1 of the County League. Quarndon posted a huge score with main contributions from Robin Williamson (108) and Chris Sanders (64).. Karl Neville toiled away, taking 3-59 for Stainsby, and best bowling for Quarndon was by Steve Ellis (5-50).

Wirksworth 219-7 beat Heanor Town 166 by 43 runs
B W Financial Services Man of the Match - Graeme Archer

This win rounds off a good week-end for Wirksworth. They have batted well in both their games. David Greatorex made 87 and Kevin Hunter 37 in a total which proved to be beyond Heanor. Graeme Archer, as ever, played his part for Heanor, taking 4-30 and scoring 71, and Adnan Naeem was in fine form for Wirksworth taking 5-36.

Chesterfield 200-4 drew with Ilkeston Rutland 270-9
B W Financial Services Man of the Match - Jason Kelly

Ilkeston's Aussie Jason Kelly has come into his own this week-end, following up his big score on Saturday with 123 against Chesterfield, with Nick Dawson adding 34.. Mackie Hobson took 3-92 for Chesterfield and their batsman batted out comfortably without threatening Ilkeston's score. Ed Crowther made 57, Peter Stokes 54 and David Adams was 34 not out.