No change in the upper echelons
by the SNCL Press Team, 21st June 2005

There was no change in the upper echelons of Division A with the top three all registering wins of some sort. Long Eaton stayed top with a winning draw over Plumtree and Calverton also gained a winning draw over Attenborough. Richard Hunter with 75, and 5 for 62 by Pete Crawley ensured Calverton kept up the pressure on leaders Long Eaton.

The tightest game of the day in A was at Eastwood as the 3rd place hosts beat Southwell (195) by just 2 runs. The run out by Geoff Stocks of South African Jacques Oberhalzer for 79 proved to be crucial as Southwell’s last pair just failed to get the further 14 runs needed for victory. Ikram Ul-Haq (4/49) and Dean Blake with 50 not out starred for Eastwood Town .

Balderton (209/9) won the battle of the bottom two with a narrow victory at Gotham Village (208/4). Chuck Tansley (67) and Alan Jackson (66) steering Balderton to a one wicket win despite 65 not out and 4 for 12 by Gotham ’s Simon North. In the other game in the top division Rolls Royce (196/3) leap-frogged Ellerslie in the table with a comfortable 7 wicket win. Waheed Khan’s 72 not out was backed up by bowlers Saleem Karim and Pete Cooper who both took 4 wickets each.

Division B leaders Radcliffe-On-Trent (142/3) registered another easy win this time over Clifton Village II (139). Mike Brooks’ 6 for 43 doing the damage whilst 73 by Leigh Osborne ensured Radcliffe stay top. Bottesford remain second with a comfortable winning draw at Bramcote (168/7). A century by Jim Ward helped Bottesford post 250 for 5, a target which the hosts never looked like reaching. Jason Giblett hit 90 to keep Gedling & Sherwood in third with an 80 run win at Plumtree II (141).

Thrumpton take over at the top in Divison C as previous leaders West Bridgefordians slipped up for the second week in a row, this time at home to Wilsons . Thrumpton easily beat lowly Nottingham thanks in part to Andy Pick’s 39 and 4 for 23. Man-of-the-Day must be Keyworth’s Steve Rendu as he was prominent with bat and ball in his side’s 139 run demolition of Radcliffe-On-Trent II. Steve hit 99 not out whilst putting on 122 for the 8th wicket along with Stuart Meek (61) then he took 3 for 1 as Radcliffe chasing 223 were skittled out for just 83.

In D, West Indian Caribs go marching on with an impressive win at Southwell II despite 100 from Richard Drinkwater for the hosts. James Chulan (91) and Sagheer Akhtar (71 and 4/25) kept Caribs on top.

The sweltering heat did not stop clubs in Division E racking up some impressive scores. Hucknall II scored 250/9 at home to Wymeswold, with Graham Caudwell making 90 and 62 year old David Fawcett contributing 45. Wymeswold’s Russ Pitman took 6/61. Richard Bowley led the run chase for Wymeswold, finishing on 96 not out but his side ran out of overs 34 runs short. Stanton & Awsowrth Elks put on an impressive 253/8, with Darren Shaw scoring 64 and then succeeded in bowling out Lady Bay Boots II for just 69. Farndon (236) also racked up the runs, with Mark Everington scoring 121* in their victory over Nuthall (129).

There were two centuries in one game in F. Notts Unity Casuals II’s Kevin Marshall scored 142 of their 233/6 total. Unfortunately it was not enough as Ravenshead responded with 237/3, with Chris Mason finishing on 106*. At the other extreme, the whole of West Bridgford Legion were bowled out for 54 as Mark Smith took 5 for 8 for victorious Eastwood Town II.

In division G, Snibston Grange had the narrowest of victories scoring 203/6 and seeing Bottesford fall short by just one run, getting 202/7 in reply. Ruddington are still without a win as Lowdham set 250/4, with Dave Blackwell on 99*. Paul Chambers then took 5 for 32 as Ruddington were dismissed for 129. In Division H Edingley had a very impressive win against Nottingham II in the last over. Star performer was Edingley's Ian Wilson with 97 not out and 4 wickets for 56 runs.

No change at the top in Division J where Hoveringham (168/8) enjoyed their seventh straight victory of the season over Stapleford (124). Oxton move into second after Simon Widdowson (6/19) destroyed Newark Seconds (71). Kirkby Portland II, after a narrow defeat at Oxton last weekend, surprisingly crashed at struggling Risley II who now move out the relegation places. The home side made 213/6, Blake Hawley top scoring with 62 before Jason Pinkett’s five wickets ensured the visitors stumbled to 88 all out. It’s now four wins on the bounce for Loughborough Carillion (226/5) who had a comfortable victory over Caunton (122). After four straight defeats there was success for Gladstone, Keith Marrow top scored with 75 in the home side’s 256 whilst in reply, Martin Widdowson took four wickets on his return from injury to restrict Stanton by Dale Seconds to 192. Stanton remain bottom.

The top of the table clash in Division K failed to live up to its billing, Newstead Village Seconds (202/5) enjoyed an emphatic success over nearest challengers Lenton Abbey. For the victors, Steve Bennett hit an unbeaten 103 whilst after a quiet couple of weeks veteran Pete Hand was back in the wickets with 4/15 aided by Mick Crossland 4/40. Nottingham Victoria , with two successive victories, have moved into fourth, Alan Moss’s unbeaten 95 guiding them past Attenborough III’s (173/7).

It’s been a difficult few weeks for Carrington Cavaliers (182/7) with the loss of key players, however the remaining squad responded brilliantly on Saturday with a victory over Woodborough (128), Kasir Altaf (5/17) the man of the match. There was a welcome victory for struggling Belvoir II who overcame Lambley’s 154 with three wickets to spare. The victors owed a huge debt to old stagers John Gulson (48) and Pete Sears (36) whilst skipper Gary Fellows took 6 for 35.

It’s too close to call at the top of Division L. Bingham (159 all out) remain at the helm following an eight run victory over West Bridgfordians II. However, Stoke Bardolph now join them by virtue of the extra bonus points gained in Saturday’s win at Flintham. The Seymour combination of father John (86) and son Chris (57) enabled the visitors to post 217 for victory and in reply, Ken Shawley (5/ 26) ensured the home side fell way short on 138.

Breaston remain third, Trevor Daft’s unbeaten 50 steering them to victory at Thrumpton II (136 for 9). A relief for Kimberley III who had skipper Steve Tilley top scoring with 58 in their success at bottom club Old Paviors. Joy too for Shepshed III who in a low scoring game defended their total of 140 successfully over visiting Belton (125).

Matt Burton’s 6/28 took Keyworth II (130/5) past Wilsons total of 129 in M. Stanton Awsworth Elks II remained unbeaten as they put on 227, with Ian Trueman scoring 72 and Lee Simpson 60 against Lambley II, who made 196 in reply. In N, Alan Perry scored 82 for Ruddington II (165/8) as they won at home against Caythorpe IV (161/8).

Top of division P, Gedling Colliery III, made a fairly modest 150/9 but then managed to bowl Beeston II out for 32 as Dan Kitchen took 5/7. The most remarkable turnaround came in Division R as Stanton Awsworth Elks IV recovered from 9/7 to score 82 and then bowl out Bingham II for 65.