Pym century guides Worksop to shock win
by Paul Barker, 17th July 2005

The scores are tied on 237 runs each, it’s the final ball of the match, Kiwi test ace Iain O’Brien is racing in to bowl for Glapwell, Simon Robson nervously waits for the only ball he is going to receive, the ball strikes the edge of the bat and the slip fielder spills a relatively simple catch as the two batsmen joyously streak through to end one of the most pulsating games you are ever likely to witness.

This match simply had it all. Glapwell who going into the game sat proudly at the top of the tree and Worksop were slumped at the other end. One could not have predicted such a result, but these things do happen and that is what makes this wonderful game called cricket such a great one.

Needless to say there were huge individual performances of note, none more so than Worksop’s classy left hander Glenn Pym whose magnificent 105 carried his side to this surprise result and Iain O’Brien of course who single handedly did his best to stop Worksop from coasting home when the task was beginning to look simple.

O’Brien took every Worksop wicket to fall in his astonishing 7 for 72 haul and almost turned the game on its head after Pym and Richard Grainger (67) had added a massive 162 for the second wicket for Worksop. Right from the start of the match Worksop’s Simon Robson (4 for 41) made the ball swing appreciably and troubled all the early order Glapwell batsmen.

Four wickets fell quite cheaply before Nick Truswell (60) and Rob Davison (46) made a big stand to take the home side over the 200 mark. Glapwell should probably have forced matters more later on but it is easy to be wise after the event and the 237 for 9 score still represented a good effort on a docile Park Avenue wicket. Skipper Simon Bentley (3 for 40) also bowled well for Worksop when the pressure was on at the end and slow left armer, Paul Burton picked up a couple of wickets as well.

Worksop who have been dismissed very cheaply on numerous occasions this season could have been forgiven for thinking ‘here we go again’ as O’Brien removed Ramesh Sanjay’s middle stump without a run on the board from the third ball of the innings. However from this moment Richard Grainger and Glenn Pym totally dominated the game adding 162 for the second wicket and from this point O’Brien engineered a collapse which saw the result in doubt right until the end.

Pym’s innings was one of the Worksop left hander’s very best. He took advantage of some short stuff early on and then hit some glorious strokes all around the wicket and most of the credit for his side’s success is certainly down to him. Worksop badly needed this win which should do wonders for their confidence whilst Glapwell are too good a side to let this bother them for long and they will be back firing immediately, you can count on that.

In the meantime this defeat for Glapwell meant that Edwinstowe who managed a narrow winning draw over neighbours Thoresby Colliery, leapfrogged back to the top of the table. Batting first Edwinstowe made an unconvincing 184 for 8 with Paul Benson top scoring on 51. Bill Lippeatt kept up his ever increasing amount of dismissals for Thoresby this season with another four wickets at a personal cost of 58 runs.

In reply the Edwinstowe total soon began to look a good one as wickets fell steadily but the Thoresby batsmen must shoulder some of the blame for getting out when they looked set. Steve Willis top scored with 30 but the innings closed on 170 for 8 with Asif Zakir (3 for 64) and Garth Brown (3 for 44) doing most of the damage. Both these sides look capable of being around at the end of the season and it will be a major surprise if neither are in at the shake-up.

The game between the two sides who are lurking menacingly at the foot of the leading group, Farnsfield and Cutthorpe turned into a mini-classic at Station Lane with the home side recording a five wicket success with only five balls remaining. Batting first Cutthorpe got away to their usual rip-roaring start with Andy Thompson making a quick-fire 31 before the majestic Asadullah Butt took over.

Butt cracked a magnificent 112 and made batting look easy on this fantastically prepared strip which was a credit to the Farnsfield groundsman. Shots reigned all round the wicket and with good support from Ejaz Khan (33) Cutthorpe made a more than useful 243 for 8 when the overs ran out. Tom Corbyn (3 for 38) and Dave Bell (3 for 40) both bowled well under the intense pressure and deserved the rewards they earned.

Even though they faced a huge score, Farnsfield always looked assured and Paul Franks (115 n.o.) batted just the same way as Butt had done earlier, quite magnificently, and he was the backbone of the innings as they reached 244 for 5 on the first ball of the final over.

Franks was murderous on any ball offline or short and with the aid of Kiwi, Mark Silcock they blasted exactly 100 off the last 55 balls received to race to a spectacular and deserved win. Ejaz Khan (4 for 75) bowled splendidly but it was too little too late as Farnsfield moved ever closer towards the top.

Notts. & Arnold Amateur continued their good run with a winning draw over Cuckney at Langwith Road . Once again there was over 500 runs scored in this match and considering it was the same wicket on which over 400 were scored in the over 50s match between Notts. And Lancashire on Thursday it just goes to show how good the track was.

Notts. & Arnold blazed their way to 300 for 4, a colossal total in their 50 overs with all their batsmen chipping in with good contributions. Bill Trewartha (76), Jeff Ainger (75), Leigh Baldry (49) and Ian Flood (78) all batted brilliantly as the score rocketed up at an astronomical pace.

In reply Cuckney were soon on the back foot and only Simon Shipp (30) and South African Richard Stroh (37) made much impact amongst the earlier batsmen as the Notts & Arnold attack took charge. It took a remarkable effort by Andy Stephenson (43 n.o.) and the last man who batted out the last 15 overs between them to prevent defeat as Cuckney closed on 202 for 9.

Killamarsh pulled off a fantastic win at Kiveton in another high scoring encounter to boost their survival hopes. Batting first Kiveton must have been quietly confident as they made 243 for 7 with the brilliant Phil Cooper top scoring on 81. Matt Cartwright added a further 61 whilst Parmindar Mudhar (5 for 67) bowled an impeccable line and length for Killamarsh.

To Killamarsh’s credit they chased this total all the way and with Paul Burdett (66), Hennie Basson (36 n.o.) and in particular the brilliant David Allen who made a superb unbeaten 94 they reached the winning post in good style. This Killamarsh side appear to have enough spirit to maintain their place in the top division and whilst ever they can produce performances like this one, they should be alright.

Two other sides near the bottom met at Middlefield Lane and the home side Marshalls came out on top in their tussle with Bridon who are now firmly anchored at the bottom of the table. Only 16 year old Richard Topham (32) made much headway against a steady Marshalls attack and the final Bridon total of 171 for 8 looked a little anaemic to say the least. For the second consecutive week Andy West (4 for 37) was the most productive bowler for Marshalls and his rewards were well deserved.

The target never looked adequate enough and that proved to be the case as Marshalls not without a fright or two reached 172 for 7 to clinch a very important win for them. Mark Davies (43) and Chris Blood (35 n.o.) were the batting heroes for Marshalls whilst Darren Spooner (5 for 64) tried desperately in a vain attempt to turn things around for Bridon.

The match of the day in Division 2 turned out to be quite an easy win for the leaders Bolsover against third placed Anston by six wickets at Villas Road . Batting first Anston despite good knocks of 41 by Dean Brearley and 30 by Michael Norbury made a disappointing total of 166 all out. Steve Wooley (5 for 49) and Usman Saeed (5 for 40) which included the hat-trick did all the damage and whilst they bowled brilliantly, Anston will feel that they let themselves down because they are certainly better than this.

The same two players took over when Bolsover batted with Usman Saeed leading the charge with a superb unbeaten 87. The only blip on his performance of the day was that he ran Stave Wooley out but this guy is another player who has class and quality written all through him and one blip is not going to upset him too much. Wooley had made 35 at the time and looked well set to be there at the end, whilst Andy Ruczenczyn with 3 for 39 bowled brilliantly in a vain attempt to turn things around for Anston.

As things are looking at the moment, the league could wrap the trophy up and send it to Bolsover right now, but things can change, although it is doubtful if it will here. Anston are better than this and only a fool would write them off for the other promotion place.

Blidworth moved back into second place with a six wicket win over Pilsley at Burmah Road on another excellent wicket. Batting first Pilsley made a more than useful 215 for 8 with Saeed Bin Nasir showing all his usual mastery with 81 and great support came from John Worthy who made 33. Dave Wood (5 for 46) was the best of a Blidworth attack that stuck to their job extremely well.

Although the target looked useful, Blidworth soon disproved this theory and reached 216 for 4 with consummate ease. Matt Slade (48) got the innings away to a good start but it was Ritchie Gibbons who rolled back the years with a sparkling 111 which included an incredible 25 boundaries who was the major star and it was his innings that guided his side to a very important win.

Eckington remain third after raking up a club record score against a badly outgunned Farnsfield 2 nd attack. They scored 365 for 3 before declaring with 10 overs still to go and huge innings from Rob Carlile (133), Andy Burns (123) and James Daniel (50 n.o.) all contributed to this mammoth total.

Farnsfield did exceedingly well to bat out all the overs which came their way and must have been quite satisfied when they reached a final total of 224 for 8. Mick Hodgkin (48) top scored for them whilst Dave Barton (3 for 27) and Wayne Dye (3 for 54) tried hard to finish the job off without success.

Blidworth, Eckington and Anston all look to be the major chasers behind Bolsover but if there is a stalking horse challenger, how about Ransome and Marles who continued their great form of late with a three wicket win over struggling North Wheatley with Leverton.

Batting first North Wheatley made 171 for 7 with James Blackwell top scoring with 39 whilst Australian Brett Richardson bowled a tremendous unbroken spell taking 6 for 79.

In reply Ransomes were son in trouble but a real captains knock by Gary Lambert (69 n.o.) which included some massive lusty blows turned the match around in his side’s favour. James Blackwell (4 for 72) completed a fine all round show for North Wheatley and didn’t deserve to end on the losing side, but he did. Ransomes are getting ever closer to their rivals and should any of them slip up this Newark side look a good bet to take full advantage of any failure.

Notts. & Arnold Amateur 2 nd are beginning to come adrift at the foot of the table and the nine wicket defeat they suffered against Papplewick & Linby 2 nd will have done their prospects no good at all. Actually they batted quite well making 174 all out with Mark Aske top scoring with an excellent 56. Ian Hardy (4 for 42) added to his growing reputation as one of the best young all rounders in the league taking 4 for 42 in a fine spell of medium paced bowling.

Even with this total it was nowhere near enough as Papplewick only lost in single wicket before passing their score. Tim Clarke (51 n.o.) and Paul Chapman (68 n.o.) batted supremely well and remained totally unmoved as Papplewick halted their recent bad run with this emphatic victory.

Whitwell claimed another positive result against Everton who can be excused for thinking they had done rather well for bowling the home side out for just 154. Only Kevin Morton with (30) defied the Everton bowling attack in which Chris Wood (6 for 77) was quite outstanding.

It was however a case of ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’ as Everton slumped to just 90 all out to give Whitwell a 64 run win. None of the Everton batting covered themselves with much glory as Andy Shaw (4 for 38) and Darren Westerby (5 for 19) ripped through some rather flimsy resistance to give Whitwell a good win which takes them closer to mid table security.