The freshly promoted Alfreton Cricket Club 1st XI returned to Division 1 cricket strongly last Saturday, beating Quarndon CC by 125 runs.

After a delayed start due to a wet outfield play was reduced to 46 overs a side. Tom New lost the toss, and his side was sent in to bat. The excellent 3rd wicket partnership of 131 between the captain and Ryan Bramwell put the team in control of the game early. After losing a few quick wickets, there were plenty of highlights from the late counter attack by Matt and Joe New, ensuring we set a strong total of 230 for 7.

Tom New 81 off 95
Ryan Bramwell 48 off 79
Matt New 27* off 18

Quarndon started off with a decent response by looking to target the short straight boundaries early, Noah Quick returned as the overseas player for his 2nd season at ACC and struck with an early wicket, but the home side were ticking along nicely at 81 for 1. The introduction of spin proved a good one with the much anticipated return of Matt Lineker, who took a crucial wicket. The spinners were excellent at building lots of pressure and took wickets through very tight bowling and were backed by a strong fielding effort from the rest of the team. Quick returned and was able to get some rewards late. In the end, a huge batting collapse of 43 for 9 had Quarndon CC dismissed for 124.

Noah Quick 4/17 (9)
Matt New 3/30 (11)
Matt Lineker 2/23 (10)

This Saturday, the Alfreton Cricket Club 1st XI travel to Clifton CC with the match kicking off at 12:00.

Report by Noah Quick

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