Ockbrook win opens up title race

Hassan Adnan strikes 76 for A&B © Getty Images

The Beechwood Saab Derbyshire Premier League was thrown wide open again as Ockbrook beat leaders Sandiacre to go into second place and Lullington scooped the better of a draw at A&B but dropped to third.

Just 15 points separate Sandiacre and the two sides behind them. At the bottom, Dunstall's defeat by Matlock keeps them in the bottom two, with Elvaston now doomed after their defeat by Spondon.

Chesterfield beat Quarndon to stay fourth, and Alfreton get some breathing space with a winning draw at Ilkeston.

Lullington Park found themselves in joint second position in the league after taking 16 points from their visit to Alvaston and Boulton.

The away side posted 247 for eight on the board as Sam Eaton hit 71 and Ben Bridgen made 48. The A and B bowlers took the eight wickets at a cost as Steve Ottewell finished with figures of 3-54 and Andy Gray took 3-62 before their 50 overs were up.

In their reply, Alvaston and Boulton lasted the full fifty overs losing seven wickets and reaching a score of 253. The total gave A and B 12 points as Steve Stubbings made a half century assisting Hassan Adnan who hit 76.

Lullington’s Sam Eaton took 3-29 in a man of the match performance but they could not claim the final three wickets needed for a win.

Quarndon made the trip to Chesterfield and scraped six points from the tie. The visitors were dismissed for 201 two overs short of the full fifty overs.

Mohammed Sultan (68) and Matt Dowman (65) were the two Quarndon batsmen that looked on form, however the innings was dominated by the man of the match performance by Matt Higginbottom who single-handedly took 7-49.

Chesterfield knocked off the runs with 2.3 overs to spare and six wickets in hand. The hosts took 22 points as they made 202 with contributions from Alex Hibbert who hit 92 not out along with Joe Cooper also not out for 50 and Ross Whiteley who added 36 giving Chesterfield the win.

Alfreton took 17 points from their visit to Ilkeston this weekend as they posted a score of 237 for five. John Aspinall hit a century for the away side, with Alex Mace assisting on 57.

Ilkeston’s response saw them make 207 for seven off their 50 overs giving them nine points.

Man of the match David Smit hit 109 and George Moulds added 39. Alfreton’s Matt Linekar finished with 3-44 to see his side take the winning draw.

Dunstall visited Matlock and made 232 for five with man of the match James Benstead hitting an unbeaten century. Benstead was assisted by Jeremy Polich who made 52 not out.

In reply, Matlock reached the target set by Dunstall in 48.1 overs, the side finished on 234 for five with Caleb Mierkalns making 39, Kevin Leatherday hitting 36 and Mark Doyle adding 55 to the total to give Matlock a 22 point win.

In a top of the table clash, Sandiacre Town remained top despite only gaining three points from the visit of Ockbrook. The hosts made 120 in 46 overs before being dismissed by the Ockbrook attack.

Kevin Dean finished with 3-23, putting the side in a good position after tea. In reply, Ockbrook reached the total set by Sandiacre in 35 overs. The visitors finished on 122 with Jake Needham making 40 and George Morgan hitting 31.

Ockbrook did however lose six wickets in the process, a result of Dan Wheeldon’s 3-41 and John Jordison’s 3-43, but this was not to be Sandiacre’s day as Ockbrook took 22 points from the tie.

Elvaston were subject to an early finish in their match with Spondon. Spondon bowled out the side caught in the relegation battle in 36 overs.

Elvaston hit 112 of which J Cooke made 32, however Spondon’s Chris Windmill finished with figures of 5-26, disrupting the Elvaston order and earning him the man of the match title.

Therefore Spondon’s reply took them 18.2 overs, the side finished on 115 and both openers remained at the crease at the close of play as Ben Ashdown contributed with 52 and Ollie Baum hit 45 giving their side the 22 points.