Derbyshire County League reports - 17th August

Abbey Glass Division 1

Elvaston 228-3 beat Marehay 227-8 by 7 wickets

This was Marehay’s third defeat of the season and raises some doubts about their ability to gain promotion to the Premier League. Their nearest rivals, West Hallam, did not have a game, so they have a game in hand and only 20 points separate the two.

Batting first Marehay would have been satisfied with their score, which was obtained mainly through another century (125) from Arif Mehmood. Adrian Vickerage added 33, whilst for Elvaston Andrew Barratt took 3-24. Elvaston’s sights have been on the National Village Cup, rather than the League, but they are a strong side and this came out in their reply which served as good batting practice a day before their semi-final game in the Village Cup. The main contributors were Lee Archer (43), Charlie Ault (60) and Andy Brear (41).

Shipley Hall 250-4 drew with Spondon 193-6

Both of these teams consider themselves very much in contention for the Division 1 title, and this was an important game for both of them. Batting first Shipley were again indebted to Harvinder Singh Sodhi who scored 100 not out. Zakir Hussain, who was dropped when he was four, went on to make 65 and Stef Gamble made 32. Spondon were in some difficulty after losing 6 wickets cheaply, but a seventh wicket partnership between Matt Jones and Joe Kellogg saved the day for them, with Jones 67 not out and Kellogg 44 not out. Shipley used nine bowlers to try to break the partnership, but to no avail.

Belper Meadows 108-3 beat Staveley Welfare 107 by 7 wickets

This turned out to be an easy win for Belper after skittling Staveley out for such a low score. James Cox took 4-26, and when Belper replied the runs were shared by the early batsmen.

Lullington Park 219-7 drew with Nutbrook 177-8

David Adams made 92 and John Shales 35 in Lullington’s score, with Nutbrook’s Richard Smith taking 3-41. Nutbrook look doomed to relegation, but there is sime talent in the side as was shown by Alex Mace who scored 77 and the lower order who held out for the draw. For Lullington Matthew Holmes took 4-51.

Selston Town 136-2 beat Morton 135-8 by 8 wickets.

Selston Town remain in the relegation zone but, during the season, there have been glimpses of what might have been if their best players had performed up to their potential as they did in this game. They confined Morton to a modest total, with top score provided by Geoff Deane (57). Ian Wood bowled accurately, taking 4-36, and when Selston batted Paul Stovey set them on their way with 51, to be followed by Chris Dunn with 60 not out.

Abbey Glass Division 2

Aston on Trent 156 lost to Denby 2nds 160-4 by 6 wickets

This win keeps Denby at the top, one point ahead of Ticknall. Aston simply didn’t score enough runs, despite another dominant innings from Syed Faisal (69). Much credit goes to Ian Burgoyne who took 5-42. In Denby’s reply there was a productive knock from Mark Payne, whose 81 represented more than half of the required total. Simon Mann was there at the end to see them home with 34 not out.

Allestree 113 lost to Ticknall 114-5 by 5 wickets

Ticknall have their sights firmly fixed on promotion, and there was an urgency about the way they dismissed Allestree. Zac Lucas (5-25) and Nathan Harding (3-23) both bowled with zest. The batting stumbled a little as they lost 5 wickets, but Aiden Melen held things together to carry his bat with 48 not out.

Brailsford 155-9 lost to Duffield 159-2 by 8 wickets

Brailsford are doomed to relegation, but they continue to compete. Duffield, on the other hand, have promotion in their grasp, and they are playing with a determination to achieve it. There was a fine innings from Adam Baker who scored 76 for Brailsford, and a good spell from Duffield’s Ed Sims who took 4-30. Keith Elliott (81) set up the Duffield victory and Philip Jordan (32 not out) was there to see the last rites.

Alfreton 178-7 drew with Mickleover 210-6

Mickleover are only 12 points behind Duffield and they could have done with the 27 points they would have received for a win. They scored enough runs from a team effort which included 50 from Rob Heath, 34 from Alan Worth, 39 not out from Anthony Greatorex and 31 not out from Chris Bolton. For Alfreton Ian Bowler took 3-48. Alfreton went for the runs, with Jon Hughes making 43, but in the end were satisfied with the draw, with Keith Clark 32 not out. However, they were dissatisfied with Mickleover’s low rating for their pitch which had yielded almost 400 runs.

Rolleston 177-3 beat Ockbrook 2nds 174 by 7 wickets

Lindsey Morgan was top scorer for Ockbrook with a hard hit 81. There was some good work by Rolleston’s bowlers, Graham Dent taking 3-46, Alan Mellor 3-19 and Kevin Dent 3-34. Rolleston were well served by Sean Green who made 94.

Sandiacre Town 2nds 244-4 drew with Little Eaton 235-5

A good pitch and the batsmen on top. For Sandiacre Peter Trembling made 33 and Graham West before their veterans Simon Bloor and Ron Patel boosted the score with a fifth wicket partnership which saw Bloor 71 not out and Patel 62 not out. Little Eaton were not overawed by this total and went all out for a win, and they almost made it, ten runs short at the close with five wickets left. Tom Wilton made 66, Oliver Latham 39, and Steve Dolby was 58 not out and Gary Clowes 31 not out. Little Eaton will be relegated but this effort will give them some cheer.