Notts & Arnold show their best form
by Alan Rowley, 11th June 2006

At the start of play, Cuckney sat proudly at the top of the table, but after a severe pounding from Notts. & Arnold Amateurs their lofty perch is still with them, but only just. Batting first, the Cuckney innings was full of disappointments and had it not been for Simon Shipp who batted quite brilliantly for his 82 runs and Richard Stroh (41) one wonders what sort of mediocre score they would have posted.

As it was the 171 all out total looked rather inadequate but take nothing away from Notts. & Arnold who bowled and fielded exceptionally well, none more so than Richard Pallister who took 6 for 46 in a terrific spell of slow bowling which troubled everyone. However the rest of the Cuckney batting could only raise 48 runs between them and this represented a rather poor effort considering the way Shipp and Stroh had performed.

There can be no doubting that Notts. & Arnold are a strange bunch. Make no mistake when they are good they are very good and when they are bad they are downright awful. There is nothing in between and this was certainly one of their good days.

Nobody failed with the bat and they made the target look like an absolute cakewalk as they reached 175 for the loss of only two wickets. Bill Trewartha (35), Peter Evans (36), Australian Leigh Baldry (35 n.o.) and skipper Ian Flood (49 n.o.) made batting look exceptionally easy and they cruised to victory with comparative ease.

One must assume that Cuckney had an off day, but it must also be remembered that Notts. & Arnold are always capable of results like this. Their lowly league position is a complete joke, they are much better than that, and if they performed with any degree of consistency they would be challenging at the top. Of that there is no doubt!

Bolsover edged out a narrow winning draw against Worksop at Villas Road in a thrilling game. Batting first Bolsover were once again well served by Akram Khan who is beginning to look like the capture of the season. Khan made a magnificent 70 and along with Steve Wooley (31) helped Bolsover reach 177 for 9 when the overs ran out. John Smith who is a most unassuming character bowled a superb line and length to capture 4 for 34 and Worksop looked odds on to maintain their good start to the season.

Things looked even better for them as skipper Steve Bentley (54) and Mark Ambrose (52) got them away to a very good start and at 143 for 1 the result looked to be a foregone conclusion but then a middle order collapse put a whole new complexion on the game.

Steve Wooley was the destroyer in chief taking 4 for 32 in a magical spell that had every batsman worried, and Worksop concluded the game on 175 for 9 just two runs short of the Bolsover total with Steve Walker being run out off the very last ball.

Kiveton Park bounced back after their heavy defeat against Farnsfield last week by taking a winning draw against struggling Edwinstowe. Batting first Kiveton were well served by Richard Grainger (87), Matty Cartwright (32) and Andy Marsh (35) as they closed on 215 for 7. Shaun Bullin (5 for 45) was the pick of the Edwinstowe attack who must have been very pleased with themselves for limiting the score to manageable means on such a good track.

Edwinstowe though could only manage 183 for 8 and that was solely duo to a magnificent effort from Pakistani Asif Zakir who carried the innings with a brilliantly crafted 100 n.o. The sad point for Edwinstowe was that nobody presented Zakir with the support he deserved and this was chiefly due to a fine spell of bowling from Richard Spurr who bagged 6 for 45 in a very impressive stint.

Marshalls seem to be suffering from a 2005 syndrome. They started off well last season but their Australian signing then went home and the same thing happened again this term with the highly impressive Gareth Yelland returning to Oz after a most promising start.

Their latest effort resulted in a three wicket loss to Blidworth who are surprising everybody with their form this season. Batting first, Marshalls made 207 for 8 with Mark Whitlam (75) and skipper Paul Van den Heuvel (41) both batting well. The ultimate destroyer for Blidworth was Ritchie Gibbons who took 7 for 33 as Marshalls collapsed after a very good start.

In reply, Blidworth reached 208 for 7 with Lee Wilson (87) leading the charge. Although Andrew West took 5 for 52, Blidworth always looked the likely winners and they eventually reached the target which had looked a long way away when Marshalls were batting so well.

Two high scoring thrillers took place at Farnsfield and Glapwell. At Farnsfield the home side batting first reached a mighty 269 for 5 with James Bennett (78), Phil Creswell (57 n.o.) and Mark Silcock (51) leading the onslaught against a wilting Cutthorpe attack.

However no score is entirely safe against Cutthorpe and whilst Andy Thompson was at the crease there was every chance of this score being knocked off. Thompson finally perished for a magnificent 84 and with his departure the run chase finally drew to a close at 231 for 7, a highly commendable effort. Tim Barlow (44) and Matt Cluer (38) also batted well for Cutthorpe whilst Matt Whiley (5 for 48) was Farnsfield’s thorn in their side in what was an excellent match.

At Park Avenue, Killamarsh returned to top form making 244 all out against Glapwell. The Sri-Lankan pair Pramuka Liyanage (71) and Nalika De Silva (68) led the charge and good support came from Paul Burdett (30) as the runs piled up. Gary Saxby (3 for 40) and Dean Graney (3 for 27) were the best of a Glapwell attack who must have returned feeling rather weary at the interval.

However on such a good track, Killamarsh then went ‘through the mill’ themselves as Glapwell finished on 221 for 7 with nearly all the Glapwell batsmen showing the form everyone knows they are capable of. Iain O’Brien top scored on 42 and there were other sizable contributions from Dean Graney (38), Phil Matthews (36 n.o.), Rob Davison (35) and Lee Topham (32) as Killamash’s fielders took a bit of a chasing themselves.

Parmindar Mudhar (3 for 60), Adrian Rivington (2 for 15) and Steve Ludlam (2 for 40) bowled well for Killamarsh but it remains a mystery who would have won this one with both sides certainly in with a big chance.

The top three in Division 2 all managed twenty point hauls and surprise packets Everton moved up to fourth as they continued their excellent run of form of late. At the top, Whitwell overcame Notts. & Arnold Amateur 2^nd by an eight wicket margin at Goosedale Lane. Notts. & Arnold reached a useful 184 for 9 as they batted first with good efforts from Greg Martin 56 n.o., and Syd Khanna (42). Australian slow bowler Heath Bush was the pick of the Whitwell attack taking 4 for 21 in an excellent spell of bowling.

Whitwell are certainly very strong at the top of their batting order and once skipper Alan Draycott (70) and Heath Bush (76 n.o.) got into their stride, there was only going to be one winner. Shots flowed all around the ground as Whitwell reached 186 for 2 to complete a highly impressive performance and maintain their position at the head of the table.

Ransome & Marles follow in close pursuit with a very good win over the dangerous Eckington side. Any team that beats Eckington on their own ground certainly must have something going for them and Ransomes must have had a lingering bout of trepidation after they only managed 214 for 6 in the 46 overs allotted to them.

On any other ground this would have been regarded as a good total, but the Eckington wicket is so flat one could not be sure if this score would be enough! Once again Ransomes excellent South African import Francois Le Clus was in fine touch making 59 and great support came from Nigel Murray with an unbeaten 55 whilst Wayne Dye was the pick of the Eckington attack with 3 for 47.

Although Tom Dawson made 63 and James Daniel (34) Eckington could not go through with the effort on this occasion and were bowled out for 179. This was due to some fine bowling by Gary Lambert who took 4 for 44 in a highly impressive stint. Its early to say yet, but Ransomes must have been delighted with this performance, not many teams go to Eckington and win, and there won’t be many more this season.

Bridon are sitting nicely in third place and they simply toyed with Papplewick & Linby 2^nd beating them by a crushing eight wicket margin. Batting first only Ed Somekh (41) and Jamie Peat (31) showed any answer to the excellent medium paced bowling of Simon Davison who took 5 for 29 as Papplewick were bowled out for just 145.

At no time did this ever look like being enough and Simon Fenwick making his seasonal debut for Bridon led the way with an excellent 75 runs. Support came from Wayne Spooner with 34 as Bridon won very much as they pleased and in this form nobody will find facing them an easy task.

Everton are the dark horses of the season so far and they annihilated Farnsfield 2^nd by nine wickets to close into fourth place. Batting first Farnsfield could only muster a paltry 119 with Trevor West (35) being the only batsman to look relatively comfortable. The rest folded just like a pack of cards as John Mimms (4 for 29) and Mark Anthony (4 for 24) sliced through some frail resistance like a knife through butter.

This target was never going to trouble Everton and Mimms again showed what a good player he is making an excellent unbeaten 54. Even he was outdone in the Everton batting stakes on this day however by Gareth Campion who made a superb 56 n.o. as Everton won very much as they pleased.

At The Fieldings Mansfield Hosiery Mills produced a spectacular batting collapse when they looked set for a score in the 250 region and were then bowled out for just 152. After losing two early wickets Rob Ward with a brilliant 72 and Bill Frodsham (39) put on 103 in good time as their opponents Mansfield & Pleasley started to wilt.

However a sloppy shot by Ward who should have gone on to make a century, triggered a dramatic collapse and wickets fell regularly as the batsmen kept treading the lonely furrow from and back to the pavilion. Ian Woodall (4 for 48) and David Williams with a terrific 4 for 8 spell did the damage whilst Anthony Timpson took the other two wickets to fall.

Never at any time did the Hosiery Mills look like redeeming themselves and Mansfield & Pleasley skated to victory on 155 for 2. Darren Walker top scored on 47 n.o, and Matt Page also batted well on 29, but the top scorer was the incredible amount of extras conceded which totalled exactly 50!

The final match in this section saw North Wheatley with Leverton’s plight at the foot of the table get even worse. as they were resoundingly beaten by Anston by 40 runs. Batting first North Wheatley were unfortunate enough to run up against Andrew Ruczenczyn who was in prime form as he clattered a magnificent 84 and belted everything that was bowled at him out of sight. Good support came from Ashley Morton as Anston who have not had the best of times lately themselves rattled up a useful looking 190 all out. Jamie Bovill was once again the best of the North Wheatley bowling attack taking 3 for 39.

In reply, North Wheatley despite good efforts by Martin Pring (40) and Jamie Bovill (35 n.o.) were bowled out for just 150 which did nothing to improve their position at the foot of the table. Andrew Ruczenczyn decided to show he is as effective with the ball as he is with the bat taking 4 for 14, whilst Ian Barley, Jim Glazier and Graham Tweed all bagged a brace of wickets each.