Norden hold grip on Wood Cup

Norden held their grip on the JW Lees Bitter Wood Cup when they defeated Clifton at Manchester Road on Sunday to reach this season’s semi-finals.

At 139 for eight it didn’t look too good for the Stags, but a partnership between Martin Smith and Hashum Malik pulled them round to a final score of 190.

Smith then enjoyed himself with the ball, taking five for 23 as Clifton subsided to an all out 115.

It was a day made for seamers, and first ball of the match Steve Cheetham bowled Simon Harman.

Run scoring off Cheetham and Gareth Cross was not easy, but Daniel Salpietro and Ash Gowers pushed the score along to 77 before Gowers left a delivery from Ben Chapman and heard the clatter of stumps.

Salpietro moved on to 54 but he then snicked a delivery from the impressive Harvey Fitton and Dean Morris took the catch in the slips.

Simon North is running into batting form, and he took Cross for 10 in one over. He lost the help of Steve Pimm who became the second victim for former Norden player Fitton, and with the total on 122 North popped up a return catch to Morris.

Steve Wild was caught behind off a Fitton lifter and Chris Humphreys was bowled by Fitton as he tried to swing to leg.

Smith and Malik then tamed the Clifton attack, taking easy singles and a smattering of boundaries which included a six from Malik.

The returned Cheetham eventually bowled Smith for 13, and the innings ended when Malik was caught behind for 30.

Would Norden have enough on the board against a strong batting line-up, or would their pace attack prove too much for the home side?

Those questions were part answered when third ball into the Clifton innings Martin Smith uprooted a stump to see off Will Davidson.

Run machine Nitin Srivastava played second fiddle to Cross in a partnership of 17 but was then caught behind by Gowers, after a touch of juggling, to give Smith his second wicket.

Two runs later it was three for Smith bowling downhill, thanks to an amazing flying one-handed catch by Harman which saw off Dean Morris for a duck.

Cross looked in form, but on 27 (he was on 23) Smith rapped him on the pads and up the finger went.

Ben Chapman and Harvey Fitton tried to pull the innings round, and they had plenty of overs to do it, but with 66 on the board Fitton snicked a Chris Hartley delivery and Gowers did the rest.

Chapman seemed intent on staying out in the middle, but run scoring was painfully slow in the face of some economic bowling from Chris Humphreys and Malik.

Brown was bowled by Hartley, McCann was run out by a brilliant direct hit from Salpietro after he had set off for a run and been sent back.

Chapman did open up a little with a four and six, but he tried another bash and saw Smith take an easy catch in the deep.

Chapman had been in for 119 minutes and faced 102 deliveries. His trudge off the field must have been one of the longest, timewise, in cricketing history.

Clifton were done for. Derbyshire found the safe hands of Dom Humphreys at mid-on, and Harman took a good low catch to dismiss Cheetham and give Smith his five-for.

Norden
S Harman b Cheetham 0
D Salpietro c Morris b Fitton 54
A Gowers b Chapman 27
S North c and b Morris 21
S Pimm c Cross b Fitton 2
D Humphreys c Chapman b Morris 9
S Wild c Brown b Fitton 2
C Humphreys b Fitton 1
M Smith b Cheetham 13
H Malik c Brown b Cross 30
C Hartley not out 4
Extras 27
Total 190
Bowling: Cheetham 10-2-35-2; Cross 9.2-0-55-1; Morris 9-1-38-2; McCann 6-0-24-0; Chapman 6-2-14-1; Fitton 9-2-20-4.

Clifton
W Davidson b Smith 0
N Srivistava c Gowers b Smith 3
G Cross lbw Smith 23
D Morris c Harman b Smith 0
B Chapman c Smith b Salpietro 36
H Fitton c Gowers b Hartley 15
J Brown b Hartley 6
J McCann run out 6
S Cheetham c Harman b Smith 3
T Derbyshire c D Humphreys b Salpietro 8
C Royle not out 4
Extras 11
Total 115
Bowling: Smith 8.2-0-23-5; Hartley 8-1-35-2; C Humphreys 8-1-13-0; Malik 10-2-22-0; Salpietro 6-1-20-2.