Blidworth in the Doldrums
by Paul Barker, 2nd May 2004

After suffering relegation from the Nottinghamshire Premier League at the end of the last campaign, Blidworth have made an awful start on their return to the Bassetlaw League and suffered their third straight reversal this season at the hands of Cutthorpe on Saturday.

Batting first Cutthorpe soon piled up the runs with Andy Thompson making a splendid 62 and Asadullah Butt (48) out of a total of 200 for 9. This represented a good effort by the Cutthorpe batsmen on a day when wet wickets were prevalent and many matches never started because of the conditions.

The bowlers certainly had the whip hand in most matches and Cutthorpe’s score represented the only outfit to reach 200 in Division 1 on the day. New Zealander Arran Pairama (4 for 51, and Craig Turton (4 for 55) were the best of a tidy Blidworth attack and made Cutthorpe work hard for every run they scored.

Blidworth could not at any time contain the Cutthorpe attack and were dismissed for just 87 with Asadullah Butt (3 for 23) and John McCollum (4 for 20) doing most of the damage. Cutthorpe certainly look an extremely potent force once again whilst Blidworth need to get it together fast otherwise they look like suffering another very testing season.

Two phenomenal efforts with the ball from slow left armers had differing results at Bolsover and Thoresby Colliery. Firstly at Bolsover the home team were indebted to Andy Crookes (32) and a swashbuckling unbeaten 82 by Eddie Grant out of a total of 168 for 9 against Farnsfield. Other than these two the other batsmen were totally mesmerised by Keith Miller who helped himself to an incredible 9 for 67 and proved virtually unplayable.

The infuriatingly inconsistent Farnsfield batting once again failed dismally as Eddie Grant who enjoyed a super all round day with 3 for 30 got amongst them, and only Dave Tilbury (32) and Mark Silcock (33) saved them from certain defeat as they closed out for a losing draw on 143 for 8.

At Thoresby Colliery the home side must have thought they had a great chance of victory after limiting Worksop to just 155 for 7. Only Jamil Hassan (34) and Tim Ward (31) made much impression on the Thoresby attack in which Peter Scott (3 for 35) was outstanding.

This modest total proved good enough however as Paul Burton bowled quite superbly to take 8 for 50 as Thoresby collapsed to just 137 all out. Burton was simply devastating and Thoresby’s batsmen just had no answer to him at all.

A classic match at the Fieldings saw Mansfield Hosiery Mills and Kiveton Park draw in the thriller of the day in rather controversial circumstances. Batting first Hosiery Mills struggled to 150 for 7 with Jason Gorman batting superbly to make an unbeaten 51 and Asela Jayasinghe (34 ) and Tom New (31) giving good support. Ian Thompson was the pick of the Kiveton attack with 4 for 46 in a fine controlled spell of slow bowling.

Despite a good start by Adam Burgess and the Australian Ryan Snape (26) Kiveton struggled against Jason Gorman (4 for 54) and Asela Jayasinghe (3 for 65) who both enjoyed great all round performances. The controversial tone came into being at the very end with Burgess being bowled for a masterful 68 off the final ball with Kiveton one run short on 149 for 9.

Hosiery Mills however thought with some justification that they had won the match with one of the Kiveton players having been badly injured whilst fielding and being dressed in ‘civvies’ when the match ended. Kiveton as one would expect declared that he was able to bat so after discussions the draw result was upheld, but one could certainly see the argument from both sides of the fence.

Edwinstowe went down by four wickets at Glapwell and must show a more positive approach or will surely suffer for it at the end of the season. Batting first they managed a turgid 87 for 9 from their 50 overs with Gary Saxby bowling an unchanged 25 over spell to take 5 for 24.

It is difficult to gauge the reasoning behind this because the only thing it seems to do is to deprive your opponents of maximum points, but if you are not gaining any yourself, it makes one wonder what you have achieved!

Despite losing six wickets skipper Andy Smith (40 n.o.) saw his side home at 88 for 6 and the sixteen points gained by them will have given a shot of confidence after a poor start to the season by Glapwell.

The other relegated side from the Premier League Bridon collected maximum points in a close three wicket win over Cuckney. Batting first Cuckney were dismissed for just 120 with Simon Shipp top scoring with 40 and Matt Makings (3 for 22) and Simon Davison (3 for 29) bowling brilliantly for Bridon.

This target didn’t prove easy and skipper Simon Fenwick (31) and Rob McLeod (30) just guided Bridon to victory in a thriller. Australian Dave Newman ((4 for 20) was the pick of the Cuckney attack who gave it all they had got until the winning hit was made.

In Division 2 N.S.K. who are without doubt one of the favourites for promotion came unstuck big style against Papplewick & Linby 2nds. Batting first Papplewick batted rather poorly, making a rather meagre 78 for 9 when the overs ran out on a difficult wicket. Andrew Cox (3 for 35) and Gary Lambert (3 for 15) bowled superbly but they could not have envisaged what was to follow.

This modest total proved a massive problem for N.S.K. who were ripped out for just 48 with Steve Alford taking a magnificent 9 for 17 to give Papplewick a surprise win by 30 runs. At no time would one have given Papplewick much chance after their batting failed but on a day when the bowlers held the whip hand, Alford used the conditions to absolute perfection.

Marshalls who many a good judge considered to be the best side in Division 2 last season gained a comfortable winning draw over Notts. & Arnold Amateurs 2nds. Batting first Marshalls clocked up a useful looking 202 for 7 with Liam Andrews again being the man in form with a brilliant 74. He received excellent support from Chris Hearn (52) whilst James Lees was the best of the Arnold attack with a creditable 4 for 29.

Arnold never looked like reaching this target and were 113 for 8 when the overs ran out. Julian Thornhill propped up the innings with an excellent 41 and had it not been for him Marshalls would have surely picked up a maximum.

Relegated Killamarsh totally annihilated Blyth by 102 runs and look a threat to everyone in this form. David Allen (32) and the prodigal son Adrian Rivington who has returned after several seasons away (67 n.o.) helped Killamarsh reach 162 for 9. John Smith (3 for 26) and Arran Haycock (4 for 22) bowled superbly for Blyth but quickly found out all their efforts were in vain.

Blyth were then dismissed for a measly 60 runs and following on from their 55 runs against N.S.K. the previous week could soon be in trouble if their batting doesn’t improve quickly. They have when everyone is available as good a first four as anyone in the division but they need to get it together fast. Killamarsh on this occasion showed them no mercy with Parminder Mudhar ‘turning it square’ to bag 5 for 7 in an incredible spell of bowling.

Killamarsh look as though they could be a threat to the best and could challenge to get their place back in the top section on this form. It is all boiling up to a very good and competitive season and nobody will run away with this section.

Another side who will challenge are Eckington and they gained a winning draw over Pilsley despite the efforts of the amazing Pakistani Said Bin Nasir who is unquestionably one of the best players in the entire league. The one surprising thing is that nobody in the top section has been sniffing around this hugely talented player who is now in his third season at Pilsley.

Eckington batted first and reached an imposing 206 for 7 with Richard Bostock (63), Rob Carlisle (31) and Andy Davies (32) scoring most of the runs. Dave Wright with 6 for 31 was the pick of the Pilsley attack who did well to keep the score so tight.

In reply Pilsley held out on 158 for 9 but that doesn’t tell anything of the story. Bin Nasir made an astonishing 111 out of this total and had the rest of the side put up a moderate showing they would certainly have overhauled the Eckington total.

Wayne Dye (4 for 65) and Tom Dawson (3 for 27) bowled admirably for Eckington and on this showing they will be amongst the front runners all season. Pilsley need to find some support for Bin Nasir who as good as he is cannot do it all on his own.

Whitwell easily crushed Clay Cross Works by 166 runs at The Rookery in an amazing match. Batting first Whitwell made the highest score of the day in the top two sections 227 for 7 with Alan Draycott batting brilliantly for his 96 before being out off the last ball aiming for his century. Great support was rendered by David Jessop (65) and Darren Westerby (31) as the runs piled up whilst Gareth Pratt (3 for 79) and Ian Bettney (3 for 30) bowled well for Clay Cross.

Any hopes Clay Cross may have had of victory were quickly vanquished as they were reduced to 8 for 7 and then 14 for 8 with Nathan Morris (6 for 13) being absolutely unplayable. A stand of 45 for the ninth wicket saved some face for Clay Cross but at 61 the inevitable happened and they were bowled out.

The final match in Division 2 saw North Wheatley with Leverton gain a winning draw against Anston. Batting first Wheatley were well served by Martin Pring (66) and Wayne Harrison (36) as they struggled to 168 for 6 in their 46 overs. Ian Barley one of the most accurate bowlers in the division bowled superbly to take 4 for 70.

Anston were then struggling all the way to close on 122 for 8. Jason Hill (4 for 18) and Clive Metcalf (2 for 24) bowled superbly for Wheatley who took sixteen points for their efforts.

Finally, who said that cricket is a Man’s Game’. 14 year old Helen Walker playing for Papplewick & Linby 3rds against Waleswood 2nds did the hat-trick in their Division 10 match. Congratulations Helen, you have done what many bowlers dream of and at the age of 14 there is bags of time to do it again. Good luck!