Although other sides might still harbour hopes it would take a brave man to see beyond the top three for lifting the championship trophy this season.

Retford were once again given a good start by skipper Steve Musgrove who made a superb 91 and Pascal Broadley (40) but the rest of the innings fell away disappointingly and they were dismissed for just 187. Bilal Shafayet (4 for 33) and Bavesh Patel (4 for 88) both bowled brilliantly for Cuckney who must have been quite pleased with their efforts at half way.

However, Cuckney could never completely master a miserly Retford attack and although Matt Sangar (46 n.o.) and Bavesh Patel (31) both batted well they finished up on 142 for 7 with Paul Singleton being the pick of the Retford attack with 3 for 32.

Next week’s match between Cutthorpe and Retford at the Recreation Ground is now of paramount importance. A win for Retford would leave Cutthorpe with a mountain to climb, whilst a win for Cutthorpe would have them breathing down Retford’s neck with a game in hand. One can hardly wait for what should be a classic encounter.

By the same token Arnold will have more than a passing interest in proceedings. In a tremendous thriller against the league’s most improved side Thoresby Colliery, they took eighteen points from a winning draw in a match which had just about everything. Batting first Arnold totalled 209 for 4 with Ian Flood making a belligerent 70 n.o., and Australian Justin Foss remaining unbeaten with 55. Shailesh Patel with 3 for 50 was the pick of an overworked Thoresby attack.

The target always looked possible as Thoresby made a good dart at it with Paul Hughes making a superb 72 and Martin Cheshire adding 39. This all added up to a wonderful finish with Thoresby falling just short on 202 for 9 with Justin Foss completing a fine all round showing with 3 for 63 and the ageless Rick Peacock adding to his increasing tally of wickets this term with another 3 for 69 haul.

Cutthorpe avenged their one defeat with ease against Kiveton Park taking a maximum twenty points. Batting first Cutthorpe were not as fluent as usual and only a very good stand of 97 by Asadullah Butt (49) and Tim Barlow (49) saved them from a slight embarrassment. Chris Marples added 37 and the final total of 219 for 8 was certainly a lot better than had looked possible at one time.

This total was to prove far too good for a disappointing Kiveton batting display as they were bowled out for just 129 to lose by 90 runs. Only Andy Marsh (48) looked confident against Asadullah Butt (5 for 45) and John McCollum (3 for 33) as Cutthorpe roared to a much needed maximum points success.

A fine innings by Nolan McKenzie (57) rescued Mansfield Hosiery Mills against Glapwell at Park Avenue. Hosiery Mills lost early wickets with constant rapidity as Matthew Hall bowled superbly to take 6 for 37 in a good hostile spell. Only an excellent middle order stand between McKenzie and Clive Graham staved off a complete disaster and a late flurry from skipper Mark Langford took them to a reasonable 50 over total of 195 for 9.

Glapwell never looked like challenging this total and finished on a dour 109 for 7 with Chris Woods top scoring with 35. Nolan McKenzie bowled superbly to take 4 for 15 but at no time did Hosiery Mills look like finishing off the job and had to be content with 16 points and a winning draw.

Farnsfield got a much needed victory over Killamarsh who are infuriatingly inconsistent. Batting first Killamarsh could only muster 133 for 9 with Australian Andrew Hagnhofer making a splendid 53 and Kiwi Mark Silcock doing the damage for Farnsfield with 4 for 30.

Despite losing five wickets Farnsfield easily reached their target at 134 for 5 with Mike Hodgkin making an impressive 52 and Steve Ludlam bowling well to take 3 for 44. These were points that Farnsfield needed desperately and they might now begin to show the form which everyone knows they are capable of.

Bolsover made it three straight wins with a massive 121 run victory over a North Wheatley side who are fading fast. Batting first Bolsover reached an impressive 236 for 7 with Matt. Griffiths making an unbeaten 62, Jon Grant (44), Steve Caddywold (34) and Chris Cowley (30) whilst Roger Hackney (3 for 37) did his best to stem the tide.

Wheatley had no answer to this or the Bolsover attack for that matter and were bowled out for just 115. Tariq Rashid (4 for 28) and Steve Wooley (4 for 37) inflicted lasting damage and Bolsover bagged another 20 points and things are looking good for them after an awful start to the season.

Division 2 leaders Edwinstowe recorded a massive 135 run win over Eckington and cemented their position at the top. Batting first Edwinstowe posted a daunting 268 for 3 with Australian Garth Brown making a brilliant 112 and Dave Hallam a superb 93 as the Eckington attack wilted under the sun.

In reply Eckington were dismissed for just 133 after quite a good start with only Mike Long (40) causing any problems to the Edwinstowe attack in which John Hooper registered the incredible figures of 5 for 7 and totally wrecked the innings. Edwinstowe quickly recovered their composure after last weeks shock defeat at Clay Cross.

Second placed Worksop totally overcame Blyth from start to finish to win by a huge eight wicket margin. Blyth had no answer to their former player Simon Robson who ripped through some indifferent resistance to take 6 for 27 as Blyth were bowled out for just 114.

This target proved no trouble to Worksop and Glen Pym (39 n.o.) helped them to another comfortable win as they strive to bring back Division 1 cricket to Central Avenue.

Marshalls it seems are fading after a good start and Biwater Clay Cross sent them tumbling to another losing draw after a very good well contested match. Batting first Clay Cross reached 233 for 6 with Christian Pratt batting brilliantly for 70 fine runs with Steve Cracknell (55 n.o.) and Kevin Walker (32) providing excellent support. Mark Davies took 3 for 79 and that wasn’t his last contribution to the day and he must have been so disappointed to not finish on the winning side.

Marshalls certainly had a good dart at this huge target and reached 209 for 8 with Australian Tim Down making 64 and the incredible Davies a magnificent 82. However a superb spell of bowling by Martin Leatherday who took 5 for 34 made sure his side received the lion’s share of the points and Marshalls are now becoming divorced from the top two. Marshalls need to get it back together fast or any hopes they might have fostered will soon be over.

N.S.K. continued their excellent run with a comfortable five wicket win over lowly Everton. Batting first Everton were bowled out for just 99 runs with only John Mimms (32) defying Gary Lambert (4 for 29) and Jurgen Van de Merwe (5 for 24).

Not that N.S.K. found things that easy as Everton made a spirited fightback capturing five wickets before Nigel Murray (44 n.o.) saw the Newark side home. John Shaw (3 for 39) bowled superbly for the losers but he must have wished for another fifty runs to defend from his batsmen!

Whitwell made the most of their opportunities to gain a winning draw over improving Pilsley. Batting first Whitwell made 163 for 9 from their 46 overs with Alan Draycott (35) and Carl Curran (34) leading the way.

Pilsley then struggled to contain a vibrant Whitwell attack and only the consistent Saed Bin Nasir (33) and Peter Pollard (51) saved them from almost certain defeat. As the overs ran out Pilsley stood at 146 for 9 with Ian Dennis (3 for 38), Richard Haslam (3 for 40) and Nathan Morris (3 for 50) all bowling well but unable to take that final wicket which would have earned them another three points.

Ashover produced the performance of the day in this Division with a narrow and very exciting three wicket win over Anston. Batting first Anston made 164 all out with Danny Scrivens (57) and Andy Ruczenczyn (33) both batting superbly. Roger Bolstridge finally had some luck to go with his undeniable skills with the ball taking 6 for 70 in an extremely impressive spell.

Not that Ashover found things easy in their reply. It took a tremendous unbeaten knock of 55 from Huw Champion to steer them home from a desperate position after they had lost seven wickets. Ashover finally ran out winners at 166 for 7 but the saddest man on the ground must have been Andrew Ruczenczyn who in addition to his batting captured 4 for 42 and had nothing to show at the end of the game. It’s a hard life sometimes, isn’t it?