Notts Premier League: Welbeck go third, Brown boosts Kimberley, Ordsall Bridon still winless

The home side won the toss and after putting their visitors into bat, had to watch an opening stand of 67 before a three wicket burst from Richard Stroh pegged the innings back.

Luke Thomas was the only batsman able to put up real resistance with his 57.

Stroh finished with 3-42, but Jonathan Ball took the plaudits with a 13-over spell that saw him take 5-41, Cuckney totalling 181-9 from their 50 overs.

Welbeck never looked like threatening the 182-run target as wickets fell regularly around opener Simon Widdup.

The home skipper was eighth man out for 44. No one else could manage more than 19 as Luke Thomas followed up his 50 with 4-29.

In a nervy finish Andrew Marchant and Richie Bentley were able to survive the final few overs to secure a draw for their side.

Ordsall Bridon remain the only team without a win this season after a four wicket loss at home to Farnsfield.

Bridon won the toss and elected to bat first, posting an imposing total of 264-9 from their 50 overs. The innings saw contributions all the way down the order, Henry Appleyard top-scoring with 66, while Joshua Marsh added 39 and James Brice 34.

Four other scores in the 20s were made, while Sam Wood was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 4-51.

At 18-2 Farnsfield’s reply looked doomed, but Sam Wood dominated a stand of 146 for the third wicket, his innings of exactly 100 ending after 65 balls, including 14 fours and four sixes.

Andrew Bell was the steady hand at the other end, falling next for 59.

Curtis Mitchell chipped in with 35 leaving Charles Wilson and Toby Trotman to compile the winning 47-run stand to see Farnsfield home with 16 balls remaining.

South Notts champions Attenborough, have belied the regular fortunes of newly promoted sides, and sit proudly atop the table, after travelling to the Notts Sports Club and returning with 20 points. After winning the toss and putting their hosts in to bat, the Squirrels had the Notts Academy in trouble at 65-4.

Daniel Freeman (42) added 64 with Simon Webster to start the recovery, and after Paul Franks came and went, Webster continued past his half century, finishing 58 not out with Ben Kitt also unbeaten on 45, the pair adding 70 to close the Academy innings on 226-6, Ben Bhabra the pick of the bowlers, taking 3-45.

Attenborough found themselves in equal early trouble as they fell to 64-4, but their innings was to be dominated by one man, former Academy player Matt Cross, who combined with Ben Bhabra and Tom Murray in a pair of 50 stands on his way to an unbeaten 122, his tally coming from 114 balls.

Ben Kitt claimed 3-55 as the Borough reached their target with more than four overs to spare.

Joining Attenborough on 56 points at the top of the table are Caythorpe, who bounced back from last week’s disappointing performance with a comfortable seven wicket win over Radcliffe-on-Trent.

The visitors won the toss and elected to bat first, but Joe Wilcox (40) was the only top order batter to make an impression as Radcliffe struggled to 90-5.

Rob Sutton compiled a patient 64, teaming up with James Marshall to add 66 for the sixth wicket before falling to a fine diving catch in the deep.

Marshall went on to make 39, and with David Lucas 31 not out, Radcliffe finished with 207-7. James Hindson led the bowling with 3-33 from his 15 overs.

Caythorpe found themselves in early bother as both openers departed early.

Steve Allcoat made 34 in a partnership of 64 with Mat Dowman before holing out. But that was as good as it got for Radcliffe.

Dowman was joined at the crease by Josh Mierkalns, and the pair rarely looked in any trouble as they made an unbroken stand of 125 to seal a straightforward seven wicket win with 10 overs to spare, Dowman finishing 68 not out and Mierkalns 74.

The day’s run-fest took place, unsurprisingly, at the 2bm Ground, where Kimberley Institute played host to Plumtree.

With both sides in the lower reaches of the league both had plenty of incentive to perform well. Kimberley won the toss and invited Plumtree to bat. With Hassan Azad playing a solid hand to carry his bat for an unbeaten 108 from 141 balls, he allowed others to play more attacking strokes.

He featured in stands of 50 with Sam Storey for the first wicket, 92 with Ben Milnes (43) for the second and 87 with Joseph Tetley (56) for the third.

Plumtree finished on 270-6, Alex King leading the wickets with 3-53.

In reply, at 43-2, victory seemed a distant prospect for the Institute, but Dominic Brown and Tom Rowe turned things around, Rowe making 70 in a stand worth 164.

Despite losing another wicket quickly, George Bacon teamed with Brown to see the home side over the line, making 38 in their stand of 62 as the target was reached with eight overs remaining, Brown finishing not out on 121.

The West Indian Cavaliers moved into a tie with Welbeck on 55 points, after a low-scoring affair at Clifton Village.

The Villagers won the toss and asked their visitors to bat. With Martin Weightman and Adam Shepherd in prime form, the Cavs found themselves in a deep hole at 19-4.

Usman Afzaal (49) and Bilal Shafayat (59) managed to rebuild the innings with a stand of 91, before another flurry of Shepherd wickets saw the innings close on 159 with seven overs unused. Weightman took 3-33 while Shepherd bettered him with 5-51 from his 15 overs.

Clifton’s reply got off to a sticky start, falling to 11-2, before a 58-run stand between Scott McNeill (36) and Martin Weightman rebalanced things.

At 118-4, Clifton were favourites, but Kafeel Shafique (3-39) and Corey Collymore (5-42) blew through the lower order, reducing the Village to 126-9.

Adam Shepherd and Luke Gunn set about the remaining 34 runs required, but with just seven more needed the resistance was broken, Cavaliers claiming the victory.

NOTTS PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS

At Caythorpe: RADCLIFFE-ON-TRENT (4) 207-7 (J. Mierkalns 74*, M. Dowman 68*) lost to CAYTHORPE (20) 211-4 (R. Sutton 64, J. Wilcox 40, J. Marshall 39, D. Lucas 31*; J. Hindson 3-33) by six wickets.

At Clifton: WEST INDIAN CAVALIERS (20) 159 (B. Shafayat 59, U. Afzaal 49*; M. Weightman 3-33) beat CLIFTON (5) 153 (S. McNeill 36; C. Collymore 5-42, K. Shafique 3-39) by six runs.

At Kimberley: PLUMTREE (5) 270-6 ( H Azad 108*, J Tetley 56, B Milnes 43; A King 3-53) lost to KIMBERLEY (20) 273-4 (D Brown 121*, T Rowe 70, G Bacon 38*) by six wickets.

At Lady Bay: NOTTS ACADEMY (7) 226-6 ( S Webster 58*, B Kitt 45*, D Freeman 42; B Bhabra 3-45) lost to ATTENBOROUGH (20) 229-7 (M Cross 122*) by three wickets.

At Ordsall ORDSALL BRIDON (6) 264-9 (H Appleyard 66, J Marsh 39, J Brice 34; S Wood 4-51) lost to FARNSFIELD (20) 267-6 (S Wood, A Bell 59, C Mitchell 35) by four wickets.

At John Fretwell Sporting Complex: CUCKNEY (16) 181-9 (L. Thomas 57; Jonathan Ball 5-41, R. Stroh 3-42) drew with WELBECK (6) 119-9 (S. Widdup 44; L. Thomas 4-29).

NOTTS PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

Radcliffe-on-Trent v Cuckney, Farnsfield v Clifton Village, Plumtree v Ordsall Bridon, Attenborough v Kimberley Institute, Welbeck v Nottinghamshire Cricket Board Academy, West Indian Cavaliers v Caythorpe.