DPCL / DCCL review of 2007
by Gwyn Jones, 4th October 2007

Season 2007 will be remembered mainly for the weather which caused so much disruption in mid season. Yet we started the season in glorious sunshine and the feelong was that if this was the effect of climate change we could in the future start the season in early April. Opinions changed in June and July when we were faced with water-logged grounds.

At Ambergate CC in the Derwent valley, a picture was taken of a boat floating above the square in a ground that had been transformed into a lake. The disruption of the Premier League fixture list is seen in the fortunes of Premier League club Chesterfield who play at Queen’s Park, a ground scheduled  to return to the County Cricket circuit this season with a game against Somerset. In a seven week period during the worst of the rain they were able to start only one game, with two of those at home and three away, and the one game played had overs reduced because of rain during play. Their second team, playing in Division 2 of the County League, fared even worse, with seven games completely rained off, four of them at Queen’s Park.

In the Premier League, Spondon emerged as Champions in their first season on their new ground, and nobody will deny their right to the title. They won ten games and lost only one which was to their near neighbours Ockbrook. They were boosted by the performance of their South African overseas player Colin Ingram who scored 987 runs at an average of 70.5, but the encouraging sign was that there were great performances from their young and mostly local players.

Young Joe Kellogg captained the side with assurance, and typical of the contributions of the young brigade were the performances of the Ashdown  brothers. Opener Ben contributed 626 runs at an average of 41.73 and took 23 wickets, and brother Joe took 28 wickets. Another youngster, Chris Windmill, joined them in mid season taking 23 wickets, including a best performance of 7-59. Among the older players Steve Attenborough played his part in taking 24 wickets, but the important point is that this was very much a team effort.

Ockbrook & Borrowash, the 2006 Champions, kept in touch with Spondon for most of the season and ended as runners up, but by contrast they won only 5 games. Skipper Matt Cassar had a wonderful season with the bat and was the League’s highest scorer with 1143 runs at an average of 60.16. Johnny Owen was also a consistent performer with 885 runs. They benefited from three quality spinners, Lian  Wharton, Jake Needham and Chris Windmill, but Windmill transferred to Spondon in mid season. Ockbrook gained some reward at the end of the season by winning the Derbyshire Premier Cup, when they beat Caythorpe by 5 wickets.

Sandiacre Town also remained in close contention with the leaders. They were well led by John Trueman who batted as well as ever, scoring 1034 runs, average 64.63, and winning the League Man of the Match competition. They missed their former opening bowler Naeem Akhtar who transferred to Dunstall where he took 37 wickets.. However, they were served well by their own bowlers Iftikar Asghar with 28 wickets and John Jordison with 32 wickets. Wicket keeper Ian Hopkins claimed 26 victims and performed consistently as opening bat.

Men of the Match Awards

This interesting competition was introduced this season at the instigation of the Derby Mortgage Company who have agreed to sponsor three money prizes to be awarded to the three players with most points at the end of the season. The match umpires were required to choose three players as Men of the Match in each League game, awarding them 3 points, 2 points or 1 point. The scheme created a lot of interest and at the end the three winners were John Trueman (Sandiacre), Matt Lineker (Alfreton) and Simon Lacey (Chesterfield) who will be awarded their cheques at a presentation evening.

The LCC President’s Trophy

The League Representative side entered this competition and had an unusual start when their first round match against the Notts Premier League ran out of time because all suitable grounds were under water. So it was decided on the toss of a coin which Derbyshire won. The next round against the Liverpool Premier League was scheduled for Denby, but their main ground was also saturated. On examination their second ground was declared fit and the match was played there, with Derbyshire winning by 12 runs.

The semi final between Cheshire and Derbyshire provided the narrowest finish with Derbyshire scraping through by 3 runs. The final against the North East Premier League was a disappointment because Derbyshire were tumbled out for 69, and the North East hit off the runs for the loss of 4 wickets. There was some compensation when the Derbyshire County League  won the Cedric Rhoades Cup, defeating the Shropshire Premier League by 9 wickets in the final.

The Derbyshire Premier Cup

This competition included the 12 teams from the Derbyshire Premier League and four teams by invitation from the Notts Premier League. The early rounds were played on a round robin basis and were seriously affected by the wet weather, but the system produced two strong finalists, Caythorpe from Notts and Ockbrook & Borrowash from Derbyshire. The final was played at Queen’s Park Chesterfield on 15 September on a lovely Summer day. A low scoring, but exciting game saw Ockbrook win by 5 wickets.

Relegated Teams

Of the two relegated teams Clifton looked in danger for most of the season. They won one game only and lost 12. Yet their overseas player Morne Van Vuuren was one of the stars of the League, scoring 810 runs. The other relegated side,  Denby were unlucky in that they suffered more than most from a waterlogged ground. They were a very young side and showed great promise in winning 5 matches, but lost 9 matches, some of them very narrowly.

One landmark in the history of Derbyshire cricket  was the celebration of their 150^th Anniversary by Alvaston & Boulton CC. Their cricket week in August was a great success, and the sun shone every day! There were times in the season when they were flirting with relegation, but experienced skipper Steve Ottewell pulled them through and they ended comfortably placed in sixth position.

The two promoted sides are Ticknall and Ilkeston Rutland.. Ticknall are a young side, full of promise, and include Paul Borrington  who has joined Derbyshire as an opening bat, a role filled by his father Tony Borrington. Ilkeston Rutland are an experienced side, still captained by star batsman David Smit, and they are well aware of the demands of the Premier League.

Ground Improvements

This is a process which has been on going for some time and is well illustrated by the achievement of Denby CC. This season their second adjacent ground was awarded Grade A status and served as the venue for the LCC President’s Trophy match with the Liverpool Premier League. Yet five years ago this patch of land could only be described as scrub land, with a steep slope. Look at it now and what you see is  a lush level field with a good square. Of course, they received some grants to pay for the heavy machinery, but much of the work was done by members and it illustrates what can be done when the will is there.

A similar result has been achieved at Quarndon CC where the adjacent ground  was seeded in season 2007. It has a little way to go before  it can be awarded Grade A status, but they are hopeful that at least some junior cricket can be played on the new ground  by late 2008. The next stage is to extend changing facilities and we can report that there has been considerable progress in the planning stage.

The demographic area which feeds into the Derbyshire Premier League is growing all the time, which is a healthy sign. This area is served  very effectively by the Derbyshire County League and  they have now reached a stage where they feel that they need to carry out a re-structuring of the Divisions. It all points to the fact that recreational cricket is in a healthy state in this part of the Midlands.

And finally

With this report I come to the end of my time. I said I would do it until I was 85 and I passed that landmark in August.. I have been doing the job since 1983, first with the Central Derbyshire League and after the merger with the County League and then the Premier League.

My thanks go to the many friends who have helped me with the phone-in of the results, and the local press who have given us such good publicity. I can’t wait for next season when I hope to go around the grounds with the added pleasure of being able to wait until the end of the game and not have to rush off at 6.30 to collect the results. See you then.

Diolch yn fawr. Many thanks.

Gwyn Jones, Press Officer