Cuckney survive scare against Wollaton ahead of showdown at title rivals Kimberley Institute

“It was a very close finish and we are delighted we ended up on the right end of it and take the six points and move on to face Kimberley this weekend,” said captain Tom Ullyott.

“It was a very tight game and at one point it definitely looked like we wouldn't be winning it.

“They needed two off the last ball but it was a dot ball. He tried to scoop it over the keeper's head and it went through to the keeper.

“At the start of the last over they needed five to win and four to tie and we took three wickets, two run-outs and a bowled, and we restricted them well.

“At one point they had only needed about 17 off 22 balls so it was definitely advantage Wollaton at that point.

“We just managed to claw it back in the last hour or so of the game.”

Cuckney made 265-7 in their 50 overs after winning the toss.

Tom Ullyott scored 63, Dan Brown 53, Nick Langford 37, Archie Shannon 29 and Drew Owen 25 not out.

In reply Wollaton could only reach 264-8, Hassan Azad (56) and Nicky Kirkwood (52) putting on 73 for the opening wicket and Daniel Andrew adding 66 and Jibram Azam 30.

That leaves Cuckney and Kimberley, who beat fourth-placed Papplewick & Linby, locked on 90 points from 15 games and 12 behind leaders Cavaliers & Carrington.

“Kimberley is a big game though, as the old cliché goes, every game is a big game,” said Ullyott.

“It's no bigger a challenge than any other in the Premier League as everyone is proving hard to beat this season.

“Obviously we have been up there battling with them over the last five 10 years and this will be no different with us second and them third at the moment.

“It's not like it's a winner takes ll game as Cavs are top. It's just important we put on a good performance as it will give us a little breathing space behind us if we win.

“But, whoever wins on Saturday won't rule the other team out and both of us have a big job on to catch the Cavaliers. We know it will be very tight. They’ll be fighting tooth and nail as will we.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​