Bassetlaw mid-season report
by Paul Barker, 1st July 2007

Although we are witnessing just about the worst season weather-wise in living memory, there have certainly been a few things to remember in the season so far. As expected Cuckney have set the pace in Division 1 with Kiveton Park, Bolsover and Cutthorpe not far behind.

CUCKNEY had freshened up their side with some new signings and it must be remembered that they only finished a single point behind champions Killamarsh last term. They acquired from Barrow Town in the Leicester Premier League a consistent opening batsman Kunil Jogia who has made a big impact already and Steve Bentley who captained Worksop last season.

It has to be said that Bentley looked a highly promising player when he first appeared on the scene, but his time at Worksop saw his form deteriorate rather alarmingly. The move to Cuckney appears to have put things back on the right track and he has enjoyed a terrific first half of the season especially with the bat. It must be remembered that he is a more than useful medium pacer although with Cuckney’s attack his chances with the ball are limited. However it would be no surprise if he produces some form with the ball before the season ends.

As well as that Steve Randall who they acquired from Welbeck has enjoyed a terrific time taking three wickets or more in virtually every match. Randall knows what winning is all about and has been a terrific addition to the side. It must also be mentioned that Richard Stroh the tall South African who is now in his third season at Langwith Road has had an amazing first half of the season with both bat and ball.

Stroh’s batting has improved beyond all reason. He was nothing out of the ordinary when he first arrived, but now any side would jump twice as high with delight if they removed him. Yes he is now the finished article and is certainly a tremendous asset to the side.

In second place is KIVETON PARK who are rather a surprise packet. Not that they aren’t a good side, they most certainly are, but with the loss of Phil Cooper to Papplewick from where he might be returning shortly, they looked as though they would be just above a mid-table side. However they have recruited wisely and with Ian Hampshire returning, and the arrival of a very talented all rounder from Sri Lanka, Harsha Cooray, they have become a side that are feared by everyone.

They currently sit just nine points adrift of Cuckney and have won more matches than any other side in the section. Hampshire has already scored one century and Cooray has had a dazzling run of form with the bat and took a shed load of wickets with his off breaks. In addition to these two, Richard Grainger has produced some excellent form as has Matty Cartwright and Tom Neeley.

Under new skipper Richard Spurr they have attacked from the front and in addition to Cooray, Spurr himself, Kyle McKeeman and Ashley Rhodes have all shown good form with the ball. In addition they have benefited from the tremendous work by wicket-keeper Mick Godber who still has very few equals in the entire league. Only a fool would write off Kiveton’s chances and they have still to play Cuckney twice. Now that will be very interesting indeed.

If Kiveton’s form has been good, BOLSOVER’S has been truly amazing. Under their new and extremely astute skipper Mark Bull the North Derbyshire side who for years played in Division’s 1 & 2 in alternate seasons have now shown that they have adjusted to life at the top and are nobody’s chopping blocks anymore.

One thing, Bolsover have never lacked despite the disappointments of the past, has been their fighting spirit and there ‘never give up’ attitude. Now they have a truly well balanced side with a good medium pacer in Hasnan Kazim who has already managed to do the hat-trick in his short stay at the club and the left arm spin of Kirram Sehraz who with his height manages to extract disconcerting bounce out of the wickets as well as considerable turn. His control is also excellent and this guy will cause problems on good wickets and if there is any help for him he will be a formidable challenge.

Their batting has also come on and in several notches, Bull himself has been always reliable at the top of the order but the real revelation in the first half of the season has been wicket-keeper Andy Rogers who has had a tremendous run of high scores which have served the side very well. Add to that the dependable all round form of Steve Wooley and some terrific middle order contributions when they have been needed from Matt Ryalls.

Whilst I don’t see them winning the league, they won’t be too far away and that will be a tremendous achievement. One thing I am sure of is that they will prove to be a nuisance to even the very top sides and will produce a ‘big’ result against one of them before the end of the season, which will knock their hopes on the head. Mark my words!

One guy who has told me that he is ‘totally disillusioned’ with the way things have gone this season is CUTTHORPE skipper Mark Barlow. It is not too difficult to understand why because his side along with Farnsfield have suffered more with the weather than any side in the entire division. 

Out of eleven games played both sides have had five of them affected by the weather which is staggering and almost 50% and in fairness no side can make an impact when they have lost that many matches through no fault of their own.

They recruited well in the close season, signing on an opening bowler of genuine pace who had took 30 wickets at first class level in Pakistan last season, Farhan Ayub. After a settling in period Ayub was just settling into things and had destroyed Thoresby Colliery but since then they have had virtually every match abandoned. There can be no doubting Cutthorpe’s ability with Andy Thompson on his day being the most brutal and destructive opening batsman in the league.

Nigel Kingham has style and grace to spare and Matt Cluer has real quality as a batsman and wicket-keeper. Asadullah Butt is still with both bat and ball a threat to any side, and Rob Plested has managed to thrash tiring attacks to all parts of the ground later on in the innings and yes Cutthorpe are a daunting problem when they can get a game on. However at the minute they are wondering if they will play another match this season.

FARNSFIELD have been besieged by injuries and the weather all season and one gets the impression that they like Cutthorpe will be more than pleased to see this season over with. Skipper Andy Edwards has missed virtually all of the season up to now and Jim Bennett one of the best opening batsmen in the league has not played at all owing to business commitments.

However Rashid Riaz their likable Pakistani import has once again produced the goods. A spokesman for Marshalls who Riaz took a century off earlier this season told me ‘that was as good as it is possible to get. The wicket was low, slow and wet and anybody would have struggled to make runs on it’. Not only did Riaz make runs on it, his innings was entirely chanceless and simply went to underline the amount of class this guy has got.

In addition to this Paul Franks has not been available so much this season and nobody can lose a player of that quality and expect to do as well. Paul Delaney has had to skipper a very inexperienced side although they have some excellent youngsters notably Sam Wood who is still only 14 years of age coming through strongly. Stalwarts such as Dave Bell and Phil Creswell have also had their moments but one gets the impression this is a transition season for Farnsfield and they will be much better for it in years to come.

Although they lost the services of Iain O’Brien, GLAPWELL have enjoyed a decent first half to the season. They are another team who have given youth a chance and 17-year-old Lewis Saxby and 15-year-old Daniel Bircumshaw have made their marks already.

Under new skipper Matt Hall, they struggled in the early half of the season with their top order batsmen taking an inordinate time to strike form. However between the showers of recent weeks they have shown they are capable with Rob Davison and Lee Topham in particular beginning to show the form everyone knows they are capable of.

A player who they signed from South Notts. League side, Underwood, Chris Barrett has had a terrific first half of the season with the ball taking quite a stack of wickets and Richard Hope (from Thoresby Colliery) and Andy Woolven (from Grassmoor) have shown their potential. Their opening bowler Umar Kahn has yet to really click, but he does have genuine pace and control and it would seem it is only a matter of time before he starts taking wickets regularly. Although not setting the world on fire, Glapwell can be happy with the way that things are transgressing for them.

One side that deserved a bit of luck with their overseas player is MARSHALLS and it seems that they have been rewarded this time. Their last two Australians Glen Talorico and Gareth Yelland both went back extremely prematurely after making initial impact, but this season’s import Andrew Coles appears to have settled in nicely.

The Australian has already managed one century and took a reasonable haul of wickets and with Kevin Housham returning after a two year sabbatical the side looks much more solid this time around. Skipper Paul Van den Heuvel has scored runs consistently and Mark Whitlam and James Deacon have also contributed well.

All rounder Chris Hearn has also served his side well and Mark Davies can still be relied upon when needed. Yes Marshalls are another side that shouldn’t have any relegation fears and should easily hold on to a mid-table spot.

THORESBY COLLIERY were relegated from the Nottinghamshire Premier League last season and they made a good start to the season but have tailed off a bit recently. There should be no need to panic however as they have far too many good players to ensure they don’t get into real trouble.

In Martin Cheshire they have arguably the best left handed batsman in the entire league and their Kiwi import Chris Spring has already made a host of runs and looks likely to add a lot more. Where they do have problems is bowling other sides out and that is what cost them dear in the Premier League last season.

On numerous occasions they posted huge scores and then watched in amazement as they saw the runs required knocked off with comparative ease. This trait has carried on this season and is a problem when they bat first. If they win the toss and bat second they are as capable as any side of winning and that scenario will see them survive with ease.

Although they sit only four up from the bottom, NOTTS. & ARNOLD AMATEUR are my No. 1 tip to upset either Cuckney or Kiveton Park before the end of the season. By that I don’t mean they are going to run through the rest of the season and come out top because that simply isn’t on, but I feel supremely confident that they will record a big victory over one or both of the sides at the top before the season ends. 

Why do I say this? In two words the answer has to be Tom Elliot. This young Australian has set the league on fire in the first half of the season with some huge scores including three very ‘big’ hundreds. I am convinced that no matter what target Notts. & Arnold are facing, they will one day knock off a massive total and make it look ridiculously easy.

They are in a transitional season and in no threat whatsoever providing they can register the odd victory here and there which shouldn’t be too much of a problem for them. In addition to Elliot, skipper Ian Flood has had an indifferent first half to the season and everyone knows his capabilities and I guarantee he will get it right soon.

Young Joe Pallister has also impressed with both bat and wicket-keeping duties and Mohammed Bilal has been their prime threat with the ball. However keep watching Elliot, he is going to be in the news again several more times before the season ends.

Promoted BRIDON sit just above the relegation positions and are not safe by a long way, but they have shown signs in the first half of the season that they lack nothing in ‘battling qualities’ and that is what you need when you are in trouble.

Although outgunned on occasions they have battled gamely to get back in the game and run some good sides perilously close. Although at no time did they ever look like winning, by the same token they never looked like losing against Cuckney and had taken eight Kiveton wickets before their opponents managed victory.

In addition to this they had a tremendous winning draw against Bolsover and not too many sides have managed that this season and they annihilated Worksop by eight wickets. They don’t possess a professional, which always makes things difficult, but skipper Wayne Spooner has led the side astutely and young players such as Arran Haycock and Simon Davison have had their moments.

The other promoted side RANSOME & MARLES made a quite useful start but have faded alarmingly the last few weeks. Their South African recruit Henno Jordaan has scored runs consistently but the support that was there earlier in the season seems to have died away.

As well as this only skipper Gary Lambert looks to be any threat with the ball and you do need a bit more than that. At the present moment the signs don’t look too good, but if they could recapture that early season form they would be in with a chance. On paper the side looks reasonable although the attack is a little on the lightweight side, but they need a confidence winning performance very badly before it gets too late.

Divorced from everybody and right at the very bottom are WORKSOP. Their position is looking hopeless and the saying that it never rains but pours is extremely relevant to them if you see the state of their Central Avenue ground at the moment after the recent floods. The ground is under three feet of water and one has to sympathise with them for the predicament that they are in.

Their side looked rather fragile at the start of the season and when their professional Ramesh Sanjay failed to appear it must have been a terrible blow to them. They have struggled through with some very young players and although some of these are extremely talented they are not ready for this standard of cricket just yet.

Skipper Luke Ambrose has done his best to stir things up and Glenn Pym has produced the occasional performance with the bat as has John Smith with the ball, but they have a mountain to climb to get out of trouble. They have now signed Sri-Lankan Nandika Ranjith who made quite an impression with Tickhill last season but is it too late because they have a lot of points to catch up.