Balderton narrowly lose by one wicket but hold on to third place in the Division Two of the Nottinghamshire Cricket Board Premier League after defeat to Caythorpe

There was a narrow defeat for Balderton as they lost to Caythorpe away by only one wicket in Division Two of the Nottinghamshire Cricket Board Premier League.

“It’s a bit disappointing,” said Balderton captain Tim Clipsham.

His side is currently third in the league but Clipsham believes they are still in contention to win the title.

Balderton won the toss and elected to bat, but were all out for 111 in just 27.4 overs.

“The wicket was very green on one end and dicey overall,” said Clipsham.

It was a decent start for Balderton as the openers Chris Morris and Ben Ryder scored 31 and 16 respectively before losing their wickets.

It was a big blow for the team as star player Shalith Fernando fell for only three runs and Aaron Keverne-Onyon was stumped for one.

Former Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire county player Mark Footitt tore through the Balderton middle order, taking four wickets for ten runs.

Hussain Ahmed was also a source of trouble for Balderton with three wickets for five.

Aaron Charlesworth was the last man standing for Balderton, and managed to equal his brother Ryan’s score of ten.

Balderton were not far off winning the game though as they only lost by one wicket.

“It was a low-scoring game. We knew that if we got early wickets, we could turn the tide,” said Clipsham.

Ryan Charlesworth took the first three wickets with two catches going to Clipsham and one to Fernando.

He had an impressive spell netting his second five-wicket haul of the season, ending on five wickets for 32 runs.

Charlesworth took the club pro wicket of Adeesha Nanayakkara for only ten, a vital piece of bowling considering the Sri Lankan is averaging over 60 with the bat this season.

“It was great to get the club pro out early,” said Clipsham.

“We bowled well but Alex Macdonald put on 23 on the last wicket, which effectively won it for them.”

Building on Macdonald’s top scoring total, the Caythorpe tail-enders guided the team to the win.

Balderton take on rivals Collingham at home on Saturday in the local derby.

With Collingham now sitting on four wins in a row, it should be a good contest between the two clubs.