The First XI slipped to their second successive heavy defeat after being bowled out for another meagre total – this time against visitors Clifton.

The home side were invited to bat first on a pitch which offered some early encouragement to the seamers and in a humid atmosphere conducive to swing, but even so there was not enough either in the surface or the air to explain the loss of three wickets in Nick Hopewell’s first two overs.

An lbw decision then accounted for Adam Bowering and equally unfortunate was Michael James (14), bowled by a ground-hugging long hop as he set himself up for the pull to make the score 38 for five in the twelfth over.

Gareth Marshall, showing unmistakable signs of a welcome return to form, had started to repair the damage with some sweetly timed off-drives, but when he had reached 24 off 26 deliveries, he shouldered arms to an in-swinger from Simon Moore with the inevitable consequences.

The carnage, some of it self-inflicted, resumed until the last wicket pair of Graham Dent (14*) and Anton Williams (29) put on 47 runs, showing what could be achieved by observing the basics – playing straight and waiting for the bad ball to hit.

Unfortunately for the home side, the partnership also showed that there were no great demons in the pitch. A total of 110 was never going to present a much of a hurdle to the visitors, who benefited from 27 extras and a couple of dropped catches to run out comfortable winners by seven wickets.

The team, having again earned just one point, was left to reflect upon the potential consequences of their poor August form as the recent successes of the bottom teams in some topsy-turvy results will mean a fight to the finish in the Division One relegation battle.

The First XI came to sticky end on a sticky wicket at Shipley Hall, going down to a heavy eight-wicket defeat.

After losing a vital toss, Rolleston were asked to bat first on a soft pitch which started to dry under the warm sun. After the loss of an early wicket, the second wicket pair of Michael James and Paul Allen saw off the opening bowlers, who were soon replaced by off-spinners John Buckley and Dan Haddon.

The two bowlerswere not extended in gaining flattering deviation from the pitch, but although they succeeded in slowing down the run-rate, the visitors did not seem in any particular trouble at 69 for one off 22 overs.

But Haddon then induced Allen (15) to drive in the air, and shortly after reaching his third consecutive half-century off 85 balls (six 4s and one 6), James was bowled by Buckley.

Few would have foreseen the disaster which was to follow, but one of the unfortunate features of the Willowers’ batting this season has been middle-order collapses, and this innings followed the same devastating trend as a succession of batsmen contributed to their own downfall with poor technique and shot selection against the turning ball.

The procession soon became a rout, with only Nigel West (11) reaching double figures as seven wickets fell for just 22 runs and the side was bowled out for 101.

Rolleston knew that they would have their work cut out to take something from the game, but were given hope when Rizwan Akbar removed Gamble’s middle stump with his fourth ball.

The Shipley batsmen, however, adopted a positive approach as the Rolleston bowlers failed to make use of the conditions, with James Cockayne and Simon Walker finishing off the sad affair in just 17.4 overs.

The paltry return of one point was no more than the team deserved, and they will need to display far more application in the remaining three games to avoid a disappointing end to the season.

The Firsts, depleted by injuries and holiday calls, returned from their trip to Staveley with 18 points after gaining a winning draw against one of the Division One strugglers.

After the Willowers had chosen to bat first their total of 226 was again built on good contributions from Michael James and Alex Britton, who both scored half centuries.

In the early stages of the Rolleston innings, Staveley’s Australian all-rounder, Ben Peake, was able to extract movement off the pitch, with the slips being kept busy.

James and opening partner Steve Scrimshaw, however, survived to put on 49 before the latter was dismissed, caught at mid-off. James (7 fours and 3 sixes) reached his fifty before falling to Peake, and Britton (7 fours) also perished after reaching his half-century off 57 balls.

The middle and late order could not maintain this momentum, but when Gareth Marshall (23) was last man out in the fiftieth over, a challenging target of 227 to win had been set.

Rizwan Akbar soon dismissed both the Staveley openers, with danger-man Peake being smartly snapped up in the slips by Marshall. This brought the Bullimore twins together, but unfortunately for Rolleston, the other fielders failed to emulate Marshall, as Tom Bullimore survived two early chances to build a useful partnership with his brother before playing on to off-spinner Anton Williams.

Douglas joined Chris Bullimore to continue the assault on the target, and with the score at 127 for three with nineteen overs left, the home side were in the ascendancy.

However, Marshall showed that he has a safe pair of hands in the outfield as well as close to the wicket as he got rid of both batsmen when they tried to hit James (3 for 51) over the top.

Two more wickets then fell in quick succession, meaning that Staveley had concentrate on the draw rather than victory.

David May dug in to survive some close calls against the returning Akbar (four for 45) before finally falling lbw in the penultimate over, but the home side were able to play out time to deny the visitors victory.

The First XI returned from Denby with nine points after holding out for a losing draw, thanks in large part to a stubborn rearguard effort from Michael James, who carried his bat for 71 through his side’s innings of 177 for eight in reply to the home side’s 223 for seven.

The hosts won the toss and decided to bat on a good pitch which nevertheless offered some encouragement to the bowlers with its bounce and carry. Graham Dent and Rizwan Akbar both bowled good opening spells which prevented Denby from getting off to a quick start.

Both took a well-deserved wicket before, with the score on 47 for two after 18 overs, Alex Britton and Steve Scrimshaw were introduced to the attack and chipped in with a wicket each, the highlight being an athletic low catch off his own bowling by Britton to dismiss former Rolleston player Anil Bria for 50.

The experienced Stuart Poplar (52 off 47 balls) and South African Peter Furstenberg (57 off 64 balls) put on 76 in quick time with some powerful driving before the return of Akbar and Dent, who finished with the good figures of three for 54, effectively put a brake on the scoring rate, and the final total of 223 for 7 appeared to be well within the visitors’ capabilities.

The reply got off to an inauspicious start when Yaqoob dismissed Matt Ford, who was in a lot of pain with a recurrence of his dental abscess, in the first over. The bowler was extracting both bounce and movement from the pitch, but James and Britton safely negotiated his opening spell and began to find the boundary regularly with some sweetly timed shots.

At 83 for one off 19 overs and with the batsmen looking comfortable, the omens seemed good but, yet again, Rolleston pressed the batting self-destruct button after Britton, who had survived two loud appeals was cruelly despatched by the third, which was answered with a geometry-defying lbw decision. His 47 had come off just 59 balls and included six 4s and a six.

The score quickly became 87 for five, and a major re-building job had to be done.

Dave Bowering and James put on 31 in sensible fashion to revive the visitors’ hopes before another injudicious shot ended Bowering’s contribution.

James, who faced 186 balls in his three-hour vigil at the crease, had to curb his usual attacking instincts to play the unaccustomed role of patient anchor-man, but this he did with determination despite seeing two further wickets fall at the other end before Scrimshaw got up from his sick bed to offer valuable support in an unbroken stand of 28 which gained another batting point and deprived Denby of the victory they had been sensing.

No side batting second has won at Rolleston this season, and this remarkable trend was continued on Saturday when the home side, having bowled out top-of-the-table Aston on Trent for 192, fell 38 runs short of the target.

Having been asked to field first on a blisteringly hot day and easy-paced pitch, the home side showed commendable application to dismiss Aston in just forty-two overs.

Afetr a circumspect start, the league leaders accelerated purposefully before the introduction of off-spinner Anton Williams paid immediate dividends for the Willowers when he had Yussain caught at mid-wicket with the score on 59. Professional Mansoor, however, was looking in ominously good form and set for a big innings before the same bowler induced him to hole out at extra-cover from a full-blooded drive for 64 scored off just 74 balls. By this time, the accomplished Shahid Khan had entered the fray and found the boundary five times in fifteen balls with powerful drives before he too fell to Williams, caught behind, to make the score 157 for five.

The recall of Rizwan Akbar, bowling fast but full and straight on the slow pitch, precipitated a collapse as the last five wickets fell for 35 runs with the last four falling for just 11 runs in four overs, including a goalkeeper-like catch by Paul Allen to dismiss Iqbal. This gave the Rawalpindi paceman five wickets for 36 runs, and took his season’s tally to past 40 wickets. Williams finished with the commendable figures of four for 73.

Faced with what seemed a reasonable target of 193 off 58 overs, the home side received an early setback when Khan produced a fine delivery to get rid of Matt Ford. Khan was giving the batsmen a stiff examination, but just when skipper Michael James had got through this crucial spell, he chased the first ball from Tariq to be caught at slip for 20. Gareth Marshall and Paul Allen then both fell to catches at backward point, and the home side were in trouble at 57 for four.

A big partnership was needed to steady the ship and it looked as if Alex Britton and Scott Cobley were going to provide it. They put on 40 precious runs before Cobley was cruelly bowled by a ball from off-spinner Mansoor which scuttled along the turf.

While the watchful Alex Britton was still at the crease and displaying immaculate timing, Rolleston still had hope, but Mansoor was mixing up his deliveries effectively (and illegally when he was no-balled for throwing) and once Britton was dismissed for 39 the now almost statutory collapse followed.

Akbar took the attack to the opponents, but there was too much to do and too few wickets left, and when he was last man out for 27, Rolleston again were left to contemplate the growing points gap between themselves and the promotion places and reflect on the fact they had again found it difficult to play shots on a slow, low track.

From the ridiculous to the sublime….! The First XI season of peaks and troughs hit new heights on Saturday, when they followed up last week’s paltry total of 87 by smashing 304 for 9 against close rivals Stainsby Hall to give them a comfortable winning draw and 20 welcome points.

It was a score which had seemed highly unlikely when Rolleston arrived at the ground to find that the wind had blown the covers off the pitch during the overnight storms, leaving the surface with the same consistency as that of an under-cooked pudding.

To make matters worse, John Thompson pulled a calf muscle in the warm-up, leading to frantic calls to Rolleston which resulted in the arrival of the evergreen and ever loyal Mick Acton as his replacement.

Having been invited to bat first, Rolleston’s openers, Matt Ford, who was playing in a great deal of pain after emergency treatment for a tooth abscess, and Michael James, had to be on the alert for the inevitable deliveries which popped from the surface but were quick to punish anything loose and were scoring at 5 runs an over before Ford was lbw with the score on 38. Gareth Marshall departed in similar fashion, and it was the umpire’s hyperactive finger which also accounted for Paul Allen to make the score 92 for 3 after 22 overs.

By this time James, mixing watchful defence with powerful but controlled attack, was approaching his 50, which he duly reached after 63 balls.

The captain and new batsman Alex Britton then put on over a hundred for the next wicket in just thirteen overs in a partnership which took the game away from their opponents. Both batsmen gave an impressive display of positive batting with the threat of left-arm spinner Barlow on the drying pitch nullified by some quick footwork and assured shot selection.

James reached his second league century of the season (16 fours and 2 sixes) with an imperious drive over the ropes at long-off, but when he perished trying to repeat the shot, Britton accelerated even more, and the boundary was soon peppered with a series of superbly timed shots which were played with an elegant grace on both sides of the wicket. Having raced past 50, he started the last over on 94 (13 fours, 3 sixes), scored off just 79 deliveries, but departed to his first false shot of the afternoon to deprive him of what would have been a well-deserved century.

The home side soon served notice that they thought the target of 304 was well beyond their reach as they took no risks against the tight opening attack of Rizwan Akbar and Graham Dent. Both bowlers were rewarded with a wicket, and when Alex Britton picked up a third to leave the hosts on 55 for 3, the priority for Stainsby was to stabilise the innings..

Handicapped by the absence of Anton Williams, James turned to Mick Acton and Ford, who was in too much discomfort to keep wicket, to provide the spin that was needed to make further inroads, and both were able extract turn and take three wickets between them, with Scott Cobley producing a marvellous low catch in the covers to get rid of top-scorer Barlow.

With umpire now suffering from paralysis of the finger as a series of confident appeals were turned down, the match appeared to be heading for a draw when the last over, bowled by Graham Dent, started with the visitors on 171 for 7.

However, drama was to follow. Britton pulled off a close catch from a full-blooded drive that Paul Collingwood would have been proud of, and two balls later a full straight delivery ripped through the defences of the new batsman, leaving Number 11 to defend the last three deliveries. This he managed to do despite nervously edging one ball through the slips for a four which brought his side a third batting point and left Dent with the commendable figures of 3 for 37.

It had been an excellent team performance, exemplified by the contributions of Acton and Ford, both of whom, as ever, put themselves out in the interests of the their side.

The First XI's roller-coaster ride this season continued on Saturday as they plunged from the heights of last week’s win to the depths of a heavy defeat against Rolls-Royce.

Again depleted by holidays and suspension, and having invited the visitors to bat first on a damp pitch, the home side started off well with Rizwan Akbar taking a wicket in the fifth over. However, the opening bowlers were unable to add to this early success despite keeping the scoring rate down.

The introduction of off-spinner Anton Williams brought the second wicket to make the score 61 for two off twenty-one overs, but subsequently the home bowlers’ unfortunate tendency of introducing the ball to the middle of a slow pitch was severely punished as the batsmen gorged themselves on a feast of long-hops on a strip which offered some encouragement to both seam and spin.

Sultan (53)and Abbasi (76) quickly put on 88 for the third wicket before Sultan was dismissed by Alex Britton, who added to the home side's woes by injuring his knee.

However, Rolleston then had the boost of seeing Abbasi run out by an accurate throw from Akbar as he looked for an improbable second run, making the score 175 for four.

Akbar returned to impose some much-needed control, enabling Williams (5-58) to pick up some cheap wickets at the other end as the visitors played a series of injudicious shots in an attempt to boost the total.

Even so, the final total of 231 for nine was at least 75 runs more than it should have been.

The Rolleston reply got off to a confident start with Matt Ford and Paul Allen scoring at four an over before Allen (15) played on to a ball which kept low.

It was then that the visitors’ attack, in particular former Dunstall professional Naeem Akhtar (3-17), gave the home side an object lesson on how to bowl on what was more like an early May pitch than a typical July track.

Bowling a full length, and demonstrating the old bowlers’ adage of “If they miss, I’ll hit”, the opposition bowlers made the batsmen play and were able to extract plenty of movement.

Matt Ford (24) battled away manfully before being stumped but in the meantime he had seen a succession of partners come and go. Apart from Akbar (18), none of the other batsmen looked comfortable and the innings subsided to a disappointing 87 all out, with eight of the ten batsmen being bowled or lbw as loose technique was mercilessly punished.

Rolleston may claim that the front-foot lbw decisions were harsh, but this cannot hide from the fact that their opponents had shown themselves to be superior in every aspect of the game.

The First XI’s positive approach this season has meant only one draw in twelve league matches. This trend of either winning or losing was continued on Saturday with a maximum points victory at Nutbrook after the previous week’s disappointing defeat.

Going into the game with a side weakened by availability problems exacerbated by the sudden and unexplained exit to Spondon of Darren Yeomans, who arrives and departs from clubs with a regularity that Virgin Trains can only dream about, the Willowers had the added disadvantage of being invited to bat first on a pitch which was damp in patches after rain had seeped through the covers.

However, the top order knuckled down to their task, and with the score at 119 for three after 29 overs, and with Paul Allen (33) going well, they had every right to be pleased with the way they had coped with the conditions. Unfortunately their old Achilles heel manifested itself yet again when a middle order collapse put them on the back foot and they slumped to 158 for 8 with just seven overs left.

The prospects of posting a challenging score seemed remote, but Anton Williams played some powerful wind-assisted lofted drives in an impressive cameo innings to take the total to a respectable 211. Number 9 Williams was out for 46 off the last ball of the innings after hitting two sixes and three fours.

The pitch had eased but bowling from one end was an uphill task as the wind blowing down the pitch increased to gale force in gusts.

When Nutbrook batted, Rizwan Akbar gave his side the perfect start by getting rid of openers Pengelly and the dangerous Bentley. John Thompson was then handed the difficult task of bowling into the wind, but responded magnificently with fifteen overs of controlled seamers, maintaining a nagging line and length throughout in the most trying of conditions.

He dismissed Australian Warren Ganderton in his first over to put his side further in control before a short break for rain halted progress.

When play resumed, the home side continued to lose wickets quickly, but when the seventh wicket pair of Eaton and Hack took charge to put on 55 and take the score to 122 for six, Nutbrook’s hopes were still alive.

Thompson, however, had other ideas, taking the vital wicket of Hack caught behind before trapping his partner lbw to finish with the superb figures of 5 for 40. As the rain clouds began to gather ominously, Akbar (4-27) returned to the fray to clean up the tail, leaving Rolleston victors by 61 runs with ten overs to spare.

It had been an excellent team performance, in which negativity was conspicuous by its absence.

Rolleston 1st XI’s match at Marehay resulted in a run-fest with over 500 runs and just 7 wickets falling throughout the day. However, it was the home side that secured victory, inspired by a knock of 120 by left-hander, Andy Walters.

Invited to bat on a slowish track, Rolleston openers Matt Ford and Paul Allen were untroubled until the latter survived a determined appeal for caught behind off the bowling of Aussie paceman, Dan Watson. Allen replied with a string of boundaries forcing Watson’s removal from the attack. Despite the excellent bowling of Richard Wood (0-28 off 9 overs), Rolleston’s innings was gathering momentum and, at 128 without loss at the half-way mark, confidence was high. The partnership was finally broken when Ford (58) fell victim to a sharp Chris Kerry catch off the bowling of Dean Mills (1 for 40).

Gareth Marshall joined Allen (90) but eight overs later Rolleston’s opener flashed at a straight delivery from Martin Camm and lost his stumps. Allen’s innings included 12 fours and 1 six, his departure signalling the arrival of Alex Britton. There followed a third wicket partnership of 50 before Watson returned to the attack and had Britton (28 from 29 deliveries) caught behind with the score on 221. Chris Colley (21 no) joined Marshall (43 no) and the pair moved the score onto a challenging 257 after the allotted 50 overs.

Marehay’s reply suffered an early blow when Rizwan Akbar (1 for 74) had Watson caught by wicketkeeper Ford in the third over. Camm and Andy Walters seemed undeterred and maintained the required run rate until the introduction of debutant John Thompson (3 for 49) applied the brakes, bowling Camm for 26. Undergraduate Chris Kerry (66) joined Walters , their partnership of 173 in 23 overs proving decisive. Walters reached his half century in 61 balls and took just 31 more to notch his ton. The frustrated Akbar’s insistence on bowling short to the talented Walters was proving costly, with several hook shots speeding to the boundary. Thompson returned to the attack and ensured another bowling point for the visitors by dismissing the high scoring duo in the same over, Kerry caught at long on by Allen and Walters stumped off a wide.

Captain Gareth Buckley (6 no) and Adrian Vickerage (14 no) completed the formalities and Marehay finished on 258 for 4 after 41.1 overs. The victors were encouraged that the 22 points gained moved them out of the relegation zone, whilst Rolleston’s 7 points maintains their mid-table position.

Rolleston sent spinning out of cup

LANGLEY MILL’S spin attack followed up Saturday’s wonder display with another scintillating performance to knock Rolleston 2nds out of the Bayley Cup and leaves the Millers with a mouth-watering quarter final tie at home to Alfreton 2nds on June 29.

Playing on the same track as Saturday, the Millers batted first and Paul Bailey returned to the side after missing Saturday’s game.

The Bailey brothers returned to their usual role of opening the batting, and the pair put on 76 for the first wicket before Paul was stumped by Nick Goode, off Richard Wyatt, for 29.

Sajendra Thimal departed for 10, leg before to Anton Williams, and the same bowler picked up the wicket of Andrew Bailey for 41.

Aaron Tullett suffered a first baller, also stumped, this time off Williams to leave the hosts on 102-4.

Danny Hanson (34) and Dan Lacey (24) saw the Millers to 165 before Hanson was bowled by Scott Cobley.

Lacey went at 170, bowled by Luke Nelson and the rest of the innings fell away tamely as the Millers finished on 191 all out.

Of the lower order, only Craig Parker reached double figures with an unbeaten 15.

Rolleston started well, despite losing Adam Bowering for 12, caught by Jordan Sisson, off Dave Farnsworth, with the score on 27.

Nigel West and Cobley then moved the score on rapidly to 70, off only 12 overs before skipper Bailey introduced the spin of Thimal into the attack.

Bailey also bowled himself at the Aldreads Lane end and the two spinners reduced the visitors from 70-1 to 86-6 in the space of only seven overs.

There was brief resistance from the lower order as Wyatt scored a rapid 23, Nelson 10 and Goode 13, but the spinners were on fire as they tore through the fourth division side’s batsmen.

Thimal finished his ten overs with 4-23 and Bailey finished with 3-32.

Once the two spinners had been seen off, there was no respite from the spinning onslaught as Luke Rowley replaced Thimal at the church end to pick up the last wicket to fall as Rolleston crashed to 136 all out to leave the Millers victors by 55 runs.

A close encounter of the nail-biting kind ended in a six-run victory at Clifton for the Firsts, who claimed their second successive maximum points haul.

Fortunes had swayed to and fro throughout an enthralling game but when Rizwan Akbar claimed his fourth wicket to dismiss Clifton’s last man there were few who would have claimed that Rolleston had not deserved their victory.

Having won the toss, skipper Michael James took the positive option by taking first use of a good pitch with a short fast outfield. He continued in this positive vein by taking the attack to the home bowlers as he and Paul Allen put on 102 for the first wicket in the first hour before being dismissed for a typically belligerent 58 off 64 balls which contained five 4s and three 6s.

With Allen still at the crease and playing fluently, a big score seemed in prospect, but after the departure of Allen for an impressive 58, the middle order failed to cash in on the good start, and a final score of 228 for 8 left the match evenly poised.

Rolleston got off to a good start in the field with one opener falling lbw to Akbar and the other missing a straight full-toss from Graham Dent.

Campbell Ogilvie and professional Rafatullah Mohmand then set about re-building the innings before the dangerous Ogilvie drove Dent into the safe hands of Darren Yeomans at extra cover.

A change of bowling brought two more wickets with Alex Britton and Steve Scrimshaw both hitting the stumps and at 86 for 5 the Willowers looked to be in control.

Mohmand, however, was still at the crease and, finding a determined partner in number 7 Flower, began to accelerate with some wristy strokes and judicious sweeps. His 50 came off 58 balls and the partnership was worth 102 when the returning Akbar got rid of Flower. He then trapped the next man lbw first ball, and the game swung in Rolleston’s favour after Dent returned to the attack to bowl the number 9 to make the score 175 for 8.

There were still plenty of overs left and as Mohmand farmed the bowling effectively to reach his hundred and bring his side closer to the target, the odds swung again in favour of the home side.

Mohmand then, however, began to take risks. He aimed a huge blow off Dent, which James, back-pedalling furiously, got his hands to but could not prevent going over the ropes. Two balls later, he tried to repeat the steepling shot but this time James took a marvellous catch over his shoulder as he ran towards the boundary.

This seemed to have sealed the match but the drama hadn’t finished. The last pair inched their way towards the target as two snicks off Akbar flew to the boundary but the Rolleston bowler had the last word. He had previously had a confident appeal for caught behind against Mohmand turned down, but when Hopewell got his pads in the way of another express delivery, the fickle finger of fate turned in his favour to bring an exciting match to a fitting end.

The 1st XI got back on to the winning trail in DCCL Division One with an emphatic win over Shipley Hall which brought them the maximum haul of 27 points.

A century from the captain and 5 wickets by the professional took the headlines, but could not mask the fact that the victory owed much to a fine team effort.

The Willowers welcomed back skipper Michael James from university, and it was he who laid the foundations for the home side’s total of 242 for 8 off their allotted 50 overs.

Having elected to bat first on a placid pitch, he took up the challenge following the early dismissal of opening partner Darren Yeomans. He reached 50 off 46 deliveries from the seamers, ably supported by Gareth Marshall, who displayed some excellently timed shots on both sides of the wicket,

He then kept the score ticking over against the spinners as the partnership reached 127 before Marshall was caught in the deep. Paul Allen came in to play fluently and see James reach his century off 102 balls as the captain continued to drive powerfully anything over-pitched and help himself to plenty of singles when the field was set deep.

After his departure for 109 (12 fours and two sixes), the innings lost some momentum, with Allen being unnecessarily run out and the late middle-order collapsing in disappointing fashion.

A total of 275 had seemed well within reach but it was left to some lusty blows from David Bowering and Graham Dent to set a target of 243 for the visitors.

It was a total which was well within reach on a normal easy-paced Rolleston track, but when the home side took the field, overseas player Rizwan Akbar gave his team the perfect start, snapping up four wickets in his opening spell of hostile and controlled fast bowling. He was aided by a smart slip catch by Yeomans, who also caught a snorter off Graham Dent to leave Shipley reeling at 48 for 5 off 12 overs.

The visitors then consolidated with a sixth wicket stand of 93 between the experienced Simon Walker and the young Josh Buckley but when Steve Scrimshaw changed his mode of attack by taking the pace of the ball, he snapped up three wickets in quick succession. Yeomans chipped in with another wicket before Akbar returned to dismiss the last man, courtesy of another fine slip catch by Yeomans. The last five wickets had fallen for just 15 runs in 5 overs to leave Shipley 86 runs adrift.

This left Akbar with the impressive figures of 5 for 32 and reignited the Willowers’ promotion hopes after the disappointing result of the previous week. The team will need no reminding that performances such as this need to be repeated consistently

The First XI suffered a heavy defeat at home to Denby.

On a benign pitch, the visitors started slowly against some accurate bowling, with Rizwan Akbar taking an early wicket. They then accumulated runs in a subdued manner, losing four wickets along the way, with Alex Britton claiming three of them in an intelligent spell of seam bowling.

However, the impressive Joe Greenhalgh then cut loose after a circumspect start. Finding valuable support from Ben Perry-Taylor to reach his fifty he then scored 41 runs in just 16 deliveries with powerful driving to boost his own score and take his side to 232 for 5 off the allotted 50 overs, as the home side wilted under the savage attack.

There was little wrong with the pitch, and the home side should have been able at least to occupy the crease, but some early lax shot selection meant that Rolleston were always destined for a long haul in their reply.

Matt Ford had few problems in accumulating a steady 40, but an alarming middle-order collapse, with five wickets falling in less than four overs left Rolleston in dire trouble. The procession had become a rout before two questionable decisions ended the misery, but the damage had already been done.

Most wickets had been given rather than gained to give Denby an emphatic win and remind the home side that nothing can be taken for granted in this competitive division.

Two exciting finishes resulted in agony and ecstasy for Rolleston in this weekend’s double-header. First the ecstasy.

Rolleston reacted to the disappointment of the previous week’s defeat with a last over win by just four runs against previous league leaders Stainsby Hall who had come into the match with a one hundred percent record.

In a dramatic, nail-biting finale to an incident-packed match, Alex Britton bowled the Stainsby Number 11 with the second ball of the 50th over to leave the visitors five runs short of their target and give his side 27 priceless points.

Fortunes had ebbed and flowed all afternoon, but when Stainsby started the forty-eighth over needing just eight runs with three wickets left and with their captain Richard Wood well set, the odds seemed stacked against the home side. But Rizwan Akbar then trapped the skipper lbw before removing the next man first ball to set up the last-gasp victory. Steve Scrimshaw conceded just two runs off the following over and made sure that it was the opposition number 11 who was on strike for the last over. A straight ball from the reliable Britton did the rest.

Rolleston had taken first use of a placid pitch, but failed to capitalise. Paul Allen went early and although Matt Ford and Gareth Marshall put together the highest partnership of the day - 55- nobody was able to build a big innings as several batsmen got into the teens or twenties but then got out.

The Stainsby spinners, Chavra and Barlow shared nine wickets as the home players failed to escape from their shackles.

A final total of 158 was below par, but Rolleston’s response in the field was positive. With the attack depleted by injuries to himself and Britton, skipper Michael James had to juggle his bowlers judiciously to make sure that pressure was applied and maintained.

A hostile opening spell from Akbar did not receive the reward it deserved but the visitors were prevented from sprinting away by some tight bowling and keen fielding. Nevertheless, at 90 for two with twenty-one overs left, Stainsby were still in the driving seat. Akbar’s second spell then brought two quick wickets which, added to a piece of brilliant fielding by Britton, who ran out Worth with a quick pick-up and direct hit at the non-striker’s end, put the visitors on the back foot.

Scrimshaw also took a vital wicket in a mean spell to make the score 116 for 7. Wood and wicket-keeper Greaves then put on 36 precious runs before Akbar returned to gain his crucial double strike and set up the pulsating finale.

Now the agony.

Rolleston visited Aston on the following day, and again the match swung to and fro all afternoon. Unfortunately for Rolleston, it was Aston who came out on top, winning by four wickets with six balls to spare.

It was a result which had seemed unlikely when the visitors reduced the home side to 46 for 4 after 17 overs chasing a target of 211.

Rolleston’s innings had progressed steadily, with Paul Allen (56) and Michael James (41) making good contributions before the evergreen Dave Bowering came to the crease to boost the scoring rate with a performance which rolled back the years.

After a circumspect start, he unleashed a savage attack on the Aston bowlers, with 27 coming off the unfortunate Tariq’s last over, including two towering sixes, to finish on 63 not out off just 49 balls, with 42 coming off the last 15 deliveries received.

A total of 210 for six seemed competitive, even more so when Rizwan Akbar took two early wickets, including the dangerous Shahid Khan first ball, and when Steve Scrimshaw and Alex Britton chipped in with a wicket each.

Another Rolleston victory seemed to be in prospect, but a scintillating innings from the Aston professional Mansoor turned the game on its head. Driving fluently and also being severe on anything short, he raced to his 50 off only 23 deliveries with the aid of nine boundaries. With Nawaz offering solid support at the other end, the injury-ravaged Rolleston attack could not break through, and the hundred partnership came up in the thirty-fifth over.

They had put on 141 before both fell in similar fashion, well caught by Luke Nelson, who showed steady nerves as he safely pouched two skiers at long-off.

This gave Rolleston renewed hope, but with Rizwan now also suffering from a thigh strain, an impressive spell from Graham Dent was not sufficient to halt the home side’s progress to their target, leaving the visitors to lick their wounds and, hopefully, time to recover before the next match against Denby.

After winning the toss and inserting Rolls Royce on a damp and green wicket, Rolleston were disappointed to be kept waiting until the scoreboard had moved to 71 before taking the first wicket; the dampness and long grass proving more of a hindrance in blunting the pace of the new opening attack of Akbar and Dent.

However, the bowling was for the most part commendably economical and wickets fell at regular intervals throughout the remainder of the innings, with Steve Scrimshaw claiming an excellent 4-64 and Rizwan Akbar bowling effectively at the tail to finish with 3-66.

Limiting the hosts to 215 on a pitch with a 30 yard boundary was, objectively, a decent return by the bowling unit. However, the visitors were justifiably not satisfied with their efforts, and there existed a general feeling of malaise in the dressing room at the turnaround. The first XI will expect to put on a better show in the field in the upcoming games if they are to have any pretensions of success this season.

Batting against a lively and enthusiastic bowling and fielding unit proved a difficult task for Rolleston, who despite their failings in the field, held high hopes of rectifying their afternoon by returning to the Willows with 22 points in their kit bags.

The top three fell to injudicious shots and, at 28 for 3, left the middle order with a Herculean task ahead. However, a period of quiet consolidation by Allen and Marshall began to get things back on track (being the only two players to reach double figures) until Marshall fell to an execrable decision.

The rest of the order provided only token resistance and Rolls Royce were kept waiting until just the forty second over to record victory - somewhat fortunate given the impending penalties for an over rate worthy of test cricket.

Heading in to the double header weekend Rolleston are under no illusions that improved application in all areas is the order of the day if they are to provide a riposte this most disappointing defeat.

Rolleston skipper Paul Allen lost the all important toss and was inserted to bat. On a rather damp green wicket it was hard going early on with Matt Ford and Darren Yeomans recieving several nasty deliveries rearing up off a length.
Runs started to flow at a fair rate of knotts off the bat of Ford with Yeomans digging in at the other end. A good scoring rate was achieved until Yeomans going for an ambitious flick through the leg side being caught at gully.
This brought Gareth Marshall to the wicket who settled things down rotating the strike well. Matt Ford brought up an impressive half century with a cluster of boundarys before being out for 52.
The rest of the Rolleston order kept the scoreboard ticking until a couple of cheap dismissals and a couple of the worst umpiring decisions you are likely to see. The willowers amassed a total of 189 whilst being a bit short of where we wanted was something to bowl at on a helpful wicket.

The Nutbrook innings was nothing to write home about as Rolleston opening attack of Graham Dent and Steve 'evergreen' Scrimshaw strangled them with immaculate line and length restricting the visitors to 44 off 20 overs.
The introduction of spin gave the visitors something different to worry about however a large portion of luck and a few wayward deliveries with an attacking field let them get up to the 100 mark. With 10 overs to go Nutbrook shut up shop and laboured to 134 - 6.
A very good opening match for the Rolleston outfit who without overseas star Rizwan Akbar and a couple of other regulars showed togetherness and spirit to which i`ve not seen for a long time down at the Willows.
Next fixture Rolls Royce away..
Darren Yeomans

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