Marshalls arrive at last!
by Paul Barker, 27th May 2007

On a day where varying weather conditions prevailed most clubs managed to finish their matches and one or two shocks took place with the formbook flying out of the window. None more I suppose than at Middlefield Lane where the home side Marshalls completely turned things on their head by slaughtering Bolsover by nine wickets.

Up to this point, Bolsover had made their best start to a season in Division 1 for many years and certainly looked the business, but the wheels came off at Gainsborough as the home side gave evidence that they have finally arrived at this level.

Batting first, Bolsover simply crumbled as Australian Andrew Coles (4 for 64), Gary Andrews (4 for 28), and Andrew West (2 for 19) simply ran through them with ease as they were bowled out for just 158. It was a fine performance in the field by the Marshalls side and it left them a fairly comfortable target to aim at.

The challenge was taken up and Marshalls eased their way to 159 with just one wicket lost. Only Mark Whitlam (33) was out as skipper Paul Van den Heuvel with a blistering 83 n.o., and Kevin Housham (34 n.o.) catapulted Marshalls to an easy win. What this will mean is difficult to foresee as Bolsover have shown enough form this season to suggest they will recover from this setback but it might well mean that Marshalls are now up and running and that other teams can now look out!

Another side who have been going through a difficult period is Glapwell but they changed this mode right around with a stunning seven wicket win at Notts. & Arnold Amateur at Goosedale. Batting first, Notts. & Arnold almost got away to a disastrous start when Glapwell dropped their Australian run machineTom Elliot in the slips when he had only made four and they paid dearly for this indiscretion.

Elliot went on to make 94 before he got out, the first time he has failed to make three figures in the league this season and Notts. & Arnold closed their innings on 207 for 9 with the consistent Chris Barrett again being the most productive Glapwell bowler with 4 for 56.

There must have been a bit of trepidation in the Glapwell ranks facing this score because their batting has been little to write home about this season, but this was different and at last they put it all together making a very impressive 210 for 3 and securing a maximum twenty points victory which was sorely needed. Lee Topham led the charge with a brilliant unbeaten 93 and excellent support came from skipper Matt Hall (34) and Richard Hope (59 n.o.) as Glapwell sailed to victory.

One important statistic is that Elliot was out for the second time this season and now has a league average of only 270.00!

Cuckney move just clear at the top once again with rain curtailing the result in the Farnsfield v Kiveton fixture. Batting first at Central Avenue, Cuckney made a huge 258 for 9 with Daniel Brown (78), Will Butler (63) and Richard Stroh (55) all performing well. John Smith who has bowled consistently for Worksop all season helped himself to 4 for 58 and skipper Luke Ambrose aided and abetted with 4 for 53.

Whilst Worksop are struggling badly, nobody can fault them for the ‘heart’ they are showing and this represented a good performance against a very strong side. When they batted they made a commendable 137 for 7 with Mark Ambrose top scoring on 42. Richard Stroh was Cuckney’s best bowler with 3 for 40 but they will be disappointed that they didn’t bowl Worksop out. By the same token Worksop will rightly be delighted that they managed to frustrate Cuckney and scrapped out a few very valuable points.

Disappointingly the Farnsfield v Kiveton match was abandoned when any one of three results was possible. Batting first Farnsfield managed 216 for 7 with the superb Rashid Riaz making 40, but on this occasion he was eclipsed by Phil Creswell who managed a superb unbeaten 95 which was full of quality strokes. Kiveton’s Sri-Lankan recruit Harsha Cooray who has made a big impression since arriving took 3 for 81 with his off breaks.

In reply Kiveton stood at 73 for 3 when rain ended proceedings and who would have won is anybody’s guess.

Cutthorpe made ground upon the leaders and look to be edging into their best form. Batting first Cutthorpe were brilliantly served by Andy Thompson who was right back to his brilliant best after a sticky patch. Thompson made a magnificent 101 and was supported by Asadullah Butt who added 65 before skipper Mark Barlow declared on 227 for 4.

In reply, opponents Bridon were bowled out for just 153 with only Roger Wells making much impression with 30. Pakistani star Farhun Ayub with 3 for 47 led the way and excellent support came from Steve Chapman (2 for 28), Asadullah Butt (2 for 29) and Ian Thompson (2 for 9) as Cutthorpe’s march up the table gathers momentum.

In Division 2, the Ian O’Neill show at Eckington went through another encore as the South African star completely obliterated Everton with a blistering unbeaten 95 as his side recorded a seven wicket win to stay clear at the top of the table.

Batting first, Everton made 161 for 8 with Mark Anthony top scoring on 46. Wayne Dye with 4 for 51 and Luke Dawson (3 for 37) were the mainstays of the Eckington attack, and at the half way stage they must have felt very confident knowing how well the Staveley Lane wicket plays.

This was borne out as O’Neill simply plastered the bowling all over the park and would surely have made a century had Everton set a slightly higher target. Eckington have hovered around the promotion stakes for a while now, but this really does begin to look like their season and it will take a mighty good side to dent their hopes.

Waleswood who are in second place kept up their challenge with a last-gasp win at North Wheatley with Leverton with two wickets and three balls to spare. That the winning runs came from overthrows shows the excitement and tension that had built up in what was a tremendous game. North Wheatley piled up the runs making 223 for 7 with Dave Waller scoring a belligerent 95 and Richard Robinson adding 41. Gareth Davis was the pick of the Waleswood attack with 4 for 61.

Davis was well to the fore when Waleswood batted making 46 and with Amer Riaz also scoring well with 51, Waleswood looked on for another easy win, but a great fight-back by North Wheatley saw wickets fall rapidly and eight wickets had fell before Waleswood edged home in the exciting finale. Jamie Bovill showed he can still do it taking 3 for 31 in an excellent spell and both sides can take credit for what was a very good game.

Anston who sprung into form when they beat Edwinstowe last week continued their revival with a five wicket win over Mansfield & Pleasley. Batting first Mansfield & Pleasley were in trouble with only Ian Woodall (33) of their early batting making much impression against the tidy Anston attack. From a seemingly hopeless position, enter Jamie Jeavons for the second consecutive week and he literally slaughtered everything that was bowled at him as he raced through to 72 in double quick time and the innings closed on 216 for 8.

This target never proved a problem for Anston however and with Matt Hewiit who is another player in fine form making a superb 83 and the big hitting Andrew Ruczenczyn unbeaten on 34 they cruised to victory on 218 for 5. One look at the league table in this Division tells you that virtually every team is capable of beating each other and whilst Eckington look a bit tasty, the other positions at both ends look to be up for grabs.

Edwinstowe were involved in a game where nobody will ever know what the result would have been. They restricted Caythorpe 2^nd to 159 for 9 at Forest Corner with only Ashley Daffin (40) and Daniel North (48) looking comfortable against the now fit and firing Richard Gombos who took 4 for 29 in a good spell.

In reply Edwinstowe had moved along to 124 for 4 when rain halted proceedings. James Peacock top scored with 36, and although Edwinstowe would have fancied their chances, another couple of wickets and Caythorpe would have been right back in the game.

Papplewick & Linby 2^nd managed a winning draw over Mansfield Hosiery Mills 2^nd who were hanging on grimly at the close. Batting first Papplewick made 212 for 6 with a superb knock of 86 by Robin Rhodes being the highlight. Paul Chapman (28) added good support whilst James Fraser (2 for 42) was easily the best of the Hosiery Mills attack.

In reply Hosiery Mills slumped to 144 for 9 when the close thwarted Papplewick’s bold effort. Only Darren Johnson (29 n.o.) showed the right type of application whilst Steve Alford bowled his usual consistent line and length to take 3 for 13.

Last but not least the spectacular and it really was one at The Rookery between Whitwell and Blidworth, which the latter won by 85 runs. Batting first, Blidworth were always in trouble with Nathan Morris (3 for 19) and Ian Dennis (3 for 24) both bowling accurately and tidily. Only Dan Willcock (27 n.o.) propped the innings up and the final total of 144 for 9 was probably a few more than they would have expected to reach at one time.

It looked an absolute cakewalk for Whitwell as they cruised to 43 for 0 in just eight overs but then it all happened. From 43 for 0 they were all out in the nineteenth over for just 59. When one considers that Ian Dennis scored 21 and there was also 23 extras it doesn’t say very much else for the Whitwell batting. Richard Smith (6 for 23) and Andy Watson (4 for 4) suddenly became world-beaters as Whitwell fell apart at the seams.

Blidworth will be extremely pleased with this win which will surely take them out of their recent barren spell, but Whitwell will be desperately disappointed that they failed to manage a win after doing all the essential groundwork.