Parkhead edge out Holmesfield to win game of the day
by John Hilton, 6th August 2007

In the big game of the day in the top division Parkhead edged out close rivals Holmesfield by 12 runs. Solid batting from Burkinshaw 55 and Hellewell 51 enabled Parkhead to run up 185 despite Rossington’s 6-56. Pearson’s 55 and Rodgers 40 could not stop Parkhead going top thanks to Turner’s 4-44 and Davis’ 4-58.

Previous leaders SWD suffered a surprise collapse falling short of University Staff’s 183-7 for whom Jayaratne made 46 . B Sampson’s 4-32 went unrewarded as SWD succumbed to 140 all out, T Ali making 46 but Watson-Jones’ 4-27 tipped the scales. Saturday’s clash between Parkhead and SWD , three points adrift, will go a long way to deciding the title.

At the bottom Calver’s run famine continued. A collapse from Collegiate’s batsmen after Palekar had struck 44 left Calver hopeful at tea of chasing 138 to win. Waters 5-39 and Mundy 4-47 did the damage for Calver but once again the batsmen failed to shine and Prashant Meshram with 4-35 hustled the home side out for 74. This meant that Stocksbridge climbed off the foot despite defeat at Hundall for whom Timms hit 107 in a total of 222-9 with Siddall snaring 5-58. In reply Stocksbridge mustered 173 with Ward making 57 and Badcock taking 4-42.

Hathersage are not out of the wood yet after failure at home to Ashford who totalled 202-7 . Clegg ripped through the home side with 7-21 as they folded for a meagre 61. Stanton maintained their ascent to mid table with an emphatic win at De La Salle. D Clark with 6-39 sent DLS tumbling for 97 which the visitors surpassed for the loss of only one wicket.

Parkhead also lead the second division having overcome stiff resistance from Centralians. Batting first the champions-elect made 257-6 with Turner 63 Gilson 51 and Davies 47* leading the way. This was always going to challenge Cents whose sturdy effort of 217-7 was built around Baker’s knock of 82. Sheepbridge are the nearest challengers having brushed aside SWD who managed only 111. The hosts romped home by 7 wickets thanks to Rogers with 41* and Hullett 40 to go with his 6-34 with the ball.

Mid-table this season only guarantees survival. Bakewell and Grindleford both took a big step to safety with wins. Haynes 66 Wallace 45 and Whatling 45 contributed to an imposing 235-6 for Bakewell although Baslow’s batsmen never gave up and ground to 123-3 thanks mainly to Northern’s 45*. The Outram brothers Tom 47 and James 48 lifted Grindleford to 188-8 at Walkley and although Hudson made 48 in reply Bingley with 8-41 ensured the points went home to Derbyshire. Millhouses and Ridgeway produced a tight finish. The home side made a modest 121-7 but Cox with 4-20 and Khan with 4-22 ended Ridgeway’s hopes 10 runs short.

It is very tight at the top of the third division where Duckmanton Lodge lead Hallam by 6 points with Dronfield Woodhouse a further 13 points adrift. Woodhouse were in a hurry at home to Sheepbridge. Turner with 5-14 and Drew 4-31 soon had their visitors down and out for 47. Within 13 overs stumps were drawn as Woodhouse cruised to victory without loss. Hallam closed in on the top by edging out Collegiate by 18 runs at Abbeydale. It was very much a batsman’s day as Clark 88 and Frost 41 took charge for Hallam and Woodhead 70* and Staley 50 top-scored for Collegiate. Duckmanton Lodge in their new country home limited Millhouses to 166 of which Rabnamaz Khan’s 85 was the highlight. Podmore with 46 saw Lodge back to the top with 4 wickets in hand.

Hundall came undone at Whittington despite 49* from Oldman. Wanderers grabbed the spoils thanks to Turner with 4-21 and Tann who made 56. Wanderers Seconds made life tough for Transport who scraped a 2 wicket victory. Owens with 53 rescued Transport who had earlier pinned back Whittington to 123-7. Hathersage were bowled out for 95 by Centralians for whom Eberlin returned 4-25. Although Moljaz replied with 4-27 Cents sauntered home as Sutton notched 42.

Weston Park Hospital look certain to take the fourth division crown. They enjoyed first knock at Dronfield Sports and racked up a mammoth 345-4 honours being shared by Ravi Ivaturi with a stunning 140, Ravi Gowda 84 and Saurabh Bhargava 69. Tea must have come not a moment too soon for Sports who not surprisingly when faced with such a mountain sank without trace for 119. Zingari 42 points behind had no game. Ashford won a low scoring match at Stocksbridge III. At 95 all out they must have felt precarious but Carrington 4-26 and Wilson 5-31 stole a 17 run victory. Baslow pulled off a gripping triumph over lowly Duckmanton Lodge as their last wicket pair made it over the finishing line at 152-9.

University Staff made it a happy weekend with 2 wins. On Saturday they followed up 178-5 thanks to Nichol’s unbeaten67 by sending back Chesterfield Barbarians for a sparse 72. Young was the principal destroyer with 5-14. On Sunday Dronfield Sports were the victims. Despite a valiant 50* from Myers and a 4-49 with the ball Sports tumbled to a 17 run defeat facing Staff’s total of 145 of which Withanage made 43.

The most exciting game of the weekend came in the cup. High fliers SWD entertained Holmesfield who must have fancied their chances at the interval having posted 187-7 in the allotted 40 overs.Pearson tamed the much-vaunted Works attack with 81 but Works dug deep and inched home in the last over with only 2 wickets intact. Burley with 82 was the main reason why Works advanced. Similarly Sheepbridge had to be confident with a total of 166-9 against Calver. Henshaw with 50 and Whitehead with 42 showed the way. For once the Calver batting fired as young Street came of age with an unbeaten 75 helping skipper Mundy, also not out with 46, to a win more comfortable than they could have expected.