In Division A, Eastwood Town’s winning streak came to an abrupt end as Gedling Colliery bowled them out for 140. Graham Bearden (56*) and Zahir Raman (51) then helped Gedling knock off the runs for the loss of just 2 wickets. Eastwood’s loss allowed Plumtree (217/9) to move to the top of the table as they gained a winning draw from their encounter with Loughborough Carillon (190/9). Despite effective bowling from Scott Bailey (6/46) for Plumtree and Liam Dave (6/87) for Loughborough, neither side could quite bowl the other out.
Radcliffe on Trent’s (216/7) Rob Sutton put in another good performance with the bat; a century the previous week was followed by 85 in this week’s winning draw over Attenborough (183/9). James Hawley’s 4/48 preventing Attenborough getting too close. Newstead Abbey & Village (173) took a winning draw from their trip to Rolls Royce Leisure (142/9), Andy Graham contributing 83 with the bat and figures of 4/30 with the ball. Rolls Royce’s Waheed Khan led their attack, finishing on 4/20. The other game in the division saw Long Eaton (159/8) beat Balderton (136).
Division B saw some strong bowling performances; the pick of the bunch being Gavin Johnson’s 8/18 for Newark. Bottesford had no answer to his assault, all being bowled out for 67. Steve Kenneywell (50*) leading Newark past the total for the loss of just one wicket. The second best bowling of the day was Paul MacMillan’s 7/67 for Gelding & Sherwood (185/5) in their victory over Thurgarton (157); Jason Giblett’s 60 being significant in Gedling’s run chase.
Elsewhere in the division, John Castledine made an all-round contribution to Bramcote’s home win over Belvoir. First, his unbeaten 47 took Bramcote to a total of 231/6, then he took 6/34 as Belvoir were bowled out 7 short of the total. This was despite the best efforts of Belvoir bastsmen Paul Dyer (52*), Paul Sheerdown (43) and the aptly named Nick Beever (37).
Joint League President Joe Mitchell took 3/9 for Nottingham, helping limit their opposition, Hucknall, to 155. However, Nottingham finished 11 short in reply as Jamie Braybrook took 4/34. In the final game in Division B, Ellerslie posted an outstanding 311/4 declared, Samrat Sharma (106), Alan Lewis (63) and Eddie Pidduck (41) being the principal contributors. Daniel Footitt then took 4/29 as Gotham were bowled out for 134, Shane Lichfield (54) showing most resistance.
Hickling continued to struggle following their promotion to C/D, making just 160 as Plumtree II’s Paul Kelly took 4/16. Plumtree knocked off the runs for the loss of 6 wickets. Nuthall (129/7), promoted at the same time, have found it equally hard; being beaten again, this week by Lady Bay Boots II (132/6). Wymeswold (91) have also yet to post a win this season; they found Thrumpton’s bowling attack, led by 15 year old Michael White (4/11) and Frank Foreman (4/31), just too much.
Another youngster bowling well was West Bridgfordians’ (147/7) Ryan Ledley, who took 4/21 in their surprise victory over Wollaton II (146/8). Southwell II (203/2) put up a good fight chasing Clifton Village II’s 250/7, unfortunately running out of overs and leaving Peter Johnson on 95 not out. Wilsons (191) kept their all-winning record intact, thanks largely to Imran Khan, who scored 71 then took 6/48 as Kimberley Institute II were bowled out for 179. Jason Gaunt’s 112* put Kirkby Portland in the driving seat on 237/6; Keyworth managing 182 in reply.
Long Whatton (221/9) kept their place at the top of E/F, beating West Indian Caribs (210); 62 each from James Tulan and Donald Jarrett not quite taking Caribs to the total required. Toton Sycamore (200) continued their recovery from a poor 2003 season with a win against Ruddington (173/9); Pat O’Neill’s jug-avoiding 49 for Toton was the pick of the batting while Sajid Naheem’s 5/17 for Ruddington was the best bowling figures.
Chilwell (96) have yet to win a match but they took maximum bowling points by dismissing Willoughby on the Wolds for 182. Willoughby’s P Singh then took 6/28, leaving Chilwell well short of the target. In G/H, there was a century from Lowdham’s Jim Blacknall, as long with Chris Wright’s 73, they posted 208/4 to beat Bottesford II (193). Caythorpe III’s Sean King was less lucky, finishing on 98* as his side passed the129/9 target set by East Bridgford.
Gladstone (149/9) moved to the top of Division J as Glen Burton (6/24) prevented opposition Woodborough (126) from reaching the required total. The team that had been at the top, Rolls Royce Leisure II, were beaten by the team that had been bottom, Risley II. Risley posted a score of 164/8, contributed to by Dean Cooper (52) and Mick Cox (42*). 14 year old Matt Shaw then helped bowl Rolls Royce out for 146. Rainworth Welfare (265/9) moved into second place as Shiraz Khalid (116) and Terry Bell (53) prepared the way for a win over Loughborough Carrillon II (156).
In Division K, Graham Bullock (78) and Ian Greatorex (65) led Newstead Abbey & Village II to a creditable total of 215/6. However, the points for a match win went to Hoveringham, who made 217/5, thanks in large part to 105* from Stuart Walton. Attenborough III (131/9) suffered their first loss of the season, at home to Lenton Abbey (132/5), to make it an all-losing weekend for Attenborough’s 3 teams. By contrast, Plumtree had an all-winning weekend, as their 3rd XI overtook the 123 total set by Hucknall III without the loss of a wicket.
Bingham (252) cemented their position at the top of Division M, beating Belton (127) fairly easily with assistance from an innings of 45 and then a hat-trick from Pete Walton. Gedling & Sherwood III (90) cemented their position at the other end of Division M, losing comprehensively to Kimberley Institute III (233/3). Kimberley’s star batsmen were Steve Tilley (110*) and Neil Johnson, who celebrated his 50th birthday by scoring 75.
In Division R, Belvoir III relied on the youngsters 14 year old Chris Jones (47) and 15 year old Richard Gadd (39) to reach 236/6. Martin James (5/36) then struck and Collingham III were dismissed for 132. Kimberly Institute IV (214/6) remained unbeaten, despite the day’s top score of 137 from Lowdham’s Jamie Manners. Ian Mosley (80), Carl Widdowson (79) and Paul Richardson (5/25) were the top performers for Kimberley in their 4 wicket victory.
