Bolsover pip Edwinstowe in thriller
by Paul Barker, 15th May 2004

When you bowl a side out for 127 and you haven’t recorded a victory yet this season it must be an even money bet that this was going to be your day! Not so with Edwinstowe who made the trip to Bolsover on Saturday and after doing all the hard work still failed by a single run against a side who like themselves had yet to record their first win of the season.

Batting first Bolsover despite a defiant 41 by Steve Wooley collapsed just like a pack of cards to 127 all out with Ian Smith bowling brilliantly to take 4 for 32. Amazingly enough these two players continued to vie for man of the match status with Ian Smith making 34, and Steve Wooley flighting his slow left armers quite superbly to take 5 for 28 as Edwinstowe collapsed to 126 all out.

For Bolsover this was a confidence boosting win but Edwinstowe must be feeling the world is against them. In most of their matches this season they have had the chance to win and blown it through it has to be said being slightly too negative, but this defeat must really have knocked them for six after being in a very strong position. They need a victory with some degree of urgency now!

Mansfield Hosiery Mills continue to lead the pile but have a whole host of challengers waiting for them to slip up. On Saturday at the Fieldings, Hosiery Mills gained a winning draw against a determined Worksop side in a close run encounter.

Batting first Hosiery Mills made 220 for 8 with Sri-Lankan star Asela Jayasinghe contributing a magnificent unbeaten 67 and Dave Loveridge 43. Paul Burton was the best of the Worksop attack taking 3 for 47 in a very tidy spell.

Worksop then made Hosiery Mills pull out all the stops as they reached 182 for 8 before the overs ran out. This was mainly due to Jamil Hassan who made a magnificent 91 and had he received a little more support may well have pulled off a shock win off for his side. No doubting who was man of the match however as Asela Jayasinghe followed up his superb display with the bat by taking 4 for 55 with the ball in a brilliant all round display.

Bridon continue to press hard in second place although opponents Thoresby Colliery must wonder how many runs they need to score to win! Batting first Thoresby amassed 220 for 8 when the 50 overs ran out with Paul Hughes making a splendid 80 and Peter Scott a superb unbeaten 75. Shailesh Patel added a further 40 and Thoresby must have been pleased with their efforts at the half way stage.

It was not to be however as evergreen Rob McLeod stroked a magnificent unbeaten 115 and with great support from Darren Spooner (65 n.o.) took Bridon to a massive eight wicket win on a wonderful track at Ordsall. Bridon were apprehensive at the start of this campaign but have started very well indeed whilst Thoresby must be wishing their bowling strength was in line with their batting.

Cutthorpe move along menacingly in third position as they swatted Farnsfield away with ridiculous ease at the Recreation Ground. Batting first Farnsfield could reach only 162 for 7 with Cutthorpe skipper Andy Knowles bowling well to take 3 for 29.

This target was never going to trouble Cutthorpe who blazed their way to a ten wicket win extremely easily. Andy Thompson (72 n.o.) and Chris Marples (73 n.o.) never looked in any trouble as Cutthorpe made it look oh so easy.

Blidworth seem to have turned the corner after a poor start and registered their second win of the aeason with a 23 run win over Glapwell. Batting first Blidworth put together a good looking 202 all out with Ritchie Gibbons (49), Richard Price (41) and Dave Donaldson (39) leading the charge. Ian O’Brien (5 for 59) and Gary Saxby who was as steady as ever with his 4 for 26 bowled well for Glapwell.

Glapwell to give them credit had a good dart at this target before being bowled out for 179. Skipper Andy Smith played an inspirational innings with 69, and Ian O’Brien (43) also batted well for a side who always have a chance because they never give up.

Kiveton Park hover on the tracks of the leaders and it would be an extremely foolish man who wrote them off. They took a maximum points haul out of Cuckney in a good match at Langwith Road by 73 runs. Batting first Kiveton were as usual well served by Adam Burgess (52) and skipper Rob Coxon (69) as they piled up a useful looking 198 all out. Australian Dave Newman who has been in prime form since his arrival took 5 for 60 and he was well backed by Andy Stephenson who bagged a brace of wickets as well.

This target proved to be plenty good enough however as Cuckney collapsed to just 123 all out with Newman following his efforts with the ball by making a cultured 52 with the bat. It was another Australian though who took charge with slow bowler Ryan Snape totally destroying some brittle batting with 5 for 26 and kept Kiveton on the heels of the pacemakers.

Papplewick & Linby 2nds maintain the pace at the top of Division 2 with a hard earned winning draw over North Wheatley with Leverton. Batting first Papplewick made exactly 200 for 5 when the overs ran out with Gareth Rusinowski making a superb unbeaten 93 and Graham Roberts (32).

Wheatley made every effort to reach this target making a highly impressive 186 for 8 before the overs ran out. Richard Robinson (49), David Willcox (44) and Jason Hill (34) all batted well but the dominant figure was Papplewick’s Steve Alford who is enjoying a marvellous spell at the moment and added a further 6 for 57 to his ever growing sack bag full of wickets for the season.

Marshalls kept up the pressure in second place with a winning draw against Clay Cross Works at Middlefield Lane . Batting first Marshalls made an emphatic 228 for 6 with Liam Andrews continuing his superb run of form with 58 and great support came from James Deacon (34), Chris Hearn (32) and Mark Davies (32) in a good display of run scoring.

In reply Clay Cross were never in the hunt and ended up holding on at 114 for 9. Only Martin Leatherday (49) saved them from certain defeat but Marshalls do look to be the side to beat in this section. However they threatened the same last season and fell away badly in mid season. We shall have to wait and see.

Relegated Killamarsh leapfroged Eckington into third place as a result of beating them by seven wickets at Sheffield Road . Batting first Eckington were not at their fluid best and were limited to 138 for 7 as only Tom Dawson (37) and Andy Davies (30) coped with Parminder Mudhar who bowled brilliantly to take 5 for 48.

The required runs, gave Killamarsh little trouble as they coasted to 139 for 3 with the talented Sam Malpass making an impressive 59 in a display of matured excellence way beyond his young years.

N.S.K. got back on the winning track after their batting disaster against Papplewick a fortnight ago. Batting first Anston reached a reasonable 189 for 7 with Dean Brearley (34), Michael Norbury (86) and Mark Parkinson (38) leading the charge. Paul Burrell (4 for 49) was the pick of the N.S.K. attack but considering what had happened on their last outing this score represented a threat.

It was to be so different this time however as N.S.K. returned to their best form and the result was never in doubt as Nigel Murray (53), Jonathan Aspden (54) and Gary Lambert (35 n.o.) guided them to victory in a canter and put them right amongst the chasing pack.

Inconsistent Whitwell were in their best form this weekend as they easily saw off the challenge of Pilsley. As usual Said Bin Nasir with 43 moved Pilsley away to a good start and Andy Keighley added 31 as Pilsley made 174 for 9 with Australian Braden Stone 6 for 52 bowling superbly for Whitwell.

This total proved no problem to Whitwell as Alan Draycott (73 n.o.) and Braden Stone (43) took them to an easy five wicket win on 175 for 5 and moved them further away from the bottom and increased the margin of points between themselves and Pilsley.

Notts. & Arnold Amateurs 2 nd got their season underway with a winning draw against a spirited Blyth side at Goosedale Lane . Arnold batted first and reached a total of 237 for 5 from their 46 overs with Phil Allcock (81) and Julian Thornhill (78) both batting brilliantly. John Smith the hugely talented Blyth medium pacer bowled a superb spell and was rewarded for his efforts with 3 for 64.

Blyth made a good reply but couldn’t keep up with the rate required finishing with 161 for 7. Greg Willcock (38) was their top scorer in an excellent game of cricket.