Glapwell victorious in thriller
by Paul Barker, 7th August 2005

On a day when performances reached an amazing high in several matches, the league leaders Glapwell stormed to a brilliant two wicket win at Station Lane against third placed Farnsfield in what can only be described as a absolute ‘classic’.

Strangely enough, even with this incredible win Glapwell lost their place at the top to Thoresby Colliery who picked up a comfortable maximum points haul against Cuckney who appear to be in freefall at the moment.

The situation now couldn’t be more tense with just 23 points separating the top five clubs and only six matches left to play. Who will win it is anybody’s guess but it sure has made for an exciting season.

Farnsfield’s batsmen could not have done any more for their side as they rattled up a colossal 295 for 6 in their 50 overs with two brilliant centuries recorded by Paul Franks (124) and skipper Andy Edwards (118) as the runs flowed thick and fast.

Kiwi Iain O’Brien (3 for 77) and Matt Hall (3 for 56) both bowled well but it was an uphill task all the way and this score looked imposing to say the least and without doubt would have knocked the stuffing out of most sides.

However Glapwell are not like most sides and this team have come on in leaps and bounds over the last two seasons. There is an air of confidence about everything they do and they quickly set about restoring the damage that had been done with Dean Graney (62) getting them away to a more than useful start.

The good work was carried on by Matt Hall who scored a superb 80 and certainly enjoyed one hell of an afternoon. This fine work was carried on by Asghar Mohammed (45) but the grand finale came off the final ball of the match with the scores tied only for Rob Davison to club a boundary to finish unbeaten on 53 and give Glapwell a magnificent victory .

Mark Silcock (4 for 105) and Phil Creswell (4 for 101) bowled well for Farnsfield who were not helped by some sloppy fielding which saw several chances being grounded. However one cannot take anything away from Glapwell who deserved everything they got for such a bold effort in chasing and overcoming such a huge total.

Thoresby Colliery easily saw off the challenge of Cuckney who are facing a difficult time at the moment. Batting first Cuckney were dismissed for just 156 with only Gareth Price (44 n.o.) preventing a complete rout. Shailesh Patel (4 for 39) and that man ‘Billy’ Lippeattt who yet again had a four wicket haul at a cost of 47 runs did the bulk of the damage.

Not that Thoresby had it all their own way and five wickets fell before victory was achieved. David Irvine (35) top scored as the score reached 157 for 5 with off spinner Paul Gurnell (3 for 62) trying his best to turn things around for Cuckney.

Another phenomenal match took place at Ordsall with bottom of the table Bridon showing there is life in the old dog yet as they cruised to a tremendous seven wicket win over Notts. & Arnold Amateur who must have thought they were safe after registering a massive 288 for 6 in their 50 overs.

Australian Leigh Baldry made a high quality 145 and was well supported by Ian Flood (43) and Phil Allcock (37) as the score rattled along at an alarming rate. Justin Miller who had just returned from injury was the best Bridon bowler taking 3 for 56, but the rest suffered unmercifully.

However this was to be Bridon’s big day and right from the start they made their intentions quite clear with a tremendous assault on the Notts. & Arnold attack. Darren Spooner with a blistering 141 and Rob McLeod (83 n.o.) never looked in the slightest of trouble and a victory total of 291 for 3 was achieved with just over two overs still in the bank.

This result must give Bridon renewed hope and the situation at the bottom is now getting ever tighter with only 24 points separating the bottom five teams.

With all the incredible batting performances to hand, Central Avenue, Worksop saw a master class in the other direction with the home side securing yet another victory to move them even further up the table and send Kiveton Park into the bottom four.

Batting first, Worksop had Glenn Pym (45) to thank along with an excellent unbroken seventh wicket stand by Simon Mills (39 n.o.) and Luke Ambrose (33 n.o.) as they struggled to an unconvincing 194 for 6. Earlier in the season, Kiveton would have regarded this target as a stroll in the park but their confidence is very low at the minute and once again they could not rise to the challenge and went down to their fifth straight defeat.

They were bowled out for just 170 with only Mark Cartwright (55) making any impact at all. The perpetrator of the damage was the Worksop skipper Steve Bentley who took an amazing 9 for 58 in a brilliant spell of bowling. Bentley was virtually unplayable and he and Paul Burton who took the other wicket sliced through some flimsy Kiveton resistance to carry Worksop to a 24 run win.

Struggling Marshalls must have thought they had made quite a good score when they reached 239 for 8 against Cutthorpe, but it was nowhere near enough as the championship outsiders showed that they are still very much in the race by cruising to a comfortable six wicket win.

As he has done on numerous occasions this season, Marshall ’s skipper Tim Down led from the front making 85 and great support came from Chris Needham with 82. Asadullah Butt chipped in with his usual array of wickets taking 3 for 54, but it did look a good score and Marshalls must have come off the field at the end of their 50 overs feeling quite pleased with themselves.

This was soon wiped out with the usual lightning Cutthorpe start as Andy Thompson and Tim Barlow blazed a tremendous opening partnership of 150 from the first 30 overs. Thompson made a brilliant 97 and was unfortunate to miss out on what would have been a richly deserved century and Barlow made a very useful 67 and the efforts of these two made a Cutthorpe win a certainty.

Nigel Kingham was unbeaten on 36 as Cutthorpe reached 240 for 4 and victory was achieved with two overs to spare and this has certainly put them right back in the race whilst Marshalls can be forgiven for thinking what more could they have done.

Edwinstowe also continued their assault on the title with a 120 run win over Killamarsh who after drawing away from trouble are right back in it. Batting first Edwinstowe made 200 all out with Garth Brown top scoring on 31. Steve Ludlam (4 for 43) was the pick of the Killamarsh attack and this target must have given them hope for optimism.

It was false hope though as Killamarsh slumped to just 80 all out and had it not been for Sam Malpass (38) one wonders how bad it might have been. Shaun Bullin (3 for 26) and skipper John Garnham (4 for 35) did the damage as Edwinstowe move back into third place.

Division 2 and once again the magical Pakistani Saeed Bin Nasir continues to dominate things. In an enthralling match against third placed Eckington, Pilsley came away with a winning draw with a massive 555 runs being scored for the loss of only eleven wickets in the entire match.

Batting first, Pilsley made an astonishing 278 for 2 with Saeed contributing a staggering 187 to add to his 240 of the previous week. This means that he has aggregated 427 runs in his last two visits to the crease in league matches, an astonishing statistic! Great support came from Andy Keighley with 70 and Pilsley could not have been more satisfied at tea.

Things continued to go their way with Eckington quickly in trouble on 0 for 2 but this side especially on their own ground are a lethal force and they soon corrected the situation. James Daniel who has proved to be a splendid addition to the Eckington ranks this season made a sparkling 127 and with John Dyson (42 n.o.) and skipper Tommy Dawson (38) both batting well the target didn’t look so formidable.

The Pilsley attack was bowling quite well however and Mark Limb (5 for 65) and Michael Thompson (3 for 58) kept taking wickets at regular intervals until nine wickets were down and when the final ball was delivered Eckington frustratingly for themselves finished one run short on 277 for 9. Once again another marvellous match to add to the chapters at Staveley Lane this season where a bucket full of runs is always on the menu.

Bolsover easily saw off the challenge of Notts. & Arnold Amateur 2nd who increasingly look doomed to playing Division 3 cricket next season. Batting first Notts. & Arnold made a rather modest 140 thanks mainly to Greg Martin (77) who was the only person to defy Usman Saeed who helped himself to 6 for 40 in an excellent spell of bowling.

The reply was just as dominant with Usman Saeed completing a brilliant all round match with a fantasticunbeaten 94 to his name. Bolsover show no sign of letting up and after last week’s blip they were right back to their very best again and they continue to maintain their 41 run over their nearest rivals.

Blidworth kept up the challenge with a splendid eight wicket win over Everton who although they are struggling down at the bottom continue to battle for survival. Batting first Everton amassed 212 for 9 with Mark Anthony (61) and Roger Lee (31) playing the starring roles, whilst Chris Kirk (4 for 44) and Dave Wood (5 for 64) did most of the damage for Blidworth.

This score although substantial never gave Blidworth much cause for concern and a splendid unbeaten 111 by Matt Slade ably backed by Ritchie Gibbons (71) saw them reach 216 for 2 and an emphatic victory.

Ransome and Marles are creeping ever closer to the top group and they managed a winning draw in a low scoring encounter at Elm Avenue against Farnsfield 2 nd. Batting first Ransomes must have been far from happy as Farnsfield limited them to just 157 for 7 with Matt Smith (47) and Nigel Murray (31) top scoring against an attack in which Pete Wood was the main threat with his 3 for 66.

In reply Farnsfield found the pitch to be just as difficult as it had been when Ransomes had batted and were quickly in trouble. Gary Lambert (3 for 31) and Australian Brett Richardson (5 for 73) bothered them throughout as the finally clung on at 123 for 9 as the overs ran out. Ransomes however must be kicking themselves that the last Farnsfield pair managed to defy them for twelve overs so robbing them of another extremely vital four points.

Papplewick and Linby 2 nd are really in a rich vein of form and look capable of beating anyone at the minute. Their latest opponents and victims Whitwell batted quite well to reach 181 for 9 with skipper Alan Draycott (36) and Duncan Forrest (56 n.o.) leading the charge. Neil Birch (3 for 59) was the pick of the Papplewick attack which stuck to its task very well.

This score was easily attained though as Graham Roberts (30) and Matt Dear (35 n.o.) supported the hard hitting Gareth Wheeldon brilliantly. Wheeldon made a magnificent unbeaten 102 and whilst Papplewick look a shade too far behind to catch up, nobody will relish meeting them whilst they continue in this form. Even Bolsover would testify to that!