Saturday September 4th 2021

Just two league games this week but with one of huge significance as the 1st XI secured their position in the NPL with a 7 wicket win over Hucknall.

The 1st XI knew that they had to collect the same points or better than Caythorpe in order to be assured of a place in the NPL for 2022. With Caythorpe taking on Cavaliers it seemed unlikely that their rivals would win but you can never be certain and the 1s therefore needed to focus entirely on their own performance. After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Hucknall made a reasonable start to their innings before James Tilbury struck with two wickets in two balls, the first being an excellent catch by keeper Elliot Foster. The home side then put together their best partnership of the game, adding 118 for the third wicket before Arjun Sandhu made the crucial breakthrough. What followed was a dramatic collapse of massive significance. At 156 for 2 a score of around 300 looked a distinct possibility, but losing 8 wickets for just 30 runs transformed the game. Working mostly in tandem with Savin Perera, who finished with 2 wickets for 30, Mav Pamphile was the chief destroyer; his pace proving far too much for each incoming batsman. He collecting his first 5 wicket haul for the club, three of which were clean bowled, for just 21 runs in 9 overs. Hucknall’s innings was concluded at just 186 in 43 overs. The reply was a pretty clinical affair with each batsman that took guard focused on the task in hand and making a contribution to reaching the target. Savin Perera was the cornerstone of the effort making an unbeaten 86 with 10 4s to take the side to victory for the loss of just 3 wickets in the 37th over. In support of Savin, Zak Tribe hit 28 and Elliot Foster an unbeaten 27, including the match-winning boundary.

The 1st XI finish above the relegation zone in 10th place in the Nottinghamshire Premier League and Ben Shaw, in his first year as captain, and all those players that have been part of the team over the course of the season thoroughly warrant all the plaudits and pats on the back that should ensue.

The 2nd XI had a home game at The Strand against Wollaton to complete their season. After winning the toss and electing to bat, wickets fell too regularly for the 2s as they slumped to 70 for 5. There then followed a partnership of 79 between Josh Wilson, who made 47, and Alex Lawrence who went on to score an unbeaten 54 at approaching a run a ball with 5 4s and 2 6s. The final score of 194 for 8 wickets from their full 48 overs looked a little light but certainly higher than it may have been. Wollaton’s reply got off to a shaky start with two early wickets but a couple of significant partnerships saw the visitors reach their target for the loss of 5 wickets with 5 overs to spare.

The 2nd XI finished in a creditable 7th place in Division B of the SNCL; a performance that new skipper George Barker and his team, containing quite a number of younger players, should certainly be encouraged by.

Graham Shaw