Ransomes take Division 2 title
by Paul Barker, 19th September 2006

I suppose after what had happened the previous season it was only fitting that Ransome & Marles should take the Division 2 title this time around. If ever a side was robbed of promotion it must surely have been the Newark side in 2005, but that is now in the past and they made no mistake this time around.

One thing that does need a little clearing up are the comments made by some that Division 2 was a sub standard league this time around. What absolute balderdash! This was one of the most competitive season’s the league has produced for a long while and even the top two Ransomes and Bridon had to be on their mettle as Eckington pursued them all the way and Whitwell and Mansfield & Pleasley only dropped out of things in the final few weeks.

Quite frankly I considered this an excellent standard of cricket and congratulations are merited by the two sides that achieved promotion. Most sides had at least one or two stand out players and many were capable of beating each other on their day.

That is not to say that Ransomes and Bridon will take Division 1 apart next season because they won’t. It simply doesn’t happen like that. Any team promoted to the Nottinghamshire Premier League will struggle without massive re-strengthening as Thoresby Colliery and Long Eaton found out this season.

However with a few adjustments I think both the promoted sides will hold their own next time around. We will have to wait and see, but both look to have solid basis to build from and if they can persuade a couple of quality recruits each they shouldn’t have any major problems.

When you mention RANSOME & MARLES you automatically think of Francois Le Clus the young South African who arrived here as an unknown at the start and through some prodigious displays became a household name before the end of the season. He will not however be with them next season as rumour has it he is joining Mansfield Hosiery Mills in the Premier League. This must represent a severe blow, but the Newark side are already looking for a top quality replacement for next season.

Ransomes were one of the few sides to play on April 22nd the first scheduled date of the season and although they won, it was by no means convincing and probably a little hair raising along the way. They played Mansfield & Pleasley at Chesterfield Road and could only make a rather paltry 91 for 9 when their overs ran out which couldn’t have filled them with two tons of confidence. However they then bowled Mansfield & Pleasley out for just 82 to win by nine runs and they were up and running.

The following week they faced Everton and although Jon Mimms made the first batch of his colossal total of runs against them, they still bowled them out for just 135. This proved to be no obstacle as Le Clus showed all his class with an unbeaten 75 and with Nigel Murray also unbeaten on 46 they sailed to a crushing nine wicket win.

From this moment on Ransomes were a team inspired and in addition to Le Clus who smashed a double century (211) against Farnsfield 2nd they had other players such as Ian Sellars, Nigel Murray, Tony Betteridge, Peter Litchfield and Jonathan Aspden who all scored valuable runs for them. Two other players who made a big impact for them were Rob and Paul Taylor who they snapped up from neighbours Newark and whilst the former made some useful scores with the bat, both of them took a substantial amount of wickets as well.

The side was astutely captained by Gary Lambert and they certainly deserved to make it this time after the disappointment of 2005.

Runners up were BRIDON who had it not been for a disciplinary problem when they played Eckington which saw them have six points deducted would have celebrated their quick return to Division 1 with the championship as they only finished one point behind Ransomes.

One of the main reasons for their massive improvement this season was the return of the very talented Wayne Spooner. This left handed all rounder showed class all the way throughout the season scoring two centuries, several scores over fifty and also a fair share of wickets. Darren Spooner also enjoyed a terrific season with both bat and ball as did Chris Ward whose slow bowling gave the attack another edge. Matt Makings also nipped in with wickets when they were required.

Rob McLeod still made his presence felt when he was available and Simon Davison was an extremely useful new ball bowler. However possibly the most important thing was the re-appointment of Gareth Jones as skipper. Gareth led the team to their massive successes in the 1980s and after the disappointment of the previous season he brought them straight back at the first time of asking. Bridon also have a fine crop of talented young players with Richard Topham in particular making his mark. Roger Wells proved to be a dependable opening batsman and with all the worries the side have had over the availability of the ground it is good to see them back where they belong in Division 1.

It would be rather remiss not to mention the incredible match between Bridon and Anston at Ordsall when Anston notched up 312 for 8 and still lost the match as Bridon raced to 316 for 6 and victory. This showed the never say die attitude of the Bridon team and from that moment on, they were always going to take some stopping.

To achieve 298 points which would have been 304 without the fiasco at Bridon, ECKINGTON must be feeling rather deflated having not gained promotion. They started off by gaining a winning draw against Bridon and were the only side other than Ransomes to take the majority of points off the Ordsall side which tells you what sort of a side they had.

They had a whole host of players who scored runs with James Daniel probably scoring the most runs but Rob and Julian Carlile, Mark Bridgeman, Chris Ludlam, skipper Tom Dawson and Karl Fields who returned this season after a long spell at Cutthorpe all scored heavily most of the time. When one considers that Simon West was regularly scheduled to bat at No. 8 it makes you realise what strength Eckington possessed.

In the bowling department Luke Dawson and Dave Barton formed a good opening attack and they could also rely upon James Daniel, Tom Dawson and slow left armer Wayne Dye who was probably the best bowler of his type in the entire division. One cannot see Eckington being far away next season but as was the same with Bridon, they do need to channel some of that natural aggression down the right outlets, because the deduction of points is avoidable and something no side should want to happen.

A side who were always capable of giving anybody a good game was MANSFIELD & PLEASLEY who after a late spurt finished a credible fourth and reached the Tomlin Trophy final. They are skippered by Darren Walker who leads by example and is a more than useful player with both bat and ball.

Two shining stars in the side are both quality all round players. Anthony Timpson is quite simply an aggressive player with both bat and ball and has that unique ability to make the ball rise off a good length. Ian Woodall is a character to say the least. He plays the game hard, but he likes a joke and is a top class competitor with his slow bowling and his belligerent batting which sees him accumulate runs very quickly.

The nucleus of the team is very strong with Matt Page and Fred Parker making some notable batting contributions whilst Dave Williams was extremely effective with both bat and ball. In addition to this Ross Pinder a young left arm quick bowler showed a certain amount of promise which all bodes well for the future.

There is always a saying in the Bassetlaw Cricket League that WHITWELL have produced more good players for other clubs than anyone else in the league and certainly over the years there has been a strong element of truth in that statement.

The club now have another crop of top quality young players and they quickly showed their mettle when they came within five runs of beating Bridon on the second Saturday of the season in a real thriller.

From that moment on they produced a string of good results with skipper Alan Draycott accumulating a proverbial mountain of runs with excellent support coming from Australian Heath Bush, and youngsters Tom Chesters and Andy Shaw making significant contributions. The return of Ian Dennis was also a major factor and he contributed with both bat and ball also as did Bush and Shaw. Darren Westerby and Duncan Forrest also did well and if Whitwell could produce a top class pace bowler as they have done down the years, a challenge for promotion would certainly be on the cards next season.

They fell away a little towards the end, but fifth place in this competitive section represented a very good effort.

The mid-table side was PAPPLEWICK & LINBY 2nd and although they were not quite as strong as the previous season, they still remained a side who on their day were very difficult to overcome. Captained by Steve Alford who still is a threat to any side with his impeccable line and length, they never looked likely to enter the fray at the top but at the same time they didn’t harbour any relegation fears.

Basically they put out a very young side as they always do and excellent contributions came from Steve Waite, Steve Thomas, Tim Clarke, Matt Dear, Nagasair Sookram and Jamie Peat with the bat whilst Alford, Jon Thrower and Wasim Rana helped themselves to plenty of wickets.

Papplewick’s youth policy is certainly the way forward and they will always trouble the best sides when everything clicks together.

Another side with a host of talented young players is MANSFIELD HOSIERY MILLS 2nd and they were another side who quite easily achieved respectability. They never at any time looked likely to compete with the Bridon’s and Ransomes of this world but they could hold their own with most of the rest. 

Darren Brittlebank captained the side and in Sam Butler, Robert Ward and Andrew Roberts they certainly had three players who could put bat to ball in style.

Kyle Garside, Paul Wilkinson and Ben Rossi were other players who scored vital runs for them as did Steve Gooding a young player of tremendous talent and a major hope for the future. Bill Frodsham and Jeff Appleton also did their ‘bit’ at times whilst Darren Johnson remains a threat with both bat and ball. If the Hosiery Mills lack in one department it is with the ball as they don’t look to have enough strength to dismiss sides, but they are not on their own in this department. If they could find a penetrative bowler they would certainly bother a lot of sides.

One of the smallest grounds in the league is Ryton Road, ANSTON but it does make for exciting cricket and some whacking great scores are always prevalent in their matches. If you bat first and make 250 you are not safe at Anston and the home side have over the years had a hulk of talented attacking batsmen.

They were rather unlucky with the weather with certain victories virtually signed, sealed and delivered against Papplewick & Linby 2nd and Eckington before rain intervened. When Michael Norbury, skipper Andy Forster and the huge hitting Andrew Ruczenczyn were at the crease, fireworks usually happened and if any side couldn’t pin these down, they were certainly facing a massive total, of that there is no doubt.

We have mentioned earlier the record breaking match with Bridon and when Anston were playing, runs appeared to be second nature. Ian Barley and Graham Tweed were their major wicket takes and Andrew Ruczenczyn also chipped in with a few as well. Actually Anston were probably a better side than their final position would suggest and next season they will hope for better.

That is probably the case for EVERTON as well. They tailed away rather badly towards the end of the season but at one time a terrific run of form saw them reach as high as fourth in the table. They have a prodigious batting line-up with Jon Mimms certainly rivalling Francois Le Clus as the man of this section.

Mimms was quite brilliant all the way through, scoring five league centuries and a whole host of scores between fifty and a hundred. Without doubt he is quality through and through and with a little strengthening in the bowling department there is no doubt, Mimms could lead Everton higher than they have every dreamt.

Rob Nicholas and Gareth Campion gave Mimms excellent support with the bat as did Mark Anthony but there were numerous occasions when they amassed a more than useful score and then lost the match. If they ever produce a bowler with the same quality as Mimms has with the bat, everyone could look out.

The bottom three were almost glued to these positions all season and it always looked likely that NORTH WHEATLEY WITH LEVERTON would be the one to escape at the end and so it proved. They just looked to have a touch too much class for the rest and an excellent second half to the season especially from Wayne Harrison steered them to safety.

Dave Waller also scored plenty of runs and James Loates and James Blackwell helped at times. Wayne Ellis also helped when he was available, but they could have done with him on more occasions last season. With the ball two veterans who are still quality bowlers Jamie Bovill and Robin Hackney both helped themselves to a bag full of wickets.

This side could do with a bit of strengthening, basically the foundations are there with several good players available but they look as though they need an influx of new blood before they start to look up once again.

FARNSFIELD 2nd always looked likely to be in trouble right from the very start and so they were. They only managed two wins all season and virtually never bowled any side completely out. They were minus several key players with Mick Hodgkin only available very rarely and several youngsters who will be very good players not at their peak yet.

There can be no doubt that Farnsfield have an excellent youth system and players such as Sam Wood will be major assets too the club in seasons to come. Stalwarts such as Trevor West, Phil Tyler and Pete Wood did their bit but it was never going to be enough.

One gets the impression when Farnsfield 2nd gained promotion to this division in 2004 it was a few years too early. I would not be surprised to see them back at this level, but I don’t think they are quite ready for it yet. Next time they come up they will be ready, you can count on that.

Bottom of the table and a side who must be pleased that it is all over are NOTTS. & ARNOLD AMATEUR 2nd who only managed a single win and suffered fifteen defeats in the season. Quite frankly they were simply not good enough to perform at this stage and will probably be grateful that there worst nightmare is over.

They didn’t start the season off too badly with a magnificent win at Everton early on when they knocked off 250 to win but it all turned sour as defeat followed defeat to leave them totally dispirited. Harvey Burton, Harry Bhakkar and Greg Martin had a few innings of note but there was no penetration in the attack at all and relegation seemed certain from about half way through the season.

One can only hope that they have now found the level that they should be playing at and one also wishes them better luck next time around.