The selectors of the Southwell 2nd XI have been called the tinkermen before but this time it actually applied to selection. A much welcome return to the club, albeit for one game only, for Euan Haynes and the understated determination of a hobbling Doug Wright meant that Southwell had used 26 players in their four games so far in the 2017 edition of the competitive SNCL Division H. A visit to Belvoir Road, home of bottom place Bottesford 2nd XI, after an absence of two years, awaited Southwell on a sunny day which also featured the odd gust of chilly wind. The fields which previously surrounded the ground had since been covered with housing and whilst this ruined the view somewhat, it did not completely negate the rather idyllic setting Southwell found themselves in to play cricket. Enough of the niceties though. It was a wet, green track which had bowl first written all over it. "Tails", called the enthusiastic skipper Stuart Grimley at the toss. Predictably, the coin landed heads up and Grimley and Sharath Rajan rushed into the changing rooms to get padded up for the start of the innings.

Scoring over 37% of your runs for the season to date should be the sign of a productive match ahead. Not so for Grimley, who was dismissed for a mere three missing a straight one from the impressive Aaron Charlesworth which smacked into the top of middle stump. In strode Haynes for his first Southwell game since 2013 and promptly recorded his first duck for Southwell since, well, 2013. Adam Gell, Abin Matthew, who struck the only six of the innings, and Joe Wright all came in with positive intent, looking to score quickly and boosting the scoring rate before succumbing to either Charlesworth or his effective opening ball partner Alasdair Culpin. With 18 overs gone, Southwell had reached 48-5 but with Sharath at the crease there was still hope that the tail would wag and a defendable total could be reached.

Sadly, Sharath fell to the swing of Simon Silverwood for a hard-earned 20 the following over as he was adjudged lbw when attempting a forward defensive. Worse was to follow in the next over as Matt Clarke admirably fended off a short delivery from Culpin, only to see it loop up straight into the hands of Charles Bennett at short mid-wicket. Joining Rahul Rajan at the crease was the Sunday captain Kevin "King Kev" Brown. Showing the bravery of a lion by insisting on playing with two broken fingers and dismissing the requests of his wife for a family day, Brown strode out to the wicket like a man on a mission. Bottesford had clearly not studied Brown's technique in their video analysis suite as they took the unnecessary precaution of placing fielders on the off side. Clearly in pain, Brown soldiered on and was not deterred by Rahul falling to Silverwood in the exact same manner as Sharath.

Doug Wright limped out to the middle, possessing the sort of injured calf that would be immediately shot at an abattoir. Nothing gets in the way of Brown in the search for runs though and as he called Doug through for a number of quick singles there was a hunger to score big from which the rest of the team could learn. Maybe the singles weren't that quick. More like painful. Doug hung around and the score advanced to 67 before he lost his off pole to the bowling of Alfie Morley. Richard Maloney was the last man in for Southwell, with the instruction to 'bat for Kev' probably being a good indication that he was in his rightful place at the bottom order. Indeed it would save time if scorebooks came ready printed with 'R. Maloney' in the number 11 spot. However, his determination and commitment to the cause cannot be faltered. In eight overs the pair put on 33 runs, including the trademark Brown nurdle round the corner, a welcome number of extras and a simply breathtaking 'I was there moment' as Maloney produced an exquisite off drive that raced away to the boundary for four. Maloney was bowled trying to replicate that shot off the bowling of Charlesworth and the last wicket partnership had seen the total pushed up to 100.

Tea came and went and it was Matthew and Sharath who opened the bowling. Matthew with his pace and bounce and Sharath with his usual box of tricks managed to restrict the scoring of the Bottesford opening pair. A couple of misfields and a tough chance spilled by Haynes at cover were not reflective of the effort put in by all eleven men in the field. Rahul came on to replace Sharath and the economy rate continued to be restricted as Bottesford reached 30 without loss after 10 overs. It was wickets that were needed though and Grimley entrusted 14 year old Matt Clarke to get take the first scalp with his spin. His faith was rewarded in Clarke's first over, Gell's fast hands ensuring Daniel Robinson was stumped as he was beaten by a well-flighted delivery to give Clarke his first wicket in Saturday cricket. It surely won't be the last. Dave Allen, a first team player appearing as the Bottesford 1st XI did not have a game, came in at number three after having kept wicket noticeably well during the Southwell innings.

There were near misses and pressure created, Clarke bowling well throughout and Rahul's five overs going for just 18. Maloney came on to replace Rahul and introduce a bit of variety into the attack with the extreme swing he generates. In the second ball of his first over Maloney struck, getting the ball to beat the inside edge of Bennett and shattering the stump. Next man in was Morley and he was dismissed first ball, undone by the swing and being plumb lbw. The umpire had no choice. Carl Cheeseman, a winter signing from Mansfield, came in at 5 and faced the hat trick ball. A half tracker which sailed down legside greeted him and the prospect of Maloney getting the drinks in all night was gone. There was widespread speculation that, as he hails from Yorkshire, this was an intentionally poor hat trick ball but that's all it was. Speculation.

Cheeseman might have survived but was clearly struggling against the guile of Clarke who had him clean bowled for a painfully long duck three overs later. By this stage Allen had stepped up the scoring and victory was in sight for Bottesford. Taking Maloney's second over for 18, Allen displayed the quality of a first team player and scored in intelligent areas, always keeping the run rate ticking over. Although defeat beckoned, the Southwell youngsters had the last laugh as Joe Wright smartly held Allen at point for 39 off another good delivery from Clarke, who finished with the impressive figures of 3-26 from his eight overs. Ian Henson stroked the winning run for Bottesford and a five wicket victory was completed, the target being chased down in 25.2 overs.

Bottesford were deserved winners and Southwell's five match losing run stretches back to 2016 in all completed fixtures. Positives can be taken in the form of more debutants and good starts for the youngsters in adult cricket but the enforced rotation policy that is being used has had an adverse effect on results. Following this result, Southwell fell to bottom of the table and a long season ahead beckons. The determination is there, and a long injury list hasn't helped, but greater availability of key players would be hugely beneficial to Southwell's chances of survival.