Stroh reigns supreme as Cuckney march on
by Paul Barker, 6th May 2007

In what represented the first ‘big’ match of the season, title favourites, Cuckney overcame a spirited Farnsfield side by seven wickets at Station Lane. Although the margin of success seems huge, nobody should run away with the theory that this was easy, because Cuckney only got there in the very last over against a side who despite the presence of Paul Franks were badly under strength in many other departments.

Batting first Farnsfield made 185 for 9 in their 50 overs which is not a great score on this feather-bed track. Paul Franks led the way with 70 priceless runs and he was well supported by Paul Delaney who ground out 45 most valuable runs. South African all-rounder Richard Stroh (3 for 48) who has started the season in prime form and Steve Randall who seems to be a threatening force every week also chipped in with 3 for 38 as Cuckney limited Farnsfield to an under par total.

However this Farnsfield side is not short of spirit and fight and they bowled extremely tidily with the only black mark being an inability to take the wickets that they needed to make Cuckney sweat even more. Having said that it took three good knocks from Kunal Jogia (47), Elliott Hind (52) and Richard Stroh who enjoyed a superb afternoon with 60 n.o.

Stroh was primarily a bowler when he arrived over here some three years ago, but his batting has improved beyond recognition and it was his contribution that guided his side to a very important victory. Cuckney finally arrived at 190 for 3 but as stated earlier it took until the last over to do it in a terrifically tight game that was a credit to both sides.

On a pitch that both captain’s thought was perfectly alright, Cutthorpe scraped a victory by just two wickets over Marshalls with both sides scoring less than 100! Batting first, Marshalls looked like building up a big score when they stood at 72 for 3 but the introduction of Andy Knowles into the Cutthorpe attack changed all that. Knowles took three wickets in one over and 6 for 21 in all as Marshalls were dismissed for just 95, a dreadful effort after such a good start.

Not that this proved to be easy as Cutthorpe finally reached 96 for 8 and victory and Marshalls Australian bowler Andrew Coles helped himself to 3 for 19 in a good stint. Both captains stated that they felt the pitch was not ‘the devil’ that the scores suggested and attributed the failure mainly down to poor batting on behalf of both sides.

Bolsover have started the season in sensational form and they cruised to another big win against a Worksop side that looks more and more as though they are in for a long, hard season. Batting first Bolsover piled up the runs with an impressive 261 for 9 with Andy Rogers who has made an impeccable start to the season with the bat making another 92 well-crafted runs. The only thing Rogers needs now is to turn these big scores into three figures, but if he carries on like this, that will surely come before long.

No such luck for Worksop who were bundled out for just 50 which is 42 runs less than Rogers scored! The damage was done by Mosim Ali who proved absolutely unplayable and took 8 for 29 in an amazingly destructive spell. It would appear that Worksop have one hell of a task ahead of them but their only consolation is that they won’t face a bowler of this class every week. Bolsover have now taken 57 points out of the first 60 on offer to them and on the evidence of what they have achieved so far they will be a match for everyone. One thing is certain it will take a good side to beat them.

Three centuries were recorded in Notts. & Arnold Amateur’s winning draw against Ransome and Marles in what proved to be a run feast at Goosedale Lane. Batting first, Notts. & Arnold flayed the Ransomes bowling to all parts of the ground with Australian Tom Elliot who has now settled in making a tremendous unbeaten 189. Skipper Ian Flood added a further 104 and Notts. and Arnold closed on a mammoth 336 for 3 as the Ransomes attack wilted under the onslaught.

In reply Ransomes made a good fist of things without ever threatening the target set and closed on a respectable 210 for 3. South African recruit Henno Jordaan who has settled in quickly made an impressive unbeaten 113 and Nigel Murray added good support with 51. At no time did the bowlers threaten to take a grip on this match and the result at stumps was primarily a fair one.

Glapwell achieved there first win of the season against a Bridon side that had performed well in their first two matches but collapsed dramatically here. Batting first Glapwell reached a substantial total of 228 for 8 with Rob Davison (56) and Richard Hope (50) leading the charge. Wayne and Darren Spooner were the wicket takers for Bridon with 4 for 41 and 3 for 56 respectively.

On the evidence of the first two games, Bridon must have fancied their chances against this type of score but they disintegrated alarmingly to 122 all out to give Glapwell an 106 run win. Only young Arran Haycock (48) made any impact against Dean Graney (3 for 39) and Chris Barrett (3 for 34) who just concentrated on getting the ball in the right areas and waited for the Bridon batsmen to fail which they managed at regular intervals.

Another side who have made a ‘cracking’ start to the season is Kiveton Park and they are the only side with a 100% record, 60 points out of 60 and nobody can ask for more than that. Their latest conquest was to defeat Thoresby Colliery by six wickets but it wasn’t that easy and had Thoresby not given them some overs, Kiveton might not have managed it.

Batting first Thoresby made a far from impressive 166 all out with Martin Cheshire making an elegant 65 and Farook Aziz (41). Their tormentor was the Sri-Lankan off spinner Harsha Cooray who has made a big impression since arriving here and he took 4 for 29 in a very good spell of bowling.

Kiveton were well served by Ian Hampshire (38), Harsha Cooray (38) and Richard Grainger (52 n.o.) as they clawed their way to another win and maximum points to top the table at the present time.

In Division 2 the favourites met at Forest Corner with Edwinstowe hosting the match against Blidworth. Sadly it was all rather an anti-climax as Edwinstowe looked to be in a totally different class to their opponents. Batting first Edwinstowe made a huge 264 for 6 with the South African Under 19s skipper, Dean Elgar making a magnificent 83. Good support came from Ian Smith (54) and Dave Stone (33) as the Blidworth attack suffered unmercifully.

Worse was to follow as Blidworth were blasted out for just 91 runs with only Dave Willcock (40) showing any application. Elgar showed his all round talents as he picked up 4 for 24 with the ball and Edwinstowe cruised to a 173 run victory. Edwinstowe look likely challengers for the title and on the evidence of this match it will take a mighty good side to worry them.

Eckington look to be amongst the strongest of the rest of the pack and they showed their batting capabilities as they piled up 303 for 3 against Mansfield Hosiery Mills 2^nd at the Fieldings. South African Ian O’Neill who has already made an impact easily surpassed everything he has done before with a sensational 184 and with Karl Fields adding 74 the runs simply flowed. In fact a Hosiery Mills spokesman said ‘I thought at one time we would be facing a score in advance of 350 and it was a relief to be let of so lightly’.

As so often happens after a team has suffered a real chasing, Hosiery Mills were never ‘at the races’ and were whipped out for just 145. Only Rob Ward (37) provided any resistance and Tom and Luke Dawson with 6 for 51 and 3 for 22 respectively ripped through to give Eckington a huge 158 run victory.

Promoted Waleswood are making quite a name for themselves and there latest victory an eight wicket trouncing of Mansfield and Pleasley shows that they have definitely ‘arrived’ on the scene. Only Matt Page (53) prevented a complete rout as Mansfield & Pleasley were bowled out for just 110 with Peter Norbury recording the incredible figures of 3 for 3.

This score was never going to be enough and Gareth Davies (50 n.o.) and Dan Spotwood (35) easily saw Waleswood to 111 for 2 and victory. Anybody who saw Waleswood as ‘chopping blocks’ will now be changing their minds and they have adopted themselves to life at a higher level with consummate ease.

Everton’s lack of a cutting edge to their bowling attack once again cost them dear at Ryton Road where the home side, Anston, registered their first win of the season by five wickets. On a ground were you usually need to be aiming for the 250 mark, Everton must have been disappointed to have only made 181 for 9 when their overs ran out. Mark Anthony (41) top scored whilst Andy Crowle (3 for 38) was the pick of the Anston attack.

All the Anston batsmen did an excellent job and the target was reached without too much trouble. Paul Snee (47), Matthew Hewitt (30), Neil Carter (49) and Michael Norbury (45 n.o.) all chipped in as Anston roared to a much-needed victory.

The other promoted side Caythorpe 2^nd also achieved their first victory of the season with a crushing eight wickets win over North Wheatley with Leverton. It has always seemed that Caythorpe would be alright once they had settled and now they are ‘up and running’, one expects them to be okay.

Batting first North Wheatley reached a disappointing 156 for 9 with James Blackwell top scoring on 63. Richard Scott (3 for 31) and Andrew Staszkiewicz (3 for 49) taking the bulk of the wickets.

In reply some confident stroke play from James Oldham (81) and Matthew Daffin (54) steered Caythorpe to victory with some style. North Wheatley seem to be a strange side and it all depends on what turns up. They did a great job when they got the better of Eckington, but sometimes they look a shadow of what they are capable of, like on this occasion.

On a pitch which was ‘sporting’ to say the least, one must pay tribute to the batting prowess of both Papplewick and Linby 2^nd and Whitwell who scored over 400 runs between them for the loss of only ten wickets. Irregular bounce was the order of the day but after a poor start Papplewick managed a quite brilliant recovery to close on 222 for 5 with Matt Dear (38), Ed Somekh (60 and Graham Roberts (50 n.o.) all batting well. Ian Hardy (18 n.o.) added vital runs towards the end whilst Will Stuart (1 for 13), Nathan Morris (1 for 76), Heath Bush (1 for 49) and Nathan Parry (1 for 22) all took full use of the helpful conditions.

In reply, Whitwell got away to a disastrous start but solid concentration from Alan Draycott (30), Duncan Forrest (64 n.o.) and Nathan Parry (45 n.o.) steered them to safety on 181 for 5. Ian Hardy (2 for 38) and John Thrower (2 for 16) both bowled well but a win for either side never looked really on and Papplewick ended with the pick of the spoils for a winning draw.