First X1 Past Reports 2004

Walker won the all important toss and asked Harthill to set a total. Ashover opened with Bolstridge and Broome and Harthill's opening pair made a steady start until Broome made the breakthrough with Ashover's first wicket taking delivery of the season. Broome was struggling with his run up and was slipping on the wicket even after Harthill kindly provided sawdust.He was eventually replaced by Bush who somehow managed to take 2 wickets, both caught by debutant Jack Fletcher. The note of surprise in my previous comment arises as more of Bush's deliveries were pitched in his half than the batters and you would have to say he was fortunate. Still, look in the book Bushy and it says 2 wickets against your name. Bush was replaced by Roddis who also got in on the act despite being mooed to Cow Corner for the maximum....he came back to take 2 wickets of his own. Bolstridge though was pick of the bowlers, taking 5-32 and bowling right through, a sterling performance in the unusual heat. Harthill all out for 97 in the penultimate over, with special mention to their skipper who held the lower order together with a dogged innings.

Ashover's reply began with skipper Walker and Ducksbury playing some nice shots. However, Ducksbury departed with the score somewhere in the late 30's and this led to a mini collapse, Andrews departing cheaply, soon followed by skip Walker for 20 and debutant Synan also departing following a mix up with Hunter leading to an unfortunate run out. The arrival of Jack Fletcher steadied a worried ship and he and Hunter both looked untroubled until Hunter was dismissed. Roddis and Fletcher took the score along until Fletcher was caught behind off opening bowler Hartley, who had been recalled to the attack and after he also removed Roddis, Bush and Broome, it was left to wicket keeper Lomas to fend off two deliveries and let Bolstridge hit the winning boundary giving Ashover victory by 1 wicket and gain maximum points.

Ashover entertained a youthful Welbeck 2nds on yet another sunny early summers day. Welbeck skipper Neil French won the toss and elected to field, a decision that was to be vital in the outcome of the game.

Ashover struggled to cope with a low, slow and damp wicket and found runs, boundaries in particular, hard to come by with the outfield having passed a late inspection following spells of heavy rain earlier in the week. Wickets fell regularly and only the innings of Andy Lunn, in his first game of the season, gave the score some respectability. Lunn finished on 58 out of a total of 126 all out, Ashover donating 3 overs to the opposition.

Welbecks top order suffered at the hands of Bolstridge and a resurgent Broome and they quickly lost wickets. Skipper French came in and played a few hefty shots, interspersed with some dogged defence. With 6 down, and French having been at the crease for a while, Ashover skipper Walker was waiting for the onslaught which he felt was sure to come to get Welbeck close to their target. This never materialised and Roddis' introduction into the attack did not temp the batsmen despite an awful first over. Broome soon replaced Bolstridge who in turn replaced Roddis but Ashover were unable to make a further breakthrough. Welbeck finished their innings on 80 odd for 6 off their allotted 49 overs. French batted well and was rarely troubled by the Ashover bowlers. A special mention for his batting colleague at the end....don't know your name sorry......he faced 50 balls in his innings and failed to score a run.....is that some sort of league record?? can't be far off.......

Drawn game played in good spirits even though the Asher lads were a bit bored towards the end, as I suspect, were the remaining Welbeck batsmen. Thanks to the tea ladies and to the council for preparing the ground in difficult conditions earlier in the week.

Surprisingly the game was still on at Everton, and Ashover arrived confident, with the chance of extending their lead at the top, against their partners in relegation from last season.

Ashover fielded first, and were quickly into the wickets, with Ian Broome taking one in his first over and the second of the game. The other Everton opener �mullered� Bolstridge to the boundary before he got his own back with a cleverly bowled slower delivery which was caught behind by wicketkeeper Frank Lomas.
The Ashover openers were bowling extremely well backed up by some good fielding. In no time at all Everton were 60 odd for 8. A debatable LBW decison went against Bolstridge (the debate being not if he was out, but how long it should have taken the umpire to put his finger up) which really changed the game. The batsman and his partner put on a decent partnership, with Bolstridge not having help from either Bush or Martin who bowled well below their standards. Finally the last two wickets fell and Everton were all out for 130 in the last over. A good comeback from Everton after their situation half way through their innings
The Ashover opening pair of Russ Cooke and Andy Walker took the field confident of getting the runs. Russ took the initiative, with Andy playing a supporting role. Andy was given out LBW and departed for 6. Next was Rob Andrews, who was in for a while, but only contributed a six (which their player palmed over the boundary) and not many more to the total. Huw Champion was next in, and at the other end Russ was still going well, looking very tidy for the first game of the season. He was next to go, after edging down the leg side to the keeper. This was to be the start of the collapse. Jack Fletcher 0, caught at gully, Rog Bolstridge 3, LBW, Bill Vermulen 2, caught somewhere and Huw Champion 4, caught at point, was the Ashover middle order, and they contributed a total of 9. This left David Bush and Tom Martin who wanted to make up for their poor bowling. Bush looked better after two consecutive ducks with a six and a four and Martin was patient, till a poor call by Bush, and little backing up by Martin gifted a wicket to Everton. Broome was next in, and he certainly didn�t trust Bushy's calling. Bush departed for 18, and this left Broome and number eleven Lomas to bat out the remaining overs and get a losing draw and six points.
This could have been another victory for Ashover in their bid for the title this season, but a middle order collapse cost them dearly. An improved batting performance is needed if we are to keep our place at the top of the table and beat Thurcroft next week.

On a nice day at Ashover, Thurcroft won the toss and elected to bat. An interesting choice that the Ashover players didn�t seem to bothered about.
Rog Bolstridge and Iain Broome opened the bowling, and unlike previous weeks, they didn�t make an early breakthrough, which for some reason seem to dishearten the Ashover fielders. When Rog did make the breakthrough, the score was in the 40�s. He trapped the Thurcroft opener bang in front, for his first wicket of the day. Near enough straight after that Justin, who had come on to replace Broomy got his first Ashover wicket, getting the other opener caught at first slip to a very good catch by Bill Vermeulen.
Then a very frustrating spell started for the Ashover players, who couldn�t breakthrough what looked like a very unstable partnership. The two batsmen both went on to make half centuries. When these two were eventually out, one caught from the bowling of Bolstridge, and the other run out dubiously by Walker, the Thurcroft batsmen didn�t make many more runs. Their score eventually ending on 210-4.
Ashover were still quietly confident, with Russell Cooke in good from after last week, and Andy Walker due some runs. After a slow start, Russell was caught at cover, mistiming a drive. In went John Hunter, and him and Walker steadied the ship for a while, before we saw something only believable if seen then and there, some attacking shots by Hunter. Him and Walker both lost their wickets quickly, Hunter for 46, and Walker for 50. Before this it had looked like Ashover were going to succeed in getting the runs, but this put them on the back foot. Bolstridge and Vermeulen were then left to build another partnership on which they could go about getting the runs. Some very convincing shots by Bolstridge pushed the score on, and some very unconvincing shots by Vermeulen led to his downfall. Tim Ducksbury, was next in, and next out going quickly. Bolstridge then ran out his work and team-mate Justin Synan. and was then left with the tail and surprisingly it wasn�t Bush next out, but Bolstridge who was stumped after a good knock. Bush and Fletcher then proceeded to bat out and aim to put 160 on. Before this target was reached Fletcher was bowled for his third duck in three games. Broome came to the crease with Bush, and 160 was reached with a hook by Bush for four. He then pushed on for 180 before being well caught by the only man not round the bat. This left Lomas and Broome to bat the rest of the innings out for a losing draw.
Another disappointing result. A poor bowling performance compared to previous weeks was Ashover�s downfall. A plus point to come out of the game was a much improved batting performance. If both of these aspects can be used in a game, then Ashover will be hard to beat.

Sheepbridge batted first on a bright sunny day in Dunston, but were left reeling as captain and opening batsmen Steve Chapman departed without scoring in the first over off Roger Bolstridge. However, despite the accurate bowling of both Bolstridge and Broome, the Sheepbridge 2 and 3 were able to put on 30 odd before the next wicket fell. Broome was particularly unlucky as the batsmen regularly played and missed, found the inside edge, and generally irritated the bejasus out of him.

Eventually, Bolstridge managed to break the partnership and Ashover looked to run through the Sheepbridge middle order as quickly as possible. This proved difficult though, as Broome�s bad luck continued and the Sheepbridge batsmen continued their gung ho attacking policy. That�s not to criticise though, as the outfield was the length of a small eastern European orphan boy, and making runs almost certainly meant playing the ball in the air.

Broome was replaced by Roddis and the game begun to sway back towards Ashover. Broome had bowled well, a 23 year old in the body of a 63 year old, but he didn�t get the rub of the green and Roddis was the better option. He, along with the old warhorse Bolstridge, put in a grand performance to get through the rest of the Sheepbridge batsmen.

Roddis ended up with 3-13. 6 of those came off one ball which sailed over Broome�s head at long on and crashed into the hedge round the boundary. Two of his wickets were plumb lbw decisions and wrapped up a welcome return to the fold for Roddis after two weeks off sunning himself on the continent.

At the other end Bolstridge remained consistent finishing with 7-35. Another impressive haul for the lanky Ashover man who has taken well over 20 wickets already this season. A good fielding performance kept the Sheepbridge total to a difficult but gettable 80. Notable events include John Hunter�s diving catch at gulley to make up for the previous girl-like attempt he dropped. Also, Bill Vermeulen�s one contribution to the match, a wonderful diving stop in the slips followed by a part-accurate throw to stand-in wicket keeper, Tim �I don�t remember that one� Ducksbury.

Some of the team disgracefully stayed to watch the FA cup final and missed Andy Walker�s early dismissal as Ashover lost the early wicket. Apparently he did indeed edge it to someone, somewhere.

This left team lothario, Russ Cooke, and deputy lothario, John Hunter, to begin the run chase. On a difficult pitch they manage to prod and poke their way to 20 odd and things looked good for Ashover. But the boys in the middle had another gear. John Hunter, in previous seasons likened to something of an automatic gearbox, switched to manual and upped the pace with some well struck shots, including an excellent drive to the long boundary.

Hunter departed soon after though with Ashover needing only 20 or so to complete the job. Cooke remained at the crease along with newcomer, Rob �Gonzalez� Andrews, and together they scrambled their way to within touching distance of the Sheepbridge total. With Cooke on 49 not out, Andrews showed no sentimentality and rightly smashed the ball to the boundary to see Ashover to their second 20 pointer of the season. Lovely stuff.

Farnsfield won the toss and elected to bowl first at Ashover�s opening partnership of John Hunter and skipper, Andy Walker. They were both soon dismissed though before the Ashover total reached 20. This brought Tim Ducksbury and Rob Andrews to the crease, a partnership based on speed, acceleration and hoping not to run threes. These two batted well together and managed to push the Ashover total forwards quickly with Rob scoring his maiden 50 for the club.

Something had to give though as Ducksbury, and then Andrews lost their wickets. At a 130 odd for 4, Ashover looked good for an innings of over two hundred, but wickets continued to fall. Of those wickets, Mark Winson put in a good 14 including a well hit six into the caravan field. It�s just a shame he missed the accordion player.

Bolstridge faced the last over needing 19 just to get to 180 and full batting points. He had a good go at the task with consecutive boundaries, including a huge six over long on. However, it was not to be and he departed leaving Ashover�s handsome number 10, Iain Broome, to come to the crease and bat out with loudmouth barmpot, Rick Holland.

�Take your time,� Broome said. �Yeah, I know. There�s only two balls left,� Holland replied. Anyway, Holland soon departed with one ball of the innings remaining, as he tried to run down the wicket and hit the ball to Woolley Moor. He missed it.

In the dressing room, having posted a reasonable total of 174, skipper Walker said, �They�ll have batted well to get 175, so let�s go out and do it.� ��

Farnsfield batted well. Their opening partnership raced on to 40 odd pretty quickly as Bolstridge and Broome struggled to get to grips with a relatively lifeless wicket. Broome in particular, something of an anti-athlete*, was finding it hard battling against some quality batting and the persistent back injury which has so far plagued the opening to his season.

Walker soon decided to switch bowling ends and Broome picked up a wicket in his first over from the �pointless sightscreen end�. This was only a small light at the end of a very dark tunnel though as Broome couldn�t find any rhythm or consistency. Bolstridge fared better from the top end and soon another wicket fell.

At one point, with Farnsfield still needing 4 an over, and 3 wickets down, it looked like Ashover might be able to send it to the wire. It just didn�t happen though, as Farnsfield�s middle order built on a solid half century by their opening batsmen, and saw them home comfortably.

Despite the t�te-�-t�te midway through Farnsfield's innings, with TWO players exchanging pleasantries, this was a very straightforward game of cricket. One side played better than the other. Only two days to sort it out boys. As they say in the English speaking parts of France, no problem.

9 man Thoresby Park were always going to be up against it and so it proved at Milken Lane.

Winning the toss, Thoresby Park elected to field and kept a tight hold of the Ashover top order with Siven being particularly effective whilst not enjoying any luck whatsoever. The only real highspot of a stuttering Ashover batting performance was a maiden Ashover 50 for Justin Synan as Ashover closed on 164 for 8.

After rather too much tea (a quality effort from President Thelma Bolstridge, ably aided by her sisters), Thoresby made a reasonable start to their reply but once wickets started to fall, courtesy of Iain Broome who took the first 3, Thoresby looked very unlikely to get close to their target. To their credit they kept after the runs, eventually closing on 105 all out.

A special mention of young Mark Winson who picked up his first senior Ashover wicket when asked to bowl at a critical time and played his part in propelling Ashover back to the top of the table.

Ashover won the toss and asked Milton to bat under grey skies at Milken Lane and the home team gleaned an immediate reward, with the Milton opener falling to Roger Bolstridge off the 3rd ball. The home team kept the pressure on and the visitors found runs hard to come by and reached drinks with around 40 runs on the board and 4 wickets down, two to Andrews, one to Gwillim and one to Bolstridge.

The introduction of Rich Roddis to the attack kept the pressure on the batsmen and Bolstridge returned to start picking up wickets at the other end, although had Roddis been able to hold on to two caught and bowled opportunities, he would have had his name on the card.

Milton closed their innings on 133 for 8, Bolstridge finishing with a creditable five wicket haul and everyone looked forward to an excellent tea, courtesy of June Cooke.

Ashover in reply, stuttered along losing wickets at similar intervals to Milton and a close game looked in the offing, but tilted dramatically in the visitors' favour when the home team crumbled to 70 (ish) for 7. Enter that man Bolstridge with a breezy 27 to put Asher back on track, but departed with approximately 30 still needed, which brought Charlie Gwillim to the crease for his only first team innings so far this season, to accompany Rich Roddis and these two saw their side home by two wickets, Roddis with a creditable unbeaten 20.

Mention must go to the Milton team (sorry lads, I don't have the scorebook to work from, hence no names etc) who were a great bunch of lads and played the game in the right spirit.

�If we play today I�m the President� quoted this roving reporter as we got in our cars in heavy rain and dark clouds, hardly believing it could be doing anything else but lashing down everywhere, as it happens the sun shone and one of the best games of cricket I have ever been involved in took place at Milton.

Andy Walks lost the toss and Ashover were put in. After my early departure Andy and John Hunter were together, Andy playing some magnificent attacking shots to take the score briskly along (at one point we were 46 for 1, Andy on 43 and 3 extras!!). John too got in to the attacking mode, and when drinks were taken Ashover were standing at an impressive 130 for 2, Andy dismissed for 68. Rob Andrew came to the wicket and continued the attacking mode before injuring himself scrambling for a quick run, and doing a fine impression of Long John Silver as he hobbled off unable to continue. The Milton bowlers, especially young Saxelby, then managed to put the brakes on Ashovers progress, and the innings closed on 201 for 3, John Hunter having batted through to an impressive 71 no. There was a feeling that we were 30 or 40 short of where we should have been, and with a small ground and quick outfield this was no foregone conclusion � how right we were!!

After a fine tea (our thanks to the Milton staff) in the impressive new pavilion, Ashover took the game right to the Milton openers, Roger Bolstridge and particularly Ian Broome early on producing some lively stuff and reducing the opposition to 30 for 3. This brought to the wicket Oliver Rossington to join Chris Nicholl, and what was to unfold couldn�t have been scripted. Oliver was dropped by Rob Ashcroft on 0, I palmed one away from Rog in the slips with him on 10 or so, and later Rob dropped a more difficult chance in the 50�s. Mr. Ashcroft was then left to suffer in silence as they took the score very quickly to 164 for 3 and still 15 overs to go, with some hard hitting and the odd slice of luck (you can stop apologising now Oliver!). At this point Milton had all but won the game, but when the partnership was broken and another wicket followed quickly Ashover sensed it wasn�t all over yet. Rog and Broomy changed ends and with it a change in fortune, in the absence of Rob Andrew Milton had provided a sub fielder, and with Milton already 6 down young Saxelby was at fine leg when a top edge came his way, the poor lad could do nothing else but catch it � an unlucky young man.

At 9 down and still requiring 15 off 4 overs, Ashover were now in charge, but numbers 10 and 11 for Milton dug and played shots much to their credit, taking the game to within 4 of Ashovers score. At this point the consensus was that whatever the outcome this had been some game, and a tie wasn�t out of the question either. Then another piece of theatre, Milton number 10 went for the runs, hit the ball straight but in the air to mid-on, and who is there but Rob �Buckets� Ashcroft. Silence descended on the whole of Nottinghamshire for a couple of seconds when everyone realised who it was, but Rob swept a couple of paces to his left and plucked the ball out of the air � the winning catch!!! The jubilant scenes at the end were the culmination of a fabulous fightback by Ashover, the changing room and the pub after was bouncing!

An extraordinary game. Milton played the game tremendously well and probably will be thinking they should have taken 40 points out of Ashover this year, twice having lost from winning positions. But credit really must go to the overall character of the side led by Andy Walker, whose bowling options were severely restricted by absenteeism and injury, and what an effort from Rog who finished with 7 for 190 (well that�s what it seemed like at the time) and Broomy with his 3 wickets, who played some unplayable stuff again. Young Bushmaster put in a sterling effort also, and even with dodgy catching, the effort levels never dropped.

I was reminded of my comments at the top of this page � well all I can say is �Where�s Monica?�

Harthill travelled to Ashover on a gloomy July afternoon in a return of the seasons opening fixture with revenge very much on their minds.

The afternoon started well for Harthill with their Skip winning the toss and asking Ashover to bat first on a damp green wicket. Ashover batted steadily and at the break, were about 75 for 2. Lunn was batting well but after the drinks break there was a mini collapse with 4 quick wickets falling for not many runs. It was left to Bolstridge and Bush to bat through some overs which they did for not very many runs although they did what was required. Bolstridge gave the innings much needed impetus towards the end hitting two big sixes over the pavilion in consecutive balls but it was left to number 11 Broome to finish the innings off in style with an imperious straight drive for 4. ACC finished on 154 for 9 with Bolstridge top scoring with 40 odd. Special mention to the slow bowler from the tennis court end who ended with 5 wickets.

Ashover took to the field and Harthill�s openers strode out in defiant mood. Bolstridge and Broome opened the bowling, the former bowling uphill with the wind and the latter downhill. Despite having acquired new boots recently, Broome struggled with the damp conditions particularly keeping his footing in his delivery stride while Bolstridge got his usual movement off the wicket to keep the batsmen interested. Things were not helped in the field when 3 difficult chances were put down. It took the introduction of Roddis from the pavilion end to break the opening partnership, trapping the left handed opening bat plum LBW. His partner continued to punish anything wayward as he almost batted through to the end. Cooke in his final game for the home side this year before embarking on Hucknall FC�s latest trophy hunting season took a wicket as, eventually, did Bolstridge.

Harthill reached the required 155 for the loss of only 3 wickets inflicting Ashover�s worst defeat of the season in terms of points won.

Sorry for the lack of names for the Harthill lads but I didn�t have the score book available.

Ashover travelled to Thurcroft with aspirations of maintaining top position within division three, and they did not disappoint. Thurcroft batted first on a dull day, and within 5 overs, the teams were back in the pavilion for a rain break. On return to the field, Rog Bolstridge converted to a long spell of spin bowling and Rich Roddis replaced Iain Broome at the other end. Roddis began to break through the Thurcroft batting line-up, with Mark Winson taking two good catches. With the tightness of Bolstridge at the other end, the batsmen were frustrated for long periods and with scoring nullified, wickets became more regular as the home side capitulated from 70 for 1 to 110 for 9 at the close. Six wickets for Roddis, and two for Bolstridge. Fritz Steinhobel providing a direct-hit run-out for the other.

In reply, Ashover lost opener John Hunter early after a suicidal run out involving him and captain Andy Walker, but Walker put this to one side as he and Tim Ducksbury went on to put the visitors into a commanding position, Walker departing in the thirties, Ducksbury in the twenties. Mark Winson then fell to a ball that failed to bounce, but by that time Ashover were well in sight of victory, Ben Haynes-Greenwood bringing this up in style with a six over square leg.

On a humid, overcast day, Ashover played host to the Cavaliers, a touring team from India, who were playing their first game in England and on a very green pitch too.

It was a shock to the system when the visitors arrived, all immaculately attired in Blazers which contrasted sharply with the dress of the home side which owed nothing to fashion, but everything to bad taste!

Having won the toss, the Cavaliers asked Ashover to bat and struck first ball, Dave Cooke caught behind by Kabeer to give P. Kumar his first wicket as the home team struggled against a keen and extremely enthusiastic attack and it was no great surprise when Paul Alexander (3) departed, caught by R. Kumar, giving P. Kumar his second wicket. Things didn't improve when Billy Vermeulen (2) left the stage, bowled by P. Kumar with the score 24 for 3 and worsened even more with John Hunter (11) falling to an unusual dismissal, being caught at slip after the wicket keeper tipped a mistimed pull to him, the bowler being S. Kumar - 29 for 4.

Skipper Andy Walker (5) departed in the next over, edging to the keeper to give Ali Ameer his only wicket of the game. 31 for 5 and looking down the barrel, Ashover were rescued by Rob "slim" Andrews who batted resolutely despite seeing Mark Winson (3) bowled by Sohi and Charlie Gwillim (2) caught behind off Arya, leaving a sorry looking 62 for 7.

Fortunately, the next man in, Wayne Carline isn't one to throw in the towel and he and Rob put on 41 before Wayne was caught after scoring a valuable 19, Arya being the bowler doing the damage, bringing in James Hammond who saw it through to the end and finished on 1 not out, whilst Rob perished last ball of the innings, bowled by S. Kumar for a magnificent 40 to leave the total on 114 for 9.

Tea was then taken and many thanks must go to Brian and Val Sanderson who stepped into the breach at very short notice and did us proud, after which a series of presentations took place, the pictures of which can be seen below.

Ashover President Thelma Bolstridge receiving a Cavaliers shirt from Surya A Baindoor

Ashover Secretary Charlie Gwillim receiving a salver and Cavaliers shirt from Surya A Baindoor

Ashover Treasurer Brian Sanderson receiving a Cavaliers shirt from Captain S. Arya

Umpires Steve Spencer & Roy Bolstridge receiving Cavaliers ties from Surya A Baindoor

Ashover Club Captain Andy Walker receiving a Cavaliers shirt from Surya A Baindoor

Chasing a low total, the Cavaliers must have been confident but their lack of experience in English conditions would obviously hamper their efforts and they didn't get off to the start that they would have liked, Sandeep (2) caught behind by Wayne Carline off the bowling of Lee Rhodes with only 2 runs on the board.

Things didn't improve much for the visitors against an accurate Ashover attack with Sameer (1) bowled by Charlie Gwillim having added only 9 runs and Captain Arya failing to score, caught by John Hunter to give Charlie his second victim, 19 for 3 and it was a struggle for the Cavaliers, but there was some respite with the score advancing to 33 before Charlie rolled back the years, claiming two wickets in two balls, both LBW - Shyam Kumar for a stylish 23 and the luckless Kabeer facing just the one ball on his English debut.

At 33 for 5 the odds were now stacked in favour of Ashover, but the Cavaliers dug deep and put together their best stand of the game (45), aided by dropped catches, but a resolute effort none the less. However, the introduction of veteran Billy Vermeulen into the attack replacing Mark Winson, proved to be a shrewd move as his mixture of Chicken & Mushroom and Steak & Kidney bamboozled the visitors as he claimed 3 wickets, Ameer caught by Charlie Gwillim for 14 and Raman caught by Lee Rhodes for 2. The contrast at the other end was quite marked when James Hammond finished wicketless after 8 extremely good overs.

The final twist occurred when young Ian Cooke was introduced to replace James - he struck first ball, bowling Ameer for 4, but didn't get a second over as Billy wrapped up proceedings, claiming his 4th wicket, Pawan (9), courtesy of a James Hammond catch, to leave Sohi stranded on 1 not out and the final total 101 with 5.2 overs remaining.

A look at the scorecard reveals that extras and failure to use all of their overs cost the Cavaliers dearly, but they were always up against it in the conditions that prevailed and put in an impressive performance under the circumstances.

I would like to thank the Cavaliers and Mr Baindoor for the impressive way that they conducted themselves - they certainly made a huge impression upon everybody at Ashover and we would be delighted to welcome them back anytime.

Thanks must also go to Umpires Steve Spencer and Roy Bolstridge, Brian and Val Sanderson for providing teas and Thelly Bolstridge for scoring.

Finally a big thank you to all the players who turned out and made my life a little easier!

On probably the nicest Saturday of the year, 5th placed Ashover met 2nd place West Indian Cavaliers. Both teams had particularly weak sides and could only field ten men apiece, Ashover winning the toss and putting the Cavaliers into bat.
Wickets were what Ashover were looking for, and they soon came, and at one point the Cavaliers were down to 28-4, with Roger Bolstridge and Charlie Gwillim bowling with great accuracy to get two wickets each. Then a partnership got the Cavaliers back into the game, but yet again Bolstridge broke the partnership with more good bowling and an excellent diving catch by James Hammond. Hammond then replaced Gwillim from the top end, and after another good partnership for the Cavaliers of around 50 runs, had one of the pair caught at long off. Next ball he bowled the opening batsmen who had batted very well for 61 before being denied his second hat trick of the season with a solid defensive shot. Dave Bush then replaced Bolstridge at the bottom end and this was followed by a Justin Synan run out as Ashover pushed for the full four bowling points. This was achieved in the last of the allotted 46 overs, when Bush took a smart caught and bowled, West Indian Cavaliers finishing on 128 all out.
An opening partnership of John Hunter and Tim Ducksbury was sent out in a challenging pursuit for the weak Ashover batting line up for. The start wasn�t great either, after a slow beginning Hunter was bowled round his legs for 0. Bush came in at three for Ashover and he and Ducksbury steadied the ship taking the score to 35 before Bush was bowled by the same bowler for 11. At 35-2 Synan came in but just after this Ducksbury was bowled for 23 by the other opening bowler after playing an ambitious shot. It was again time for Ashover to get to grips with the opening attack and new batsmen Fletcher and Synan looked comfortable with them, if not scoring too many runs. But both were dismissed quickly by the first and second change bowlers, both being given out LBW. This is where the game turned in Ashover�s favour with an excellent partnership between Wayne Carline and Roger Bolstridge. These two moved the score along while batting sensibly. Bolstridge looked in really good form, dispatching the Cavaliers' bowlers to the boundary on numerous occasions. After a good knock, Carline was out for 10, bringing in number 8, James Hammond, and he helped Bolstridge take the score to 132-6 with 3 balls to spare. Bolstridge finishing on 50* and Hammond on 10*.
This game probably doesn�t tell you too much about these two sides, as they were both under strength, but the game was played in good spirits, and Ashover were very happy with taking away 20 points from their promotion rivals. Sorry for the lack of Cavaliers' names, but I didn�t have a scorebook.

If the season were to be kept alive this was a must-win game for Ashover, with maximum points vital. Absenteeism and injury meant that the home side once again fielded an under-strength line up, but once again superb team spirit and application when it mattered won the day.

Ashover won the toss and put Sheepbridge in to bat on one of the best tracks this summer, needing to bowl them out. Charlie Gwillim and David Bush opened up for the home side, Gwillim finding the opener�s off stump only second ball as the batsman shouldered arms. Bushy claimed the other opener caught at slip, but then skipper Hulett (23) and Chambers (14) took the score to 58-2 with no sign of a breakthrough. Then Mark Winson replaced Bushy, and both batsmen were removed in consectutive overs, opening up a steady flow of wickets with only Whittle providing any stubborn resistence until he was last out with the score on 101. Charlie Gwillim ended with 7-35, 6 of those bowled showing how difficult it is for batsmen to cope with his aging leg-side swing bowling. David Bush with 1-18, Winno with 1-17 and Jimmy Hammond with 0-15 were the other contributors.

Skipper Walker and Ducksbury opened up for the home side and comfortably moving the score to 20 despite some lively and accurate bowling, particularly from Hulett. After Ducksbury�s removal for 10, Rick Holland came to the wicket in his new role up the order, and once again looked the part as the score was taken on to 58 before Rick (10) was out bowled, and then quick dismissals of Rob Andrews (4) and Andy Walker (37) checked Ashover�s progress at 65-4. There then followed a fine partnership from two of the up-and-coming players of the future, young Bushy and Winno stuck it out in a noisy and intimidating time for them, and secured the game taking the score to 91 before Bushy was out for 14. However Mark (19 no) and Wayne Carline took the game to its conclusion, Wayne with a stylish hook shot for four causing uproar amongst the spectators.

So 20 points for the home side, and with Everton�s loss now find Ashover second in the league, a repeat of this result will secure promotion back to Division 2. The return of Bolstridge and Broome will strengthen the attack, so its game on!

Commiserations to the Sheepbridge lads, a sporting bunch who have stuck together through a really hard season, good luck to them.

D. Cooke	Caught Kabeer (w/k), Bowled P. Kumar	0
J. Hunter	Caught ?, Bowled S. Kumar	11
P. Alexander	Caught R. Kumar, Bowled P. Kumar	3
W. Vermeulen	Bowled P. Kumar	2
A. Walker*	Caught Kabeer (w/k), Bowled Ali Ameer	5
R. Andrew	Bowled S. Kumar	40
M. Winson	Bowled P.S. Sohi	3
C. Gwillim	Caught Kabeer (w/k), Bowled S. Arya	2
W. Carline	Caught ?, Bowled S. Arya	19
J. Hammond	Not out	1
L. Rhodes	D.N.B.
Extras		28
Total	for 9 wickets	114

Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Average
P. Kumar	7	1	15	3	5
B. Sandeep	6	1	7	0	n/a
A. Ameer	6	1	12	1	12
S. Kumar	7	3	16	2	8
P.S. Sohi	3	1	5	1	5
Luthra	5	0	19	0	n/a
S. Arya	6	1	25	2	12.5

Sameer	Bowled C. Gwillim	1
B. Sandeep	Caught W. Carline, Bowled L. Rhodes	2
S. Kumar	LBW, Bowled C. Gwillim	23
S. Arya*	Caught J. Hunter, Bowled C. Gwillim	0
Luthra	Caught J. Hunter, Bowled W. Vermeulen	35
Kabeer	LBW, Bowled C. Gwillim	0
A. Ameer	Caught C. Gwillim, Bowled W. Vermeulen	14
Raman	Caught L. Rhodes, Bowled W. Vermeulen	2
Pawan	Caught J. Hammond, Bowled W. Vermeulen	9
Ameer	Bowled I. Cooke	4
P.S. Sohi	Not out	1
Extras		10
Total	all out	101

Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Average
C. Gwillim	8	7	1	4	0.25
L. Rhodes	8	2	35	1	35
M. Winson	4	1	27	0	n/a
J. Hammond	8	3	13	0	n/a
W. Vermeulen	5.4	1	20	4	5
I. Cooke	1	0	1	1	1