Papplewick & Linby firmly in the NPL title hunt after two wins over Jubilee weekend

Papplewick & Linby pushed themselves firmly into the Nottinghamshire Premier League title race with two big wins over the Jubilee weekend.
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And they know they can further enhance those hopes away to current champions Cavaliers & Carrington on Saturday.

On Thursday Papplewick travelled to current leaders Cuckney and became the first team to beat them this summer with a 57-run win, and on Saturday they followed that up with six points from a 42-run win over Gedling & Sherwood.

Skipper Ben Trevor-Jones said: “It was a huge weekend for us with 14 points out of a possible 16 and, with the unavailability we had, particularly on the Thursday, they were massive results for us.

Louis Bhabra - two magnificent opening partnerships last weekend.Louis Bhabra - two magnificent opening partnerships last weekend.
Louis Bhabra - two magnificent opening partnerships last weekend.

“I try not to look at the ladder too much - there is no point really as things can swing so quickly. But I think we're in a great place.

“Most pleasing so far is that we have beaten the teams that are very threatening.

“Last year we won a lot of the games we should have won but lost games against the top sides.

“We didn't capitalise on our opportunities against the bigger teams which makes the difference at the end of the season.

“But current results tell us we're playing a good level of cricket and we are right up there.”

On this Saturday's showdown he said: “They keep coming and there is no where to hide at the moment.”

“Saturday is huge. You know what Cavs will bring.

“They have high quality players and are playing an aggressive style of cricket which I actually think doesn't match up against us.

“We enjoy that style as well, particularly this season. We're almost playing a similar brand now.

“With the batting we have now we have the ability to score quickly and get runs on the board. So I am excited to see what happens.

“We are in a good position and obviously don't want to sacrifice points, but on Saturday I feel we can actually play with freedom and express ourselves.”

The weekend got off to a fantastic start as Papplewick became the first side to beat leaders Cuckney – and they did it away from home.

Asked to bat, Papplewick amassed an excellent 307-3.

Openers Brent Williams (69) and Louis Bhabra (120) put on 126 for a solid foundation and Ben Trevor-Jones (34) and Freddie McCann (29 not out) kept the scoreboard turning quickly.

Cuckney faltered early in their reply at 7-2. But Langford made 69, Joseph Hayes 67 and William Butler 39 only for them to be all out for 250 in 45 overs.

Freddie McCann claimed 3-27 and Gareth Blinkhorn 3-46.

That win was followed up on Monday at home to Radcliffe.

Papplewick chose to bat and made 296-4, Williams (82) and Louis Bhabra (63) remarkably again putting on 126 for the opening wicket.

Trevor-Jones (38), McCann (62) and Curtis Mitchell (35) also made significant contributions.

Radcliffe were then bowled out for 254 with an over to spare.

Jack Towers (103), William Masojada (55) and Rob Sutton (34) offered resistance to at least claim two of the eight points.

Ben Bhabra took 4-47 for Papplewick.

On the openers' feat of successive 126 partnerships, he said: “Eight games into the season and I think they have put on 100 five or six times.

“I can't think of any other pair that have done that across a season let alone eight games, so it is quite incredible.

“To watch them bat is a pleasure. They work almost in tune with each other. They read each other. They're good friends and support each other out there.

“No way would we be in the position we are without those two this season.

“For Louis, opening is a new skill and he has taken to it like a duck to water.”​​​​​​