Leaders Cuckney made to toil in the sun

At Langwith Road Cuckney were looking to consolidate their table-topping position.

On winning the toss, Academy skipper Paul Franks opted to bat, a decision vindicated by an opening stand of 168 between Hassan Azad (77) and Joe New (78).

Azad was first out, and this precipitated a burst of four wickets for 22 runs, the slide being arrested by an unbroken stand of 117 between Anuj Dal with a run-a-ball 41 not out, and Daniel Freeman, who blasted 79 from 49 balls.

David France finished with 3-36 as the innings closed on 307-4.

The hosts would have felt they were in with a shout at 123-1, as Luke Thomas (59) and Daniel Wood (43) added 85 for the second wicket but, as with the Academy innings, the loss of one wicket saw more fall as 123-1 became 156-5.

Lewis Bramley and Richard Bostock partnered in a stand of 84 to close the innings on 240-5. Bostock making 57 not out. Adam Tillcock led the bowling with 3-77, the Academy gaining 16 points and Cuckney seven.

At The Fieldings, Mansfield Hosiery Mills boosted their survival chances with a comfortable six wicket win over Welbeck Colliery.

The visitors won the toss and chose to bat, and while all of their batsmen made starts, none were able to make a telling contribution.

Robert French (34), Jonathan Ball (32) and Richard Stroh (31) top-scored as the Colliers were bowled out in the 50th over for 218.

For the hosts, Kyle Garside claimed 4-71 and Matt New 3-46.

The Millers made a rocky start to their reply, falling to 45-2, before Mark Smallwood (62) teamed with Tom New in a stand of 94.

Two further wickets fell, but New saw the team home with seven overs remaining, finishing unbeaten on 66.

Caythorpe, in joint second spot to start the day, made the trip to Derby to face a Rolls Royce Leisure side looking to bounce back from a defeat that saw them drop to fifth.

The home side won the toss and elected to bat, Shaun Levy (47) and Michael Millwood (52) adding 86 for the first wicket, before a typically ‘Birch-ian’ 84 from 55 balls by Dan Birch counteracted the steady loss of wickets at the other end.

James Hawley again feasted on the tail, taking three wickets in the final over to dismiss the side for 257, Hawley finishing with 4-25.

In reply, Caythorpe slid to 97-4, only a stand of 58 between Mat Dowman and Martyn Dobson keeping things together.

Dobson was then joined by Ben Powell, the pair threatening to wrest control back as they added 117 before first Powell fell for 65 and then Dobson for 90 as they tried to hit out.

Caythorpe closed on 225-6 to draw the match, Atif Sheikh claiming 3-74, Rolls taking 16 points and Caythorpe 10.

Plumtree also began the day in second, tied with Caythorpe, and found themselves in the field first as visitors Ordsall Bridon won the toss and chose to bat.

Plumtree made the most of the new ball as they reduced Bridon to 47-5.

Tim Miles and Sufian Munir stemmed the flow, lifting the score to 104, Munir reaching 58 before he fell.

The innings closed on 135 all out with 10 overs to spare, Muhammad Usman taking 3-28 and Glen Read 3-41 to break the back of the innings.

Bridon threatened to cause an upset in the second innings as, led by Tim Miles, they picked up wickets at regular intervals.

Sam Storey’s 31 was the only score of note but, with almost 13 overs remaining, Plumtree made it over the line eight down, Miles finishing with 6-44.

At Clifton Campus, the home side chose to bat first after winning the toss against Kimberley Institute.

Scott McNeill’s 70 led the way as the Villagers posted 216-9 from their 50 overs, Chris Glover the chief destroyer with 5-58, as no other batsman was able to provide solid back up for McNeill. Kimberley were never able to get going in reply, slumping to 69-5.

Sam Johnson held the fort, finishing 70 not out, as the Institute held on to secure a draw, mustering a final tally of 160-7, Clifton gaining 16 points and Kimberley seven.

The West Indian Cavaliers returned to winning ways at home to Radcliffe-on-Trent.

Having won the toss, they asked their visitors to bat. Radcliffe saw contributions from Robert Sutton (68), Ben Carr (58) and David Lucas (40 not out) as they set a total of 247-7 from their 50 overs.

The Cavs’ reply was bookended by a pair of 50 partnerships. Akhil Patel (45) featured in an opening stand of 60, whilst Usman Afzaal added 44 and Dominic Williamson 41 in the middle of the innings to keep them on track.

Aaron Thomas, with an unbeaten 49, saw the Cavs home, adding 51 with Gemaal Hussain. Just four balls remained when the winning runs were scored.