Defeats see relegation battles loom for clubs
IT was another miserable weekend for Ashbourne and Clifton’s first teams in their Derbyshire County League matches.
Both are now on the brink of a relegation battle in their respective divisions.
Clifton’s game away to promotion-chasing Dunstall in Division One was rain-affected but that was academic after a bad batting collapse.
When Dunstall won the toss and chose to bat, Adam Leigh and Atta Ur Rehamn kept opener Matthew Arnold scoreless for 25 balls before he was out to Leigh but Callum Brodrick and Ben Whitehouse then added 68.
Brodrick’s 44 and Whitehouse’s 63 were the maintsays of a rain-shortened innings of 169-6 from 37.3 overs in which Paul Allen returned 3-51 for Clifton.
The recalculation gave Clifton a bigger target – 193 from 37 overs – but that was irrelevant when they collapsed to 28-6, opening bowler George Martin taking 4-17 from eight overs and former Clifton skipper Alex Woolliscroft taking 1-13 from seven.
Only Jack Barker and Edd Wilson reached double figures as the innings subsided for 72 in 27.5 overs.
The seconds, too, are in a battle at the wrong end of the table after being bowled out for 115 at home by Allestree.
James Bakewell (22), Tom Hilton (22) and Stuart Apanasewicz (21) all got starts without going on.
When Allestree replied, Kian Walwyn again showed his potential by taking 3-31 from seven overs but they were the only wickets to fall as Allestree cruised home in 18.4 overs.
The thirds at least had a winning draw at home to Lullington Park fourths in Division Nine South West.
Laurence Tinsley (46) and Michael Gerrard (57) put on 75 for the first wicket when they were put in at the Polo Ground and Charlie Hart, with 46 from 20 balls, and Steve Walwyn (26 not out from 10 balls) took advantage of the platform to propel Clifton to 222-6 declared in 36 overs.
They were unable to budge Lullington though, as opener Charles Mallinder made 51 and the visitors finished with a comfortable draw at 1286, Ben King taking 2-28 from nine overs.
ASHBOURNE firsts reached 127-3 after being put in by Rosehill Methodists in Division Six South but subsided from there to 173 all out.
Opener Asher Alam made 51 from 50 balls and Tom Jordan 42 from 39 balls but they could not get opening bowler Muhammad Tayyub Saeed away as he took 4-10 from 10 overs.
After the break, Charith De Silva snared Rosehill’s bigscoring opener, Mark Stallard, the former Derby County footballer, for one and Sahir Alam bowled a good spell to take 3-16 from 10 overs but the home side chipped away at their target and got home by four wickets with Muhammad Sadiq on 61 not out.
The seconds continued their promotion push in Division Nine South West with a strong winning draw at home to Brailsford thirds.
Ed Hodgson, with 53 not out, anchored a knock in which Paul Duke scored 80 and Amba Sivagurunathan 32 not out as they reached a useful 212-4 in 37 overs.
Brailsford were never quite up with the rate but made a good fist of their reply, making 186-7.
Stalwarts Andy Hill (3-27) and Shane Wibberley (2-26) turned in good spells.
The thirds were well beaten by Nutbrook thirds in Division Nine Central South, being bowled out for 74. Nutbrook knocked those off for the loss of five wickets.
BRAILSFORD firsts’ Division Three South game away to Trentside was abandoned.
Put in, Brailsford made 1843 declared, with Adam Randall making 47, Matt Dowling 44 and Alexander Reid 39 not out.
Wickets fell as Trentside tried to chase quickly but when time ran out they had reached 128-7 from 17 overs, veteran Ian Clarke taking 3-33.
The seconds had a good win at home to Chellaston thirds, who posted a decent target of 210-8 in Division Seven South.
James Buckler, Mitchell Coxon, Peter Cartledge and Alec Stubbs each took two wickets.
The reply started well, with Isaac Glossop and Tom Hall both making 49 and Tom Craig saw them to a four-wicket victory with 43 not out with nine balls to spare.
WOOTTON firsts had an easy win away to Uttoxeter in Division Four South.
They shot out Uttoxeter for 86 in 18.1 overs and lost only two wickets in getting the runs.
The seconds piled up 266-8 in Division Seven South for a winning draw against Ticknall thirds.
William Heathcote led the way with 109 and Will Whitehurst made 76 not out, while Nawazish Ali Khan kept them in check a little with 5-44 from nine overs.
Khan, with 33 not out, then ensured his side did not lose as they closed on 166-7, Ian Whitehurst, Will Whitehurst and David Lawrence taking two wickets each.