Bassetlaw Cricket Preview – 2009

BallsMania Admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:42:31 +0000

Without wishing to boast, I have named the title winners for the last four years, but on all four occasions with the possible exception of Killamarsh in 2006, one would say the other three were relatively easy. However, who is going to win the Championship this time? Quite frankly I haven’t got a clue and if everybody else puts their hands on their hearts, I doubt if many others have either.
Whilst compiling this preview, I spoke to a representative of every club and I got so many different answers that it was impossible to base a clear picture on events and I get the feeling that everyone is as mystified as me.
Some seem to think that the newly re-formed Notts. Academy will storm to the title whilst others favoured are Glapwell, Retford, Kiveton Park and Edwinstowe; yes it is about as clear as mud.
Anyway starting in no particular order, other than where they finished below Farnsfield last season lets take a look at Edwinstowe who hung on to the champions coat tails almost to the bitter end in 2008. Once again they will have the inspirational Paul Peacock as captain and one cannot start to emphasis what a brilliant job he did last year.
Don’t forget that they came from Division 1 in 2008 and to finish runners-up at the first attempt was a colossal achievement. They were fortunate enough to employ a brilliant left hander in Wade Townsend who is on a ‘rookie’ contract with Queensland and this time they are again hopeful that Joseph Burns another Australian from the same club as Townsend, Northern Suburbs, will serve them just as well. Burns is primarily a batsman but can bowl and looks another top flight acquisition.
In addition they have a tremendous mixture of both experience and youth at their disposal. Jeff Appleton, Ian Smith, Gareth Price and Paul Benson are all capable run-getters whilst James Peacock who has spent the winter in Australia has a huge future as an all rounder in front of him providing he can learn to be a little more patient when he is batting.
They have acquired the services of Ben Lake from Hucknall and James Hooper is back after a year missing through injury. Richard Gombos is still a top quality opening bowler and a host of promising youngsters including Adam Walters, Tom Ward, Adam Altoft, Jake Lowe and Aaron Rhodes would be coveted by any other side in the league. Without question Edwinstowe have a good side which should simply get better and better. Could this be their year, we will have to wait and see!
Completing the season in third place just a single point behind Edwinstowe, was Glapwell and many good judges have tipped them to go one better this time around. They have in skipper Matt Hall a player who leads by example and is a top class all rounder. He scores centuries and if he was more of a lucky bowler he would take double the amount of wickets that he does.
Sometimes there are players who fall into that category and Matt certainly is one of them. He has pace, variation and control but does not have that thing that all good bowlers need, luck. The number of times he beats the batsman is staggering and then the ball either just misses the edge who misses the top of the stumps by a coat of paint. Other lesser mortals will probably take twice as many wickets with deliveries nowhere near as good, but that’s the way this great game is, and who knows, Matt might just have a change of fortune this time around.
They have signed a player from Underwood in the South Nottinghamshire League namely William Wilson who is a medium pacer and they have high hopes of him. Jeff Wharton who had a fabulous season with the ball in 2008 and won the league bowling averages will be hoping for more of the same this time and in addition their batting is steady and Lee Topham and Ricky Csomer have returned after a winter season in Australia and will be better for the experience.
Youngsters such as Daniel Bircumshaw and Tom Ritchie will have gained experience from last season and Rob Davison always contributes a host of runs in the middle order. Other stalwarts such as Dean Graney with both bat and ball, Shaun Johnson an effervescent wicket-keeper batsman and Nick Truswell who has had a nagging injury for some while now are all very useful and another good season looks a certainty for Glapwell.
Now that Farnsfield have been promoted to the Nottinghamshire Premier League, the wicket at Thoresby Colliery must be regarded as possibly the best batting strip in the entire league. This is mainly due to the hard work of Martin Cheshire a first rate clubman in every sense of the word. Martin has scored a staggering amount of runs for the club and this elegant left hander shows no signs of the flow drying up.
He is groundsman, captain and run-getter extraordinary and no club can survive without people of this calibre. They have acquired a South African all rounder namely Douw Van Vuuren and deserve more luck than they had with their overseas player of last season who was injured for most of the time and very rarely did they see him at his best.
This is another side who have a nice mixture of experience and youth with stalwarts such as Nigel Birkett, Steve Willis, Farook Aziz, Nyeem Ahmed and Shailesh Patel all being very useful cricketers. Youngsters such as Ben Marson and Lee Willis are improving all the time and Thoresby will be capable of competing against anyone on their best days.
A team who surprised everyone last season was the Gainsborough based Marshalls. They might well have finished even higher last season but fell away slightly towards the end. In Paul Van den Heuvel they have one of the most influential skippers in the entire of the league. The Marshalls lads all play for him and their can be no doubt that they possess a team spirit which is second to none.
Unfortunately they will be missing Mark Davies who has decided to take a year out this tem and he will be missed. Mark makes good contributions with both bat and ball and to replace a player as useful as this is nigh on impossible.
Van den Heuval leads by example and averaged 58.15 with the bat last term and Marshalls will be hoping for more of the same. They also seem to have learned how to play the 20/20 game better than anyone else having lifted the Mallen Trophy for the last two years. This year they have recruited Joseph James Allen an Australian who as well as being a batsman is a more than useful off spin bowler.
Kevin Housham is vice-captain and they possess a side that has a good mixture of youth and experience and variation as well with Darren Andrews being extremely sharp and Garry Andrews being a more than useful slow left-armer. Other quality batsman include Mark Whitlam and John Deacon whilst Chris Hearn is still mighty useful as an all rounder. They will certainly miss Davies, but there are enough good players available for them to enjoy another good season.
Kiveton Park Colliery are a real enigma! Each year they look to have enough good players to trouble the very best, but just as they look like taking over affairs, they blow up! Could this be the season that they have been promising for some time now?
Lee Brookes takes over as skipper and things are looking good. They have signed Christopher Hadley an Australian who has been domiciled here for about five years from Warmsworth C.C. near Doncaster and he should be a major asset as an opening batsman and wicket-keeper. In addition the left arm opening bowler John Smith has signed from Worksop and youngster Adam Dutton has been acquired from Firbeck.
When you consider the fact that Kiveton have a batting line-up that includes such as Richard Grainger, Ian Hampshire, Matty Cartwright, Tim Ward and one of the soundest middle order players of anyone, Rob Coxon, they should never be bowled out cheaply and the addition of Hadley should make them even stronger. Of course Lee Brooks himself is a capable batsman as well as being a more than useful slow bowler who took forty wickets last term and Richard Spurr can also bat capably as well as being a top flight opening bowler.
Could this be Kiveton’s season? Looking at their side on paper, few are stronger, but we have seen it all before. However you never know and if they can go all the way, even to those who have been disappointed in the past, it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise.
A team, who had dropped from the Premier League in 2007, started off last season as if they would be relegated again. Yes Retford, one of the proudest sides in the history of Bassetlaw cricket suffered a nightmare start and one couldn’t see anyway back for them.
It all changed when they visited Glapwell on the 17th May after three crushing defeats at the hands of Waleswood, Cutthorpe and Farnsfield where they weren’t just beaten they were totally annihilated. It looked half way through as if this tragic run was designed to continue after Glapwell reached 244 for 4 with Matt Hall making 116.
However after losing some early wickets, Chandra Kumara made an elegant 91 and with assistance from Pascal Broadley and skipper John Musgrove, Retford amazingly overcame the Glapwell total with six wickets to spare as well as twelve overs still remaining in the bank. From that moment, things picked up for Retford and whilst they were never going to win anything, there was not the slightest danger of them being in any trouble.
Could they be a threat this time around? They have certainly re-built the side well and are in much better shape than a year ago. John Musgrove skippers once again and he feels they will trouble the best, but are lacking just one more good player which would turn them into a Championship winning side.
They have taken on an Australian in Rob Condy who hails from the Melbourne area and is a recognised opening batsman who also bowls left arm as well. Sam Shepherd is also back from Aberdeen University having missed much of last season and Gary and Paul Toward are likely to be breaking through this time.
In addition they have good players such as Nigel Hall and Pascal Broadley who have been at the club for several years and Darren Spooner who joined them from neighbours Bridon last season. This is a good side and anybody who writes them off would be rather foolish.
Neighbours Bridon at one time looked capable of taking on the world at one stage last season but their form dropped alarmingly later on. They were one of only four sides to beat champions Farnsfield, and they have a tremendous crop of young players who lack only one thing, consistency.
Bridon have always had a connection with New Zealand cricketers and once again they have signed an 18 year old who they are hopeful of good things from. This guy’s name is James Boock and people with a memory will surely remember the name as his father Stephen, played 30 times for the New Zealand test side. James is a leg spin bowler who can bat as well and Bridon are more than hopeful he will be an asset to them.
Rumour was rife that Wayne Spooner had left the club over the winter months, but this talented all-rounder is still around and Bridon will be thankful for this. In addition Rob McLeod is expected to provide valuable experience once again along and Simon Davison is also a handful with the ball. The youngsters Aaron Haycock, David Fagan and wicket-keeper Ashley Corrie should show even more improvement and Roger Wells captains a side who whilst it would be a major surprise if they challenged the best, they should never be in any trouble.
Another side who if the season had started half way through would have been close to winning things was Notts. & Arnold Amateur. The season took off for them when Dave Wood took over the reins as captain and he continues in the job this season. Dave is a seasoned campaigner and knows how to get the best out of his players who have the utmost of respect for him.
The Sri-Lankan Dilhan Cooray is back once again and if he can score as many runs in the first half of the season as he did in the second last time around he will be a thorn in anyone’s side. Ian Flood as good an all rounder as anyone in the league is available once again and stalwarts such as Mark North and Scott Leivers will once again be a major asset to them.
They have also signed Rohan Shah a young player who played for neighbouring Papplewick last season and he is more than capable with both bat and ball. Also they have signed Greg Hill a useful competitor who played with Unity Casuals up to two years ago. Greg has had a time away from the game but when you have talent it doesn’t totally diminish and he could be a terrific signing.
Several young players are on the brink here and this is another side who should comfortably find a place in mid table and upset some of the top teams when they least expect it.
The re-vamped Notts. Colts now under the new posh name Notts. Academy are of course a totally unknown quantity. There has been criticism and praise for this move but you can’t take away the fact that surely the youngsters of the county staff playing together will eventually auger well for the future of Nottinghamshire cricket.
Wayne Noon will captain the side and they have brought in a young Trinidadian batsman Kevon Cooper who played against the Stanford Superstars in the controversial 20/20 competition in the West Indies. They have of course been able to cream off some of the best young talent in the county and players like Sam Wood (Farnsfield), Dominic Harvey (Attenborough), Jake Ball (Welbeck) and Adam Shepherd (Clifton) will be representing them along with others.
It’s new and it’s exciting and of course they will wish to get into the Premier League as soon as possible. Whether they will manage it first time is another question but there is certainly a great deal of talent there. The problem is will the youngsters be able to hold it together when they are under pressure. We will have to wait and see.
Relegated to the Bassetlaw Championship are Killamarsh Juniors from the Nottinghamshire Premier League. They spent two years in this league and after doing quite well first time, an awful start gave them a mountain to climb last campaign. It will be interesting to see how they perform because they should still be a pretty strong combination.
Adam Whiteley captains the side which includes players of the calibre of Paul Burdett, Sam Malpass and Parmindar Mudhar in it. They have lost the services of their run scoring opener Adam Burgess who has stayed in the Premier League by moving on to Cuckney, but they have a lively youth policy and young players such as Luke Sellars and Chris Watts are expected to feature prominently in the side this time.
There is no doubt that this will be a transitional season for Killamarsh but there does look to be enough ability there for them to do reasonably well.
The two promoted teams were Caythorpe 2nd and Anston and they make up the league. Caythorpe 2nd surprised everyone by winning the Tomlin Trophy very easily last season, but whether they can re-produce the type of form which saw them dispose of Cutthorpe in the final has yet to be ascertained.
Unlike other teams in this section the rules of the league forbid them to take on an overseas player or employ a professional so they are at a disadvantage to start with. Lee Hawkes will captain them again and they do possess a good mixture of youth and experience. To give credit to the Caythorpe club, they have always put a big emphasis on youth cricket and it has served them well over the years.
Daniel North their lively opening bowler had a great season last time and will be hoping for much of the same this time and other good players such as Josh Bolus, James Oldham, Peter Mansfield, Richard Coleman and Geoff Crook all had good seasons. In addition that old Farnsfield stalwart Tim Haines rolled back the years and bowled as well as ever and the prodigious talent of the young slow bowler Andrew Staszkiewicz served them very well also.
Will they cut it at this level? It is awfully difficult to answer this question because there is a world of difference between Division 1 and the Championship, but if anyone can do it, possibly these can. They have a set-up second to none and they will not lack encouragement. This is a wait and see situation.
Finally appearing at this level for the very first time are Anston. They have made the ground bigger in the close season which was vital and the wickets are usually first class with big scores the ‘norm’ here. Once again they are captained by Andy Forster who has done an excellent job since taking control and the bulk of the side will come from the players who got them promoted last term.
Michael Norbury, Mark Parkinson, Kevin Vollans, Neil Carter were all capable of scoring runs whilst Andrew Ruczenczyn who is capable of destroying sides with both bat and ball, Gary Tweed, Nathan Morris and Ian Barley form a capable attack.
They will however rely heavily on their overseas player, the Sri-Lankan Gamage Amila Shiral Perera who has been resident in this country for about six years now. This guy has been playing for East Molesey in Surrey with a staggering amount of success which is not unexpected for someone who has taken 282 first class wickets at 23.26. He is a slow left armer who has taken about sixty wickets a season usually, and with over 3,000 first class runs to his name he is no slouch with the bat either.
One thing where Anston will not be failing is the incredible team spirit that has been bonded in the club. They never know when they are beaten and will fight their corner to the bitter end in every match.
So who will win it? After much deliberation I believe with no great confidence that Edwinstowe won’t be far away. It’s so very difficult and I could easily end up with egg on my face and probably will, but if the Australian Burns turns out to be as good as Townsend and this one bowls as well, then they must have a shout. I am not confident, but I believe they are as well equipped as anyone to lift the honours.

BallsMania - Nottinghamshire's free weekly sports magazine » Bassetlaw Cricket

Bassetlaw Cricket Preview – 2009