Hucknall Cricket Club begin season with thrilling win over defending champions Kimberley

Hucknall Cricket Club's captain, Sam Johnson, was delighted with his side's start to the season as they began their Nottinghamshire Premier League campaign with an 8 run win over defending champions Kimberley Institute.

Speaking to Hucknall Nub News he said: "I'm delighted with the result, delighted with our performance and delighted with how we went about the fixture. Looking back now and on Saturday night and Sunday, I'm a really proud captain."

After winning the toss and electing to bat Hucknall made 264-7 in their 50 overs. Ben Martindale and Hassan Chaudry joint top scored with knocks of 62 whilst Johnson (44) and Mathew Roberts (33) also made hugely valuable contributions.

Martindale, a summer signing from Caythorpe made an instant impact opening the batting, and 21-year-old Chaudry's innings was made all the more impressive by the fact that he was observing Ramadan.

Hucknall had looked set to make an even bigger score when they were on 227-3 but a flurry of late wickets saw them restricted to 265, with James Hindson (4-45) the pick of the Kimberley bowlers.

Johnson said of the score:  "I was really happy with it but it was tinged with disappointment because of the position we got ourselves in, we probably thought we should have really got 20 more at a guess, 285, somewhere around that but if somebody had offered me 265 before the game I'd have 100% taken it. And I was delighted with the contributions from the top right the way through the line-up. It got us to a score that I felt was really protected and obviously it proved to be a winning one.

"I was happy with how I batted. I came in in a situation where I could play my way, it wasn't a rebuilding job it was keep doing what the lads above us did and build on that platform. To be honest, I should have gone on, I'm the reason we didn't get to that 280 mark, I got out at a poor time.

"The lads above me batted fantastically well. Ben Martindale on league debut for us was elegant up the top, and set a platform, batted at a really nice tempo and Hassan Chaudry looked as fluent as anyone on the day. It was a really high quality innings."

Hucknall's bowling attack worked well as a unit, with five of their six bowlers taking at least one wicket, and once they had reduced the visitors to 180-6 it looked like they were heading for a relatively comfortable victory. However, a late rally led by a gutsy 89 from Dominic Wheatley brought Kimberley back into contention.

With three balls of the innings remining, the final Kimberley wicket fell when Wheatley was clean bowled by Connor Ramm, confirming Hucknall's victory.

Ramm, another debutant, finished with figures of 2-60 and along with Waseem Fazal (2-46), impressed with the ball.

Johnson added: "When you play against a team like that, they're never out the game. They were 9 down needing 50 off 4 overs or whatever it was and got to within ten, that's obscene really. I felt like we as a group had to be really sharp throughout. I thought we were really sharp in the field. It's the best I've seen a team of mine field; I thought we were excellent. We caught every catch, we got two run outs, our ground fielding, apart from one error, was magnificent.

"I look round the whole bowling line-up it was really good. A special mention does go to Harry Finch he bowled 10 unchanged at the start of the innings and then George Blatherwick bowled ten unchanged through the middle of the innings and they were both excellent, up the hill which isn't always an easy place to bowl."

Hucknall's next fixture is this Saturday (30 April) and sees them once again enjoy home advantage as they welcome Radcliffe-on-Trent to The New Gatehouse Ground.