Notts Premier League round-up: Collingham beat West Bridgfordians with dramatic final ball while Balderton lose at home to Clipstone

Collingham 210/7 (50) beat West Bridgfordians 209 all out (49.5) by three wickets

Collingham’s first win of the season came in a tense thriller at home to West Bridgfordians, with the result decided with the final ball.

Having elected to insert the visitors, Collingham reprised their strong fielding performance from last week.

Wickets fell regularly throughout the Bridgfordians’ innings except for a period during the middle overs when visiting skipper Alastair Pettit combined with Pakistan international pro Saad Naseem to put on 88 for the fifth wicket.

With both of those out of the way however, Collingham managed to stifle the Bridgfordian tail to the extent that only ten runs were added in the final six overs of the innings, before the visitors were ultimately dismissed from the penultimate ball.

The wickets were well shared around the Collingham bowlers, with Max Shenton recording the day’s best figures with 3-36 from his 10 overs.

Collingham’s response began at a sedate pace which increased slightly after the departure of opener Ross Taylor for four in the 11th over.

The second wicket partnership of 94 between the ageless David Pipes and recent recruit Cav King set a great platform for victory, with both reaching half-centuries within a few balls of each other.

Home captain Oli Dyson did not have the opportunity to settle before he was caught off a Naseem leg-break for one, bringing to the crease 14-year-old Premier League debutant Ben Jones.

He looked increasingly at home with each passing ball as he compiled 24 from 42 balls before lofting one to mid-off.

This left David Pipes to continue binding the innings, ultimately reaching 92 by the time he departed, shortly after taking a painful blow from a top edge into his chest.

At 187-5, with Collingham needing 20 from 23 balls, the game was on a knife edge.

Six balls later, with yet another wicket down, Ravi Yarwood-Paintal gripped the situation in a 12-run cameo in eight balls, which saw the hosts almost to the line.

The seventh wicket then fell with four balls remaining and six runs still required for victory in fading light.

Up stepped number nine Jonathan Todd.

A sighter was followed by a slapped boundary then an urgent single to leave the scores level with one delivery remaining. Non-striker Todd did not wait to be called through as Yarwood-Paintal did his best to get bat on ball, ultimately getting to the other end for a leg-bye to be awarded as the winning run.

The emergence of the precocious Jones was an exciting positive, as was the sight of David Pipes rolling back the years.

Cav King’s assured innings coupled with the imminent arrival of Sri Lankan leg-spinning all-rounder Supun Madashanka seem to augur well for the summer.

This Saturday brings a visit to Cavaliers and Carrington 2nd XI.

Balderton (125/all out) lost to Clipstone (211/all out) by 86 runs

Balderton suffered their first defeat of the campaign, losing by 86 runs to early Notts Premier League Division Two pacesetters Clipstone.

Visiting captain David Willcock proved to make the right call on Saturday afternoon as he put his side in to bat, setting a healthy target of 211.

Chris Fletcher top-scored for the visitors with 72 runs from 108 balls, with his lengthy period in bat helping Clipstone through from 71 for three to 202 for eight, despite the efforts of bowlers Ryan Charlesworth and Aaron Keverne-Onyon, who had ten overs each.

The strike rate never really hit the required mark in the Balderton chase, which faded out as the middle order failed to take it to the visitors, albeit it was down to consistent Clipstone bowling.

Balderton sit fourth after their opening two matches.

They host Mansfield Hosiery Mills this Saturday.