Bassetlaw - Annual Report of the Management Committee 2004
by Paul Barker, 1st December 2004

The centennial season of Bassetlaw League cricket was celebrated by two matches played in starkly contrasting conditions. In mid-April Whitwell entertained Retford to commemorate the first match played in the League in April 1904. It was dry, but a wind, which could best be described as bracing, ensured that the players and officials earned the medallions which were presented to them by the Chairman of the Management Committee, Mr. Jim Garton. For the record Retford were victorious without any of the controversy which followed the inaugural match, that having ended in a disputed tie.

Fortunately the weather was much kinder at the end of July when a League Representative XI played M.C.C. in an all-day Centenary Match hosted in exemplary fashion by Worksop Cricket Club. Playing true time-cricket was a new experience for a number of our players who claimed a moral victory having just failed to overhaul a M.C.C. total compiled in many more overs. The game also gave the opportunity for the League to entertain a number of guests including the majority of the living Past Presidents led by Len Fletcher, now into his nineties, who was President forty years ago in 1964; and to put on exhibition of league memorabilia which was appreciated by young and old.

One would have thought that 100 years after the first season of Bassetlaw League cricket all important aspects of the administration of the league might have been dealt with, but a tremendous amount of time and energy has been expended during the last year to ensure that all the umpires who appear on the panel for season 2005 will have received clearance from the Criminal Records Bureau in line with the Child Protection Policy adopted by ECB. At the present moment approximately 100 of our umpires have received their CRB clearance, with several more applications in the pipeline and the Bassetlaw & District Umpires’ Association, in particular the Secretary, Peter McKenzie, are to be congratulated on the organisation which has brought this about.

It must be assumed that the importance of CRB clearance is by now absorbed within clubs not only for umpires and coaches, but also other positions which involve dealing with young people. The need for each club to have a child protection policy and a person to oversee the welfare of young people is a very important aspect of recruitment; surely parents will take their youngsters to a club where all is seen to be well, and every club is asked to inform the league of the name of its welfare officer via the Club Directory proforma.

The shortage of umpires grows more acute every year. During the summer a letter was sent to each of more than twenty clubs who did not nominate any umpires for the 2004 season seeking their assistance, only four responded at all. Following this, a letter from the Chairman, approved by the Management Committee, has gone to every club suggesting a number of alternative actions which could be invoked next season; the response is awaited with interest. It is important at this moment to record very sincere thanks to Geoff Holden for the magnificent job he has done as Honorary Umpires’ Appointments Secretary for the last 16 years, and for the courses he has run to train umpires. Without his efforts the situation would have been much worse and it is pleasing that he will not be lost to the League as he has accepted the office of Vice-President for 2005.

Another reason stated for the shortage is that people are dissuaded from taking up, or continuing, umpiring by a perceived lack of player discipline. Seven incidents were reported to the Management Committee last season, four of which related to dissent against an umpires decision, which, in around eleven hundred matches played is a very small percentage, and resulted in seven players being suspended for periods ranging from two weeks to ten weeks. One case of course, arising from a complaint from one of our women cricketers created a certain amount of media interest and much uninformed comment. A tariff of likely penalties common to other leagues in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire will be adopted for next season and will be distributed, in poster form, to clubs in the New Year and the ECB has stated that it intends to implement a national affiliation scheme of clubs and leagues as the first stage towards ensuring that cricketers banned by one body cannot play elsewhere.

Whatever the outcome, the words of Colin Cowdrey in his foreword to the 2000 Code of the Laws of Cricket are worthy of repetition, he wrote “I know I am not alone in considering that cricket will only flourish if the umpire’s decision is accepted without dissent or pique, no matter that the occasional wrong decision is made”.

Furthermore Law 1 states “The captains are responsible at all times for ensuring that play is conducted within the spirit and traditions of the game as well as within the Laws” and this should be made clear to them before appointment at club annual meetings; one captain was sanctioned for failing to control a player last season.

The Sportsmanship Award, based on marks submitted by umpires on a five-point scale, has been now been in existence for eight years and, for the first time, dominated by clubs in the western and central part of the area covered by the League. Congratulations are therefore extended to South Normanton ; 1 st, the winners of the £500 cheque, Manton; 2 nd and Holmewood Miners Welfare; 3 rd, but particularly to the winners who maintained very high standards despite finishing bottom of Division Seven.

The umpires are also requested to mark pitches, outfields and facilities each week on a three-point scale and last year certificates were awarded to the three clubs whose pitch ratings showed the most improvement, with Wilkinson vouchers to the value of £100 being presented to the winners. This year the clubs showing the biggest steps up the order of merit were Blidworth Welfare – 1st, Bilsthorpe – 2nd, and Glapwell Colliery, 3 rd..

The implementation, a year ago, of the ECB recommendations and directives regarding young players into League rules created some problems for umpires, particularly in regard to the limit on the number of overs a young fast bowler may bowl. It must be remembered that the qualifying date is 31 st August of the previous year so, for instance, a bowler who reaches the age of 17 after that date is still restricted to 6 overs per spell during almost the whole of the following season, even though he may be well past his 17 th birthday. Monitoring this can be difficult, especially if there are no appointed umpires at a match, and guidance was issued to clubs during the season indicating that if no umpires are present, the captains should exchange team sheets before the toss and clearly indicate to one another any player to whom the regulations apply.

Also one year ago the member clubs approved, by the narrowest of margins, revised rules regarding the qualification of players which, amongst other things, re-introduced a full player registration scheme to the League after a period of 42 years, 1962 being the last season for which all players were required to be registered quote “six clear days previous to the date of that match.” Experiences evidently varied judging by responses ranging from ‘straightforward’ to ‘ridiculous’, but club officials and the league registrars are to be commended for the diligence shown in administering the system. There will, no doubt, be a full debate on this later in the meeting.

The weather proved quite a talking point during 2004, at times it was almost a postcode lottery, with several clubs in S42 and S45, south of Chesterfield , unable to play until the third Saturday of the season. Later in the season a succession of wet Fridays stretched pitch preparation to the limit, especially on council prepared grounds, whilst some outfields had the appearance of lush meadows at a time when they would usually be at their slickest. The variation in rainfall, or in the wherewithal to counter it, was such that whilst seven teams experienced six weather draws, seven others had only one and three teams none at all.

In Division One, Notts. & Arnold Amateur raced into an early lead, winning seven of their first eight matches with one rained off and went on to achieve thirteen victories, but they also lost eight matches, including being bowled out by Glapwell Colliery for a record low of 29, and Mansfield Hosiery Mills with twelve wins, seven winning draws and only one defeat romped away from them, and from Kiveton Park Colliery and Cutthorpe in the second half of the season. The ‘Millers’ rattled up 298-4 at home to Bolsover, and 291-6 at Kiveton who they went on to bowl out for 109. Farnsfield featured in two high scoring matches, they scored 286-6 at Blidworth who replied with 254-9, and knocked off 251 at home to Bolsover for the loss of only three wickets with Paul Franks leading the way, but the Edwinstowe batting was less exciting at Glapwell when they crawled to 87-9 in 50 overs. Blidworth failed to recover from their relegation from the Notts. Premier League and became the first club to go down to Division Two after Premier League experience whilst Bolsover will rue points lost for a disciplinary offence which helped to place them in the other relegation position, despite the efforts of Tariq Rashid, who along with Adam Burgess and Ryan Snape of Kiveton Park, Rob McLeod (Bridon) and David Newman (Cuckney) scored two centuries. Newman had a fine all-round season and like Asadullah Butt (Cutthorpe) did the double of 500 runs and 50 wickets, in the latter’s case for the fourth successive season. The best bowling performance in the Division was by Keith Miller (Farnsfield) with 9-63 and Richard Spurr ( Kiveton Park ), Ian O’Brien (Glapwell) and Paul Burton (Worksop) each had eight-wicket hauls the last two at Thoresby Colliery’s Fourth Avenue ground. Twelve other players took eight wickets in an innings in lower Divisions, the best return being 8-14 by Ian Pestell for Clipstone Welfare, and their achievements will be recorded in the 2005 edition of the League Handbook.

Killamarsh Juniors made an immediate return to Division One in finishing runners-up to Marshalls who reach the top Division for the first time. Kevin Housham led the Gainsborough club from the front scoring two centuries, as did Alan Draycott (Whitwell) who went on to score over 900 runs, Gareth Rusinowski (Papplewick & Linby II), and Wayne Harrison (North Wheatley with Leverton). Not for the first time Saeed Bin Nasir (Pilsley) was easily the top run-getter with an aggregate of 1203 and five centuries including 173 in the home match with North Wheatley with Leverton and 101 not out, out of 127-2 (which included 7 extras) against Clay Cross Works. Notts. & Arnold Amateur II enter the record books twice; for the highest score (322-7) versus Whitwell and equalling the lowest score off 46 overs of 83-9 against Killamarsh. Whitwell also experienced some variety with the lowest total in the Division of 37 at Blyth, but a big win (166 runs) over Clay Cross Works, who in one of the matches of the season must have been pleased with a 281-2, including an opening partnership of 216 between Martin Leatherday and Ian Knowles, against Papplewick & Linby II only to see that total overhauled for the loss of 4 wickets. Papplewick’s skipper, Steve Alford, had the best bowling return in the League as a whole with 9-17 at N.S.K.( Newark ) who, incidentally, have now definitely decided to play under their old name of Ransome & Marles from next season.

Farnsfield II in gaining promotion from Divison Three have, like Notts. & Arnold Amateur II, reached their zenith, unless the First Eleven achieves Premier League status, and Everton return to Division Two after just one season. Milton’s big win against Thoresby Park, by 169 runs, was little comfort to them as they were relegated to Division Four, their lowest standing for many years and bottom club Sheepbridge, struggling for both quantity and quality of player, have resigned from the League to pursue a future in the Yorkshire & Derbyshire League; they will wish to leave behind them the memory of being dismissed for 13 by Thoresby Park for whom Dan Rippon took four wickets in four balls. West Indian Cavaliers’ II last two matches of the season realised 1014 runs. They scored 287-6 before bowling out Farnsfield II for 216, and then put the final nail in Milton ’s coffin with 290-4 in the last match of the season, though a spirited response realised 221-9. What a difference a month can make! In July the Cavaliers rattled up 270-4 declared at Thurcroft, Monty Douglas 151 not out, but in the return fixture in August were bowled out for 52.

Mansfield Hosiery Mills II made it a double celebration for the club when finishing close runners-up to Mansfield & Pleasley in Division Four. ‘M & P particularly enjoyed the two games against Bolsover II as Darren Walker took 9-39 in the home match, on his way to a record 83 for the season, and the team amassed 305 all out in the return fixture, also their visit to Waleswood who they dismissed for 29. Faisal Khan scored four centuries for Waleswood, including two against Caythorpe II, and Nigel Hall, unable to travel due to work commitments, three for Retford II; one in a record-breaking last match of the season when he, and Stuart Fotheringham (154) put on 239 for the first wicket, Retford II 276-2, Wadworth 253-6; another when they swamped near-neighbours Bridon II by 172 runs. Another high achiever in the Division was John Evans (Mansfield & Pleasley) with an innings of 156 against Bolsover II. Bulwell were relegated and more misery was heaped on the club when, just as they were looking forward to playing on a newly-laid square and from improved pavilion facilities, the travelling people moved on to the ground.

Division Five produced some exciting cricket with three of the five tied matches throughout the league; those between Clipstone Welfare and Notts. & Arnold Amateur III, Cuckney II and Welbeck Colliery III, and Edwinstowe II and Rockware Glass in which an extra run for Rockware would have given them the championship, rather than the runners-up place. Disquiet was also expressed by an official of the club that an opponent who had a significant effect on their last match of the season regularly played in a higher Division, but the other club’s explanation was accepted by the Management Committee. Cuckney II were also involved in two high-scoring matches, against Basford Mill when they scored 276-4 and Wiseton when, despite reaching 220 all out, they lost by 47 runs. Basford Mill were dismissed for 19 by champions, Sherwood Colliery, but due to the resignation of Sheepbridge followed by the recent withdrawal of Old Whittington, retain their status; nor will there be any relegation of teams below this level.

Clumber Park, having looked strong contenders in each of their three previous seasons in the League, finally made progress as champions of Division Six winning 15 of 21 matches unaffected by the weather including a ten wicket win against Thurcroft Welfare II, who were dismissed for 21 and had the unenviable experience of ‘beating’, if that is the right word, their own record low score of 22.

At the other end of the table, Ashover II were the only team in any Division who failed to record even a single victory. Bob Garner and Ian Elliott both scored centuries as Lea Park reached 290-1 against Anston II, for whom Andy Foster scored two centuries during the season, and the latter club were involved in a superb match when they overhauled a Blidworth Colliery II total of 247-7 to win by five wickets. Blidworth II also achieved a big score against Thurcroft II, 263-5, to win the match by 206 runs. Two hat-tricks were recorded in this Division, Andy Mason for Blidworth II and 14 years old Adam Walters for Ollerton Colliery, whilst Gareth Beard of Clumber Park was the third player in the League to do the double.

Having just missed promotion from Division Seven in 2003 Glapwell Colliery II made sure this year helped by an innings of 151 by Brian Smythe, and despite being bowled out at home for 44 by Teversal II, and Milton II were one of two second teams who gained promotion as their first teams were being relegated.

N.S.K II lost by 150 runs to Mansfield Hosiery Mills III and struggled for runs for much of the season, but in the last match of the season achieved the highest team total of 271-5 with Nigel Murray, usually the first team wicket-keeper, scoring 155 not out. This however was not the highest individual innings as Mark Shepherd of Oaklands(Retford) ended 156 not out at Whitwell. Oaklands, having been let down badly by the council with respect to the quality of pitches, are hopeful of moving to a different ground before next season.

Division Eight was reduced to 10 teams by the amalgamation during the close season of North Wheatley with Leverton and the partnership proved successful with a promotion place at the first attempt, but some distance adrift of the champions Grassmoor II who, once the ground had dried out had a really good summer. Everton II finished in last place and were involved in some remarkable matches; they beat Mansfield & Pleasley II by 208 runs at home having totalled 275-8 declared; scored 233-7 the following week but lost to Todwick by seven wickets; and lost the return fixture against M & P by 8 wickets having been bowled out for 49.

In Division Nine Blyth II were the second team to gain promotion as their club colleagues were being relegated, and they did it in style winning 15 of 20 matches and were the only unbeaten team throughout the League, with Paul Airey taking 67 wickets, a new record at this level. The runners-up, Manton requested a change of fixture date against Holmewood II, which they perhaps regretted as Holmewood amassed 354-7 on the August Bank Holiday to follow the 281-3 achieved two days earlier against Bulwell II. Darren Caunt scored 174 against Bulwell, whilst Gavin Horton with 131 against Manton took just 23 days longer to score a maiden century than his twin brother Jamie who scored 156 on 7 th August. Manton’s Lee Caudwell was rather more successful with the ball earlier in the season with the remarkable figures of 7 wickets for 1 run against Basford Mill II

Papplewick & Linby III, who scored 306-4 against Sheepbridge II, and Worksop III were very much young, development teams and it is good to see each move up from the bottom Division. The not quite so young Steve Barson scored 154 not out in a total of 300-2 declared for Worksop III against Mansfield & Pleasley III sandwiched between two more centuries against Clumber Park III on 31 st July and in the return fixture on 11 th September, but unfortunately will not be in contention for a league trophy as he only batted eleven times. Paul Jackson of Woodsetts III followed the 7-7 achieved in the 2003 season with 9-31against Worksop III, but couldn’t help his team to more than a losing draw and 16 years old Ellen, yes Ellen, Walker became the first young woman to take a hat-trick as Waleswood II were bowled out for 44 by Papplewick & Linby III.

The loss to the league of four teams, Sheepbridge 1 st and 2 nd XIs, Old Whittington, and Notts. & Arnold Amateur 5 th XI has been more than compensated for by two teams from Duckmanton Lodge, so named since changing from B. T. Pensions on 1 st November, and additional teams from Clumber Park, Edwinstowe, Mansfield Hosiery Mills, and Worksop. Clumber Park will have two teams in Division Ten, who will not play one another, and clubs involved are voting on two alternative fixture programmes put to them by the Management Committee.

In beginning to plan next season’s fixtures the Honorary Fixture Secretary has already reported greater reluctance amongst clubs to play matches on Bank Holidays, and support for the cup competitions traditionally played on Sundays waned further in 2004 to just 20 participants, precisely half of what it was 10 years ago, and a source of serious concern to the Management Committee. Incentives in the form of trophies, a plate competition and, this year, cash prizes are not having the desired effect. Currently all that can be done is to issue a plea to clubs to show some commitment and loyalty, but could the future see Divisions of ten teams playing 18 league matches with some Saturdays set aside for cup matches. A new name will appear on the Tomlins Trophy following a fine victory for Thoresby Colliery over Mansfield Hosiery Mills and the Mallen Trophy was won for the third time by Killamarsh Juniors, comfortable victors against Pilsley.

Success in the President’s Trophy and the new Consolation Trophy arising from it again eluded the League XI, but at least a group of players with enthusiasm were identified and wore the newly designed league caps and sweaters with pride. The competition will continue in the same form in 2005 and we are again pretty sure to draw a premier league for our players to match their skills against in the opening round, but now we do get at least two matches.

We look forward to 2005; to the Annual Dinner when it will be a real pleasure to welcome David Lloyd as Guest of Honour; to the new season and the second century of Bassetlaw League cricket hopefully played at all times in a spirit of which we can all be proud.

And is there a hope that all clubs will be able to supply an e-mail address ? Certainly some were taken aback when errata to the AGM agenda were received before the agenda itself. If this old dinosaur can cope, anyone can.