6 Wicket Win for the 1st XI in 'Local Derby'

We won the toss and decided to bowl first. Mark Dean opened the bowling with himself with the thought process being to try and repeat getting star man Tim Smith out cheap as we did in the home fixture. Could lightning strike twice? Oh yes! In the very first over, their opener popped a catch to Zak Berridge at mid-on. Then, we got the prized wicket of Smith as he nicked a nice away swinger to a diving Mike Cox at slip, who held on to it for dear life. Worksop CC was now 10-2 and we were off to a great start! Mark then clean bowled batsmen 3 and 4 to finish with figures of 4 overs 4-16. We had managed to restrict Worksop CC to a precarious 19-4. Luke Bircumshaw (5 overs, 0-20) bowled nicely from the other end but sadly without luck. Ben Perkins (5 overs, 1-19) and Zak Berridge (6 overs, 1-19) took the reins and both bowled excellent spells picking up a wicket apiece. Worksop CC's captain Harry Taylor (41) and Ross Wicks (25) both batted well to give the hosts some faint hope but Tim Foulds (6 overs, 2-12) and Hayden Cox (5 overs, 2-14) together wrapped it up, continuing our brilliant team bowling display. Worksop CC finished on 101 all out from 31 overs. It was a great effort from the whole team, with the bowlers performing excellently and the fielders being sharp. A special mention has to go out to Mike "Three Catches" Cox for playing a starring role.

Small totals can prove tricky, especially when the usual top 3 are all unavailable! Step forward, the returning Matt Wheatley (8) and Dave Taylor (23) who crucially got us off to a solid, alarm free start with some lovely shots. At 35-2, we were up and running and already a good way towards our target. If we had slipped to something like 12-3 against the new ball, this could have been a totally different story so credit is due to our openers. Jasper Dennison (4) went in up the order and looked good until getting bowled by a good ball. However, any nerves were soon put to bed as James Davies (24) and Ben Perkins (26*) both batted excellently, with their partnership taking us so close to the finishing line. James fell just before they could cross it so it was down to Tim Foulds (5*) and Ben to get us over as we romped to a 6 wicket win!

A top-notch team performance secured the 20 points in the 'local derby'. It was great to see Matt Wheatley returning to cricket, and Tim Foulds and Luke Bircumshaw back in the team. Next weekend the 1st XI host Harthill CC's 1st XI.