[JonB]

Up at ashover now watching our Sunday 2nds against chesterfield in the Mansfield league and they've rolled out 5 or 6 first team players.

[JonB]

Gareth Batty called up for the tour to Bangladesh.....seems as long as you play for Surrey you always have a chance. Surely there is a better option than him somewhere!!

[JonB]

Well it wasnt to be in terms of promotion....whilst we got the 27 we needed to have a chance Langley Mill barely put up a fight against Meadows so they go up along with the 4S winner and runner up who got 10 more points than us. Still a good season though.

Make up of 4N for next season is going to take a bit of sorting as well. Definite teams for 4N will be Ashover CC, Allestree CC, Breadsall CC, Chesterfield Barbarians CC, Chesterfield CC, Darley Dale CC, Eckington CC, Quarndon CC and Holmesfield so need three more to make it 12. I suspect they are going to have to work it a bit for teams just on the A38\A52 split line as such to move some across to north. Spondon 3rds were promoted from 5S but their 2nds being relegated from 3 to 4 will stop them going up. I think that means Sandiacre 3rds will join Risley in going up. Sandiacre 3rds have been in 4N before so i suspect will come in again along with Risley then its probably going to be Spondon 2nds over A&B 2nds to make the 12th team as a hunch.

[Westbars Spireite]

Bit of an anti-climax for our 2s with promotion clinched without any fuss. We were going up to watch after the match on Saturday only to discover it was long finished!

[Stents]

10 wicket victory wasn't it?

Not surprising with some of the lads in that side now!

[JonB]

Westbars Spireite, on 19 September 2016 - 12:20 PM, said:

Bit of an anti-climax for our 2s with promotion clinched without any fuss. We were going up to watch after the match on Saturday only to discover it was long finished!

Bit like us last season.....we went into our final game at home to Darley Abbey i think it was knowing we needed 4 points to clinch the title having won promotion the week before. We started in the field and i sort of hoped we'd get to a point where we'd take an 8th wicket giving us the 4th bonus point we needed and we could celebrate it. In the end it was ruined by Belper Meadows who opted to chase a target having won the toss so could only get 22 meaning we were up but we didnt know this until about 10 overs in when Higginbotham turned up with the trophy announcing this and then at the fall of a wicket a few overs later strode out onto the field and halted the game to present the trophy and take team photos so he could ****** off somewhere else. Very much an anti climax but did mean we cracked out the champagne over tea!

[Westbars Spireite]

Stents, on 19 September 2016 - 12:50 PM, said:

10 wicket victory wasn't it?

Not surprising with some of the lads in that side now!

47ao the opposition. Had a girl open the bowling but the ex-Matlock skipper who's played in the Prem plays for them.

We'd have probably got 300+ batting first but he had to bowl first given the situation.

JonB, on 19 September 2016 - 01:50 PM, said:

Bit like us last season.....we went into our final game at home to Darley Abbey i think it was knowing we needed 4 points to clinch the title having won promotion the week before. We started in the field and i sort of hoped we'd get to a point where we'd take an 8th wicket giving us the 4th bonus point we needed and we could celebrate it. In the end it was ruined by Belper Meadows who opted to chase a target having won the toss so could only get 22 meaning we were up but we didnt know this until about 10 overs in when Higginbotham turned up with the trophy announcing this and then at the fall of a wicket a few overs later strode out onto the field and halted the game to present the trophy and take team photos so he could ****** off somewhere else. Very much an anti climax but did mean we cracked out the champagne over tea!

You obviously just want to get it done but it'd have been nice to knock off the winning runs in a close game for drama. Apart from one defeat we were too good for that to be much of a regular thing this season.

Good old Malc averaged seven with the ball I think!

[JonB]

Westbars Spireite, on 19 September 2016 - 02:58 PM, said:

47ao the opposition. Had a girl open the bowling but the ex-Matlock skipper who's played in the Prem plays for them.

We'd have probably got 300+ batting first but he had to bowl first given the situation.

Steve Pell, know him well and was a short journey for him as he lives on that new estate top side of Brookfield School. Has mainly played for their 2nds since going there start of last season but looking at the stats has dropped to their 4ths July onwards this year for some reason. Couple of scores but not done loads...unsure why he's dropped down to be honest, may ask him if i see him knocking about as he's only down the road from me.

Westbars Spireite, on 19 September 2016 - 02:58 PM, said:

You obviously just want to get it done but it'd have been nice to knock off the winning runs in a close game for drama. Apart from one defeat we were too good for that to be much of a regular thing this season.

Good old Malc averaged seven with the ball I think!

Yeh we were the same. It killed it as a game in terms of it meaning anything as they were mid table as well so nothing to play for plus we rolled them for not much anyway as they whined about the track being poor due to it being wet after a load of rain yet we knocked 100 off in not long at all so it wasnt that bad. To be fair though by the time we'd had a couple of hours in the pavilion knocking back a few beers then headed into town we didnt really care. It was a bit similar this weekend as word came through fairly soon into our chase that Belper had got 27 so it was sorted so we had a quick beer after then all headed home. Club night out this Saturday in town then presentation night the Friday after in the pavilion to sign off the season.

[Westbars Spireite]

Wonder why he plays for them. It'd make much more sense him coming to play with us! Not that I know him and whether he's Barbs material as a man!

[Umpire]

I suspect the reason Steve is playing with Denby 4th is that his son who is about 12/13 is keeping wicket for them and I believe he is very promising.Like others it seems strange that they go all the way to Denby when he lives in Chesterfield.However I have know Steve since he was a youngster playing for Chesterfield and even then he was very opionated and would never take advice from anybody.There are at least half a dozen good clubs locally they could play for but going to Denby is not surprising to me.

[JonB]

Umpire, on 19 September 2016 - 09:11 PM, said:

I suspect the reason Steve is playing with Denby 4th is that his son who is about 12/13 is keeping wicket for them and I believe he is very promising.Like others it seems strange that they go all the way to Denby when he lives in Chesterfield.However I have know Steve since he was a youngster playing for Chesterfield and even then he was very opionated and would never take advice from anybody.There are at least half a dozen good clubs locally they could play for but going to Denby is not surprising to me.

Makes sense although it seems he's still playing 4ths even if his lad doesnt play. If his lad is a promising player then worse places to be than Denby with all the junior setup, numerous adult teams and good links with Derbyshire as a few of the blokes there are involved. Chesterfield have struggled somewhat this season with the 2nd team not managing to field a team once and arrived at our place with only 9 players so potentially not the best place to be currently. Aside from them whilst there are some good clubs in the area none are going to match the setup at Denby in terms of bringing him through.

[Stents]

Malc!! What a guy! Can't believe he is still playing to be honest.

We've won the Sunday league again this year. Went into the last game needing 10 points I think. Was never really going to be an issue other than a few of Thoresby 1s dropping down to give us a game. In reality we are still 2/3 leagues too low but have to work our way up from the bottom having only started last year.

Managed to win the league midweek as well, thanks in part to Barbs dropping out! Not sure we would of won it had you lads kept a side in it.

This post has been edited by Stents: 20 September 2016 - 12:24 PM

[JonB]

Word is our Sunday firsts will stay in the Prem...not sure its been a completely enjoyable season getting pasted by some overseas and paid players from various clubs but at least they took the chance to go up unlike some clubs that seem to win promotion to the Prem but decline it and stay in Div 1 instead. Seems the MDCL gives clubs the choice of whether to go up to the Prem or not which is a stupid option!

Also noticed a side in the DCCL, Yoxall CC, that went from 8S to 4S in consecutive years before finishing well bottom of 4S last year so i assume have said to the league they couldnt compete at that level any more for whatever reason so spent this season spanking all comers in 10S. I know the league need to do what they can to help clubs but its not a great look when clubs pack up at a higher level then do this.

[Stents]

MDCL is an odd set up. We've been told by a few teams this year that we should be looking to be moved up a few leagues if possible. But the league don't seem interested. It's a shame because at the moment its not really competitive cricket for us.

[JonB]

I've seen teams being chucked up higher before which makes sense to try and get things evened out but MDCL has always been a bit of a strange one. That said i've not played in it for over 3yrs now, only thing i have to do with it at our place is popping up to watch on a Sunday afternoon if the weather is half decent and i've nothing else on to take the dog out and have a beer!

[Cartman]

Mansfield League is a daft set up

We couldn't play our overseas in Div 2 this season (no overseas below 1!) yet sides can play Notts Prem players in any division they like!

[JonB]

Cartman, on 20 September 2016 - 02:03 PM, said:

Mansfield League is a daft set up

We couldn't play our overseas in Div 2 this season (no overseas below 1!) yet sides can play Notts Prem players in any division they like!

Thats no different to the Bassetlaw....how often do you see teams getting spanked by likes of Welbeck 2nds etc when Prem players drop down as there is nothing to stop them playing.

[Cartman]

JonB, on 20 September 2016 - 02:14 PM, said:

Thats no different to the Bassetlaw....how often do you see teams getting spanked by likes of Welbeck 2nds etc when Prem players drop down as there is nothing to stop them playing.

yeah, but to have a rule stopping some players cos they are 'too good' (our overseas certainly wasn't) but nothing to stop teams who have sides in the lower divisions of the MDCL playing Premier/Division 1 players against genuine development sides is ridiculous

[Stents]

In the county league once you've played so many games for a team you can't drop down in standard can you?

In our midweek league you have to have played so many games to play the last 1/2

Both of which I think are good ideas.

[JonB]

Stents, on 20 September 2016 - 03:16 PM, said:

In the county league once you've played so many games for a team you can't drop down in standard can you?

In our midweek league you have to have played so many games to play the last 1/2

Both of which I think are good ideas.

There are a couple of rules in the DCCL to cover it. You cant drop to a lower XI if the higher one has no game if you've played so many games for the higher team in the last so many days (cant remember the exact rule) and if you've played 15 games i think it is by a date in August you cant drop to a lower team full stop. Bit messy early in the season not helped by the league using the spirit of cricket thing to manufacture rulings but it works as well as anything i've come across. We once got done for playing a lad in the 2nds in the opening game of the season who was U16. It was deemed he was a first team player so couldnt play for our seconds that day and the second team had points deducted yet league rules actually say that as an U16 he could have turned out for any team in the league as part of this trying to help clubs get games on...so instead of turning out in 7N for our 2nds which was frowned upon there was nothing stopping him turning out in 10N for example for a team struggling to get 11 out.

Now you mention the midweek one i remember it. Had fun juggling that one in the past when i captained the old Royal Mail\CSC\Clay Cross midweek team. More than once i ended up speaking to the league to allow players to play as i didnt have 11 that met the minimum games played thing due to rained off games etc.