NOTTS PREMIER LEAGUE: champions Cuckney lose again in slow start to season

Will Butler, whose half-century was not enough to save champions Cuckney from defeat.Will Butler, whose half-century was not enough to save champions Cuckney from defeat.
Will Butler, whose half-century was not enough to save champions Cuckney from defeat.
Reigning champions Cuckney continued their slow start to the new Notts Premier League (NPL) campaign by sinking to a heavy defeat at home to Cavaliers And Carrington.

Cuckney were in a hole from the off when finding themselves 30-5 against the bowling of Kimany Gregoire, who took 4-39. And although they recovered to post a total of 181, it was not enough.

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Will Butler (66) and Jonathan Ball (62no) rebuilt the innings with a stand of 95 before a return of 4-25 from Adam Tillcock cut short the revival, and Cavaliers went on to manage a comfortable run-chase to win by seven wickets.

The key batsman was Hassan Azad, who stroked an unbeaten 98 and bossed stands of 56 with Adeel Shafique and 76 with Zain Abbas as the visitors cruised home inside 33 overs.

Cavaliers’ win lifted them to second place in the early-season table, just three points behind leaders Kimberley and one in front of third-placed Wollaton.

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Kimberley were fortunate to escape a defeat, however, when their match at Caythorpe was abandoned because of heavy rain. After they had been restricted to 177-9, they saw the home side ease to 160-4 in reply with seven overs remaining.

The top run-scorers in the match were Dominic Brown (46) and Tom Rowe (40) for Kimberley, and then Martyn Dobson (57) and Tom Hart (50) for Caythorpe.

Wollaton’s fine start to life back in the NPL continued at Papplewick and Linby in a duel between two newly-promoted sides. They made 204-9 before the weather spoiled what looked set to be an exciting finish with the hosts on 178-6 in reply, with 4.4 overs left.

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Stars of the show were Wollaton batsman Tim Young, who made 66, Papplewick skipper Sam Ogrizovic, who hit 59, and home bowler Charlie Blatherwick, who took 4-45.

Elsewhere, Mansfield Hosiery Mills slid to a nine-wicket defeat away to last season’s runners-up, Plumtree, after being dismissed for just 106 against fine bowling by Graeme White (5-29) and Israj Jandu (3-24). The home team coasted home in 12 overs on the back of Chris Gibson’s unbeaten 60.

Farnsfield also lost, falling by 32 runs at Attenborough, who made 208-7 before Callum McKenzie’s 60 was in vain. And there was a third loss in four games for Hucknall, who nosedived to 79 all out after Rob Sutton’s 102 had steered Radcliffe-on-Trent to a big total of 263. David Lucas took 6-22 for the hosts.