Bicknell at his best to defy title hopefuls Welbeck

Welbeck Colliery's title chances have slipped in recent weeks and they travelled to Belvoir hoping to kick-start a winning sequence only to come up against Darren Bicknell at his most belligerent.

The home side won the toss and batted first and smashed 337-5 in their 50 overs with former Notts star Bicknell hammering 174 from 156 balls, including 27 fours and two sixes. Gurpej Landa continued his fine season with 81.

Knipton is a high-scoring ground but this was a daunting target and Belvoir nearly recorded their first win of the season but couldn't take the last Welbeck wicket as they hung on at 222-9.

Andy Marchant and Jonathan Ball did their best for the visitors, scoring 42 and 64 respectively but the bowling plaudits went to Lee Fazackerley (3-54) and Sam Cliff (3-48). This result leaves Welbeck 34 points off the top and Belvoir climb off bottom spot to open up a 16-point lead over Kiveton Park.

Kiveton had a tough day as they suffered a 147-run loss at home to Clifton. The visitors batted first and racked up 333-6 declared in 45 overs with runs for James Taylor (86), Martin Weightman (64*), Richard Harris (57) and Liam Andrews (41).

The declaration gave the leaders 55 overs to get ten wickets but in the event they needed fewer than 42 as Kiveton subsided for 186.

James Bullivant (41) and Rob Coxon (30) were the only batsman to make significant contributions with Tom Lungley taking 4-26 for Clifton, who now head the table by 29 points.

West Indian Cavaliers are the side in second, a position they achieved after a four-wicket win away to Wollaton.
In another high-scoring game, the home side posted 254-7, largely due to a battling ton from skipper Ed Savill. His 107 was lent solid support by Rhys Owen with 69. The Cavaliers' leading bowler was former England ace Alex Tudor with 3-49.

It turned out to be an excellent day for Tudor who struck 78 in the Cavs' response but the star of the show yet again was Usman Afzaal who struck his third league ton of the season, seeing his side home with an unbeaten 132 that included 18 fours and three sixes. Ben Savage was the leading Wollaton bowler, taking 4-55.

The Nottinghamshire Academy travelled to Cuckney and came home with a 16-point draw in yet another day for the batsmen.

The county side batted first on winning the toss and went to tea with 276-9 on the board. Tom Rowe and Sam Kelsall continued their good form with 71 and 53 and the returning Hassan Azad breezed to 55 at more than a run a ball.

Cuckney bounced back well from their loss last week in the Twenty20 competition and got to within 14 runs of their target for the loss of six wickets. Adam Burgess struck 78 and skipper Richard Stroh 82 but Brett Hutton helped to get the draw for the Academy, taking 3-58.

The final game of the day was not such a free-scoring match as Papplewick travelled to Caythorpe and were handed a six- wicket thumping.

The visitors batted first but were skittled for 141 in 45 overs with Steve Randall doing most of the damage with 5-25 from ten overs. Only Alex Lloyd's 28 got anywhere near a decent score.

Caythorpe cruised to their win in only 24.1 overs with Ben Phillips again going well with the bat with an unbeaten 73 and Steve Allcoat enjoyed his day, grabbing 42 to go along with his four catches.

Notts Academy 276-9 in 50 overs (16 pts) drew with CUCKNEY 262-6 in 50 overs (10 pts). For Notts Academy: S Kelsall 53, H Azad 55, T Rowe 71, B Hutton 3-58. For Cuckney: A Burgess 78, R Stroh 82.

Papplewick 141 in 45.4 overs (2 pts) lost to CAYTHORPE 143-4 in 24.1 overs (20 pts). For Caythorpe: S Randall 5-25, B Phillips 73*, S Allcoat 42 and four catches.

Clifton 333-6 dec in 45 overs (20 pts) beat KIVETON PARK 186 in 41.4 overs (5 pts). For Clifton: D Birch 32, J Taylor 86, R Harris 57, L Andrews 41, M Weightman 64*, T Lungley 4-26. For Kiveton Park: J Bullivant 41, R Coxon 30.

WOLLATON 254-7 in 50 overs (6 pts) lost to W.I.Cavaliers 258-6 in 47.1 overs (19 pts). For Wollaton: E Savill 107 (12x4, 1x6, 190 balls), R Owen 69, B Savage 4-55. For WI Cavaliers: A Tudor 3-49 and 78, U Afzaal 132* (18x4, 3x6, 182 balls)

BELVOIR 337-5 in 50 overs (18 pts) drew with Welbeck 222-9 in 50 overs (8 pts). For Belvoir; G Landa 81, D Bicknell 174 (27x4, 2x6, 156 balls), L Fazackerley 3-54, S Cliff 3-48. For Welbeck: A Marchant 42, J Ball 64.

MANSFIELD HM 271-6 in 50 overs (6 pts) lost to Kimberley 275-6 in 48.2 overs (18 pts). For Mansfield HM: G Curtis 86, P Burdett 72, M Smallwood 42. For Kimberley: P Riley 3-54 and 47*, N Langford 52, A Platts 76, C Blake 34.

Result given in order of team batting first. Uppercase characters indicate home side.

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