Bolsover stake their claim
by Paul Barker, 6th September 2004

With the brilliant Mansfield Hosiery Mills side who have already claimed the title showing no sign of wavering and taking another 20 points at Notts & Arnold Amateur, it is at the foot of the table where all the excitement is happening.

Edwinstowe did themselves a power of good by beating in form Glapwell on Bank Holiday Monday, but Bolsover did just the same thing when they overcame Blidworth on the same day. This left Bolsover six points adrift of Edwinstowe but with a game in hand which in many cases can be very useful.

However Bolsover’s game in hand was at Cutthorpe which is by no means the easiest place to gain points. The one thing in Bolsover’s favour is that over the years they have had so many of these relegation struggles that it has almost become second nature to them on how to deal with these situations. This one was even harder though because their brilliant Pakistani star Tariq Rashid has had to return home leaving a huge gap in Bolsover’s resources.

But you can never question their fighting spirit and will to win and they did just that shaking Cutthorpe to the core and everybody else for that matter. Batting first Cutthorpe made an extremely useful 194 for 7 with Asadullah Butt top scoring on 78. All the Bolsover attack bowled tidily but this looked to be an imposing total and Cutthorpe certainly must have been the happier side at tea time.

Drawing on all their experience, Bolsover then produced their best form of the season reaching a magnificent 195 for 8 and victory with Andy Crookes (57) and Steve Wooley (76) being real heroes. Asadullah Butt (5 for 71) certainly didn’t deserve to end on the losing side, and John McCollum (3 for 50) both bowled admirably but all the plaudits must go to Bolsover who did their cause a power of good. They are now twelve points above Edwinstoer with just next Saturday’s fixtures to go and if anyone didn’t know before they certainly do now, write Bolsover off at your own peril, they never give in.

This Mansfield Hosiery Mills side are certainly some combination. Despite about half the normal side missing they still rolled over Notts. & Arnold Amateur with consummate ease at Goosedale Lane by 60 runs. Batting first Hosiery Mills were not at their fluent best as they grafted their way to 198 for 9 when the fifty overs ran out with Jeff Appleton top scoring on 32. Australian Justin Foss made his first contribution of the day taking 3 for 50 and was easily the pick of the Notts. & Arnold attack.

In reply it was Foss again with a brilliant 53 but sadly for him and his side the others forgot to turn up and Jason Gorman (4 for 42) and Asela Jayasinghe (3 for 61) simply ripped through some feeble resistance to have Notts. & Arnold all back inside for just 138. This match was between the sides at one and two in the table and on the evidence of this match there is a yawning chasm between them.

After a devastating opening partnership by Australian Ryan Snape (94) and Andy Burgess (88) Kiveton Park were always in the ascendancy against Glapwell at Stone Close. These two are arguably the best pair of openers in the league and both batted brilliantly against Ian O’Brien the Kiwi who has set Glapwell on fire this season.

Not that O’Brien didn’t make his presence felt as he took 6 for 90 in another outstanding spell of bowling which has brought him 28 wickets in the last five matches, an incredible feat! He was well supported by John Ritchie (3 for 57) but the Kiveton total of 249 for 9 looked huge and one knew it would need a super human effort to overcome it.

It was not to be and although the sensational O’Brien (35) showed his ability is more than just with the ball and Rob Davison (34 n.o.) batted well, Glapwell were left stranded on 162 for 6 when the overs ran out. Both these sides can look back on this season with pride and providing they can build on the foundations created both will be a handful next season.

Another two teams who fall in that same category are Worksop and Cuckney who contested a splendid game at Central Avenue with the home side achieving a tightly fought winning draw. Batting first Worksop made a great start with Richard Grainger and Steve Walker putting on 56 before the first wicket fell. An explosive over from Cuckney’s Australian star Dave Newman then put a whole new complexion on proceedings as at 62 he took three wickets (Steve Walker, Luke Andrews and Tim Ward) to put Cuckney in command.

A great partnership between Jamil Hassan who made a brilliant unbeaten 74 and Glen Pym (41) saw the tide swing back in Worksop’s favour before the returning Newman bagged another two wickets to make it 6 for 53 in a quite superb spell of bowling. Worksop closed on 209 for 6 which looked to be quite a useful total on a wicket where runs had to be worked for.

A slow start hardly set up Cuckney for the job in hand and when skipper Dean Sayer was ridiculously run out, one feared the worse. A good stand between Dave Newman and Paul Gurnell threatened to turn the tide and Newman went on to make an enterprising 56 before being caught on the boundary. Still Cuckney refused to roll over and die and a swashbuckling 43 by Gareth Price finally saw them reach 180 for 9 before stumps were drawn. Paul Burton was the best of a tidy Worksop attack taking 6 for 42 in a superb stint which had everyone in trouble and he was the man who got rid of the ultra dangerous Newman when Cuckney looked like winning the match.

Tomlin Trophy finalists Thoresby Colliery finished their league programme on a high with a convincing eight wicket win over Bridon who despite all their problems deserve immense credit for the way they have performed all season.

Batting first Bridon were disappointing and were all back inside for just 149. with Australian Jonathan Hill claiming 3 for 21 and Naeed Ahmed 4 for 35. This was never going to be enough and Martin Cheshire (39) who has had a magnificent season scoring 850 runs for his club, and Paul Hughes (49 n.o.) steered them to a very good win.

Blidworth who were relegated last season from the Nottinghamshire Premier League are sadly suffering the same fate again as their fate to Division 2 was settled after a losing draw against Farnsfield. Batting first Farnsfield reached a massive 286 for 6 with Kiwi star Mark Silcock making a brilliant 122. Great support came from Paul Delaney (41), Dave Bell (63 n.o.) and Graham Bramley (33) as Farnsfield ran riot with their scoring rate. Craig Turton (3 for 62) was easily the best of an overworked Blidworth attack.

Not that Blidworth were preopared to roll over and it is to their credit that they had a magnificent dip at this huge total. Elliott Hind (62), Dave Willcock (35) and Richard Smith (35) all made excellent contributions to Blidworth’s wonderful attempt as they closed on 254 for 9 a tremendous effort which can only argue well for the future of the club. Mark Sillcock completed a tremendous all round match for himself taking 5 for 54 and was without question the man of the match in this spellbinding encounter.

Marshalls were involved in a titanic struggle with lowly Blyth at Middlefield Lane and still need just four points to claim the Division 2 title. Marshalls were devastated with about nine players missing owing to a wedding but they pulled off a tremendous winning draw against a side who should never have gotten themselves in the trouble they are in but have ended up in Divison 3.

Batting first Marshalls made a creditable 181 all out with Chris Needham (40) and Peter Robinson (54) both batting superbly. John Smith (4 for 62) and Andy Barthorpe (4 for 44) both bowled well for Blyth but the way their side haS been batting recently they looked as if they had given themselves a mountain to climb.

Not so on this occasion however as Martin Court (71) and Pete Jones (69) showed what good players they really are. Sadly they have not produced it for most of the season but this was different and they virtually pulled off what would have been a tremendous win. They fell just seven runs short of victory on 175 for 6 with 18 year old Gary Andrews being the thorn in their side taking 3 for 40 in a superb spell of bowling.

Killamarsh claimed maximum points in an easy 112 run win at Anston and still foster an outside chance of lifting the title. Batting first Killamarsh were well served by Paul Burdett (34), Rodney Cook (31), Parmindar Mudhar (56) and John Leedham (35) as they racked up 219 all out in a strong all round display of batting.

Anston could only reply with 107 all out with Dean Brearley propping up the innings with 33. Peter Allen was the best of a rampant Killamarsh attack taking 3 for 9 as the Anston batting folded disappointingly.

Killamarsh are now assured of promotion after being relegated at the end of last season. They deserve their success having put on consistently good displays all season and with their mixture of experience and youth look better set this time than they were before.

Papplewick and Linby 2 nd won their first match for a few weeks against bottom of the table Clay Cross Works but even this display was far removed from the side who were steamrolling over opponents earlier in the season.

Batting first Clay Cross could only reach 157 for 8 when the overs ran out with Martin Leatherday (46) and skipper Mick Bradley (43) propping up the innings. Steve Alford bowled his usual immaculate line and length to take 4 for 52 as Papplewick put the pressure on.

Even this total wasn’t easy though as Papplewick stuttered and stumbled to a three wicket win. Jamie Peat (49) and Adam Somekh (48) were the batsmen in form but five other wickets fell cheaply as Clay Cross applied the pressure. Martin Leatherday completed a fine all round match taking 3 for 43, but its Division 3 for his side next season.

The star of the section was certainly at it again and nobody needs reminding that we are talking about Pilsley’s Pakistani master class batsman Saeed Bin Nasir. Earlier Notts. & Arnold Amateur 2 nd had been dismissed for 156 with Harvey Burton (54) and Danny Nicholls (47) top scoring. The impressive and very accurate Michael Thompson (4 for 37) was the pick of the Pilsley attack but this was the prelude before the show and didn’t he treat everyone from the moment he arrived at the crease.

Only one wicket fell as Saeed showed everyone what batting is all about making a fabulous unbeaten 106 as his side sailed to a magnificent nine wicket win in great style. When he is in full flight Saeed is totally unstoppable and although the opposition might not like it he is class through and through and certainly a joy to watch for the neutral.

North Wheatley with Leverton just about made sure of their safety with an 18 run win over N.S.K. who have collapsed once again after roaring up the table after a shocking start. Batting first Wheatley made 165 for 6 with Jason Hill top scoring on 41.

This target looked vulnerable with Nigel Murray (53) and Chris Kirk (36) batting well but excellent bowling by Jason Hill (3 for 33) and Dave Horner (3 for 22) saw their side home to a vital win which should ensure their safety.

Eckington who have enjoyed a good season and were on the fringes of promotion for most of the time claimed a winning draw at Whitwell. Batting first Eckington made 178 for 8 with Richard Bostock (57) and Tom Dawson (47) being the major forces in this substantial total. Nathan Morris (3 for 56) and Australian Braydon Stone (3 for 35) were the pick of the Whitwell attack who did well to limit their run scoring opponents to such a reasonable total.

It was still too much however as Whitwell could only manage 133 for 8 in reply. Skipper Duncan Forrest (39) probably saved his side from certain defeat as Wayne Dye (3 for 40) and Richard Bostock (3 for 17) bowled quite superbly as Whitwell gallantly held on for the draw.