Division Two North
Wirksworth & Middleton first XI 176-5 (22 points) beat Chesterfield 2nd X1 175-4 (six points) by five wickets.
A SUPERBLY well judged innings of 77 not out from Upul Indrasiri, ably supported by Neil Taylor, led W&M to a dese
rved victory.
After a top order collapse saw them lose four wickets for just three runs the pair added 147, five runs short of the win, before Taylor edged to the keeper for 28.
They worked hard for their success and were helped later on, it has to be said, by some increasingly ragged Chesterfield bowling.
The same cannot be said of the home attack, all four of whom had earlier bowled with great discipline throughout.
At the halfway, 23 overs, point of their innings Chesterfield, having been put in to bat, had made just 47 runs for the loss of the still dangerous Dean Hopkinson.
Ben Slater with 52 and Andy McCarroll, 77, added 90 without ever dominating the bowling.
Paul Thompson gave an exemplary performance returning to wicket keeping duty while the ground fielding was sharp in support of the bowlers.
Charlotte Horton took 2-41, Mark Woodward 1-39 and Indrasiri 1-41.
While this was by no means a flawless team display it was an encouraging one and a generally absorbing game.
It was sponsored by Roy Pearce, for many years the father of youth cricket at the club, and it is worth noting that nine of the players in this side came through the club’s youth teams and seven of them beginning at Kwik cricket level.
l IN Division Six North spinner Dan Nolan took 5-48 and David Hopkinson scored 49 but, as W&M chased a modest 136, Swanick Hall seconds restricted the visitors to 126-7 in a match W&M will feel disappointed not to have won.
l WITHOUT more senior players with experience of playing league cricket the youngsters in the W&M thirds will not be able to compete in games such as the 99-run Division Seven North defeat to Clay Cross thirds, which saw W&M score just 46.
At the moment they have some talent and lots of enthusiasm but it is not enough without proper, on the field guidance and encouragement.
The full article contains 389 words and appears in Matlock Mercury newspaper.
