CRICKET SPECIAL: It’s T20 for starters as top flight teams get season underway

In a change to the schedule of recent seasons, the NCL has opted to open the campaign with the three group stage rounds of the T20 Championship, with the Premier Division campaign not getting underway until May 23.

Saturday's opening fixtures see two groups of five matches, with the first starting at 10am and the second set at 2.30pm.

Each team will play two matches each Saturday over the next three weeks, with the top four teams qualifying for finals day.

This weekend's opening matches see two home fixtures apiece for Geddington, Kislingbury Temperance, Loddington & Mawsley, Overstone Park and Stony Stratford, with the rest of the sides on the road.

Peterborough go to Geddington and Loddington, Old Northamptonians travel to Kislingbury and Stony Stratford, Finedon Dolbe are at Loddington and Kislingbury, Rushden & Higham Town go to Overstone and Geddington and Oundle Town play at Stony Stratford and Overstone.

The NCL Division One season did get underway last Saturday, and there was a good win for relegated Kettering Town, as they saw off last summer's division teo champions Northampton Saints by six wickets.

Saints were bowled out for 137, with Guven Kooner then steering Kettering home with 58, while Charlie Court added 48.

It wasn't such good news for the other demoted side, as Desborough Town were beaten by 61 runs at another newly-promoted team, Barby.

Craig Scott hit an unbeaten 49 and Zavhary Wenham 40 as Barby posted 243 for eight, and that proved to be more than enough as Borough were rolled over for 182 - Matthew Nobes claiming fove for 30.

It was a strong start to the season for Wollaston, who claimed a thrilling 17-run win at Brixworth.

Ashton Musgrave top scored with 46 as Wollaston were dismissed for 274, and although Brixworth were always in the hunt in reply, they were eventually bowled out for 257 despite the best efforts of Sam Turberville Smith (56), Tom Spencely (46) and Alex Lacey (43).

Harry Mowat hit a superb unbeaten 94 to steer Horton House to a four-wicket win at Peterborough Town IIs.

Posh let slip a brillant start given to them by Kyle Medcalf (96) and Balaji Ganesan (57) as they slumped from 146 without loss to 253 for nine.

Mowatt then held the Horton innings together as they reached 256 for six.Oliver Bennett scored 53 and Jack Garner-Dart 45 as Thrapston (172-4) saw off Weekley & Warkton (168 all out) by six wickets, and n the other game Burton Latimer's 167 all out was enough to secure a 39-run win over hosts Wellingborough Town (128 all out).

Bradley Armer rattled up a brilliant unbeaten century as Geddington IIs overwhelmed Finedon Dolbem IIIs in Division Six.

Armer was in top form as he hammered 129 not out, and with excellent support coming from Tiaan Raubenheimer (67no), Geddington posted an imposing 273 for four.

That was too hot for Finedon to handle as they were rushed out for just 70 in reply to lose by a whopping 203 runs.

Ned Wilson led the way with the ball, claiming six for 26, while Elliot Ironmonger did his bit, snaring four for 14.

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Results

Saturday, April 25

Division One: Barby 243-8 (Craig Scott 49no, Zavhary Wenham 40) beat Desborough Town 182 all out (Matthew Nobes 5-30) by 61 runs Brixworth 257 all out (Sam Turberville Smith 56, Tom Spencley 46, Alex Lacey 43) lost to Wollaston 274 all out (Ashton Musgrave 46) by 17 runs Kettering Town 139-4 (Guven Kooner 58, Charlie Court 48) beat Northampton Saints 137 all out by six wickets Peterborough Town IIs 253-9 (Kyle Medcalf 96, Balaji Ganesan 57, Karan Parmer 5-39) lost to Horton House 256-6 (Harry Mowat 94no) by four wickets Weekley & Warkton 168 all out lost to Thrapston 172-4 (Oliver Bennett 53, Jack Garner-Dart 45) by six wickets Wellingborough Town 128 all out lost to Burton Latimer 167 all out by 39 runs

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Division Two: Brigstock 136-2 (Tom Swann 68no) beat Haddon 135 all out (Harry Howell 5-42, Patrick Croker 4-15) by eight wickets Earls Barton 172 all out (C Lawrence 74, R Williams 4-19, S Wickramaratne 4-52) lost to Irthlingborough Town 174-4 by six wickets Heyford 190 all out (J Edwards 59, T Chenery 6-27) beat Weldon 138 all out (N Soni 4-45) by 52 runs Stony Stratford IIs 205 all out (T Whiting 47) beat Rothwell Town 122 all out (R Panter 41, O Metcalfe 4-13) by 83 runs Wellingborough Indians 267 all out (Shibam Jena 82, Anand Panchal 46, Pritam Patel 44, Toby Vickers 4-28) lost to Old Northamptonians IIs 270-7 (Naitik Kakkar 77) by three wickets Wollaston IIs 237 all out (Nathan Piper 87, Nihar Patel 56, Harshil Kshatri 48, Jacob Cotter 4-51) lost to Finedon Dolben IIs 278 all out (Paul Wilkinson 71, Nathan Dawson 55, Joe Grafikowski 4-32) by 41 runs

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Division Three: Great Houghton 179 all out (Rohan Bisht 62) beat Westcroft 127 all out (Muhammad Sajjad 4-24) by 51 runs Old 150 all out (N Husain 4-34) lost to Bold Dragoon 219-8 (Z MIrza 67, H Dent 4-43) by 69 runs Overstone Park IIs 229-8 (B Dunkley 96) beat Bowden 86 all out (J Murphy 4-26) by 143 runs Spencer Bruerne 71 all out (Thomas Kemp 5-20) lost to Oundle Town IIs 73-0 (Matthew Ingram 41no) by 10 wickets Sun Hardingstone 63 all out (Stuart Keeping 4-14) lost to Olney Town 64-2 by eight wickets Thurleigh 120-6 (Rob Pryor 45no) beat Brixworth IIs 116 all out (Daniel Denton 5-21) by four wickets

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Division Four: Burton Latimer IIs 137-5 beat Wellingborough OGs 134 all out (Kane Brierley 66no, Michael Gardner 4-11, Adam Boss 4-33) by five wickets New Bradwell 279-6 (Najeeb Akram 110, Tom Anderson 57, Charlie Maw 44) beat Podington 222-9 by 57 runs Northampton Saints IIs 222-9 (H Sankhla 56, A Bains 5-26) beat Kettering Town IIs 208 all out (E Smart 85, A Sharma 46, Finlay Wake 4-26) by 14 runs Old Northamptonians IIIs 264-9 (Jaskaran Basra 66, Gorang Sharma 61, Amit Patel4-50) lost to Wellingborough Indians IIs 273-6 (Nilesh Patel 108) by nine runs S & L Corby 135 all out (Mark Pulley 42, Desmond Vinod Fernando 42, Wilf Paris 4-17) beat Carrib United 93 all out (Jack Connelly 4-20) by 42 runs St Crispin & Harlestone 236 all out (Jake Spencer 60, Jaskirat Singh Saini 53, Ryan Alderson 4-34) lost to Great Oakley 284-7 (Aidan Cullen 82, Ryan Alderson 67, Sam Smith 58no, Fin Clews 4-43) by 48 runs

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Division Five: Cogenhoe 216-8 lost to Mears Ashby 219-7 by three wickets MK Air 152 all out (Sumeet Sharma 46, Prasanna Chandran 43, Hamza Manzoor 5-40, Farhan Khan 4-51) lost to Bugbrooke 158-1 (Jumshad Farooq 76, Ahssan Ahmed 53) by nine wickets Raunds Town 138-5 (Lakhan Trivedi 54) beat Long Buckby 135 all out (Luke Chruch 63, Lakhan Trivedi 5-21) by five wickets Sharnbrook & Bromham 211-8 (Toby Webbley 4-34) beat Rushden and Higham Town IIs 140 all out ny 71 runs Stony Stratford IIIs 170 all out (A Acharya 40, N Nakhwa 5-51) lost to North Crawley 173-4 (R Nahar 68no, D Borrow 59) by six wickets Willoughby 207-6 (C Roberts 92no, D Alcock 50) beat Wellingborough Town IIs 204-9 by four wickets

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Division Six: Desborough Town IIs 98 all out (T Sahota 43) lost to Barby IIs 100-2 by eight wickets Geddington IIs 273-4 (Bradley Armer 129no, Tiaan Raubenheimer 67no) beat Finedon Dolben IIIs 70 all out (Ned Wilson 6-26, Elliot Ironmonger 4-14) by 203 runs Irthlingborough Town IIs 133 all out (H Wallinger 66) lost to St.Crispin & Harlestone IIs 222-6 (S Kirk 76no, M Pyne 47) by 89 runs Loddington & Mawsley IIs 192 all out (Liam Flecknor 50, Martin Prowse 45, Rajan Patel 5-26) beat Overstone Park IIIs 76 all out by 116 runs Thrapston 187 all out (Braeden Bettles 80, Tim Juggins 52) lost to Weekley & Warkton IIs 192-5 (Adam Hill 71no) by five wickets Towcestrians 180-6 (Quintin Allen 46, Robson Kightley 41) lost to Yelvertoft 182-7 (Hemachandran Kalaimani 59) by three wickets

Division Seven: Bowden IIs 284-5 (Fergus Kenny 131no) beat Old Northamptonians IVs 260-8 (Phil Monkman 65, Elliot Hicckinbotham 50no, Kashif Mahmood 42) by 24 runs Haddon IIs 199-5 (Ian Hardwick 51no) tied with S & L Corby IIs 199-8 (Lee Fox 50, Mike McGeown 42) Horton House IIs 230-2 (Harvey Cooke 132no, Vignesh Sudhakar 74no) beat Old IIs 127 all out (Alex Mawby 53, Elliot Cantrell 4-31, Kevin Taylor 4-42) by 103 runs Kettering Town IIIs 116 all out (Graham Smart 43) lost to Kislingbury Temperance IIs 117-3 (Rob Thrippleton 69) by seven wickets Olney Town IIs 326-6 (Richard Beardshaw 113, Luke Richardson 56no, Brodie Robertson 43no) beat New Bradwell IIs 133 all out (Brodie Robertson 5-42) by 193 runs Westcroft IIs 265-8 (Faisal Mahmood 83, Usman Shaikh 65, Mazhar Hussain 53, Matthew Afford 6-35) beat Great Houghton IIs 138 all out (George Afford 63, Asif Khan 5-26) by 127 runs

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Division Eight: Brixworth IIIs 144 all out (T Elmore 53, S Kazmi 7-25) lost to Grange Park 216 all out (J Hill 57, S Aftab 52) by 72 runs Gretton 100-5 beat Westcroft IIIs 99 all out (M Houseman 6-8) by five wickets MK Air IIs 153-1 (Srikiran Valluripalli 67,Rajeev Sharma 55no) beat Rushton 152-9 (Geoff Thompson 53no, Peter Frankcam 47, Sakaar Mishra 4-17) by nine wickets North Crawley IIs 152-9 (Kunal Acharya 53) lost to Stony Stratford IVs 153-6 (Ben Peel 50) by four wickets St Michaels 105 all out (Krunal Patel 4-21) lost to Irchester 128 all out (Parthiv Sheth 59, Tawab Amiri 4-24) by 23 runs OGs IIs 123 all out (Yash Som 45, Leo Dunham 4-26) lost to Burton Latimer IIIs 124-2 (Jay Gilbert 66no) by eight wickets

Fixtures

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Friday, May 1

Rothesay County Championship Division Two: Northamptonshire v Worcestershire (day one of four)

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Saturday, May 2

Northants Cricket League

T20 Championship – 10am fixtures: Geddington v Peterborough Town; Kislingbury Temperance v Old Northamptonians; Loddington & Mawsley v Finedon Dolben; Overstone Park v Rushden and Higham Town; Stony Stratford v Oundle Town

2.30pm fixtures: Geddington v Rushden and Higham Town; Kislingbury Temperance v Finedon Dolben; Loddington & Mawsley v Peterborough Town; Overstone Park v Oundle Town; Stony Stratford v Old Northamptonians

Division One: Burton Latimer v Peterborough Town IIs;Desborough Town v Kettering Town; Horton House v Barby; Northampton Saints v Brixworth; Thrapston v Wellingborough Town; Wollaston v Weekley & Warkton

Division Two: Finedon Dolben IIs v Heyford; Haddon v Stony Stratford IIs; Irthlingborough Town v Brigstock; Old Northamptonians IIs v Earls Barton; Rothwell Town v Wollaston IIs; Weldon v Wellingborough Indians

Division Three: Bold Dragoon v Overstone Park IIs; Bowden v Spencer Bruerne; Brixworth IIs v Old; Olney Town v Thurleigh; Oundle Town IIs v Great Houghton; Westcroft v Sun Hardingstone

Division Four: Carrib United v Northampton Saints IIs; Great Oakley v Burton Latimer IIs; Kettering Town IIs v Old Northamptonians IIIs; Podington v S & L Corby; Wellingborough Indians IIs v St.Crispin & Harlestone; Wellingborough OGs v New Bradwell

Division Five: Bugbrooke v Raunds Town; Long Buckby v Stony Stratford IIIs; Mears Ashby v Willoughby; North Crawley v Cogenhoe; Rushden and Higham Town IIs v MK Air; Wellingborough Town IIs v Sharnbrook & Bromham

Division Six: Barby IIs v Loddington & Mawsley IIs; Finedon Dolben IIIs v Thrapston IIs; Overstone Park IIIs v Geddington IIs; St.Crispin & Harlestone IIs v Desborough Town IIs; Weekley & Warkton IIs v Towcestrians; Yelvertoft v Irthlingborough Town IIs

Division Seven: Great Houghton IIs v Kettering Town IIIs; Kislingbury Temperance IIs v Bowden IIs; New Bradwell IIs v Westcroft IIs; Old IIs v Haddon IIs; Old Northamptonians IVs v Horton House IIs; S & L Corby IIs v Olney Town IIs

Division Eight: Burton Latimer IIIs v Brixworth IIIs; Grange Park v North Crawley IIs; Irchester v Wellingborough OGs IIs; Rushton v Gretton; Stony Stratford IVs v MK Air IIs; Westcroft IIIs v St Michaels

Division 11 West: Long Buckby IIs v Barby IIIs; Northampton Saints IVs v Wellingborough Indians IIIs

Division 12 North: Kettering Town Vs v Irthlingborough Town IIIs; Old IIIsv Geddington IVs

Division 12 West: Dunchurch & Bilton IIs v Byfield IIs; MK Air IIIs v North Crawley IIIs; Stony Stratford VIs v Towcestrians IIIs

Division 12 Central: Wellingborough Indians IVs v StCrispin & Harlestone IVs

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South Northants League

Lords Cricket Balls Premier Division: Evenley v Great Northampton; Finmere v Sibford; Maids Moreton v Banbury Lions; Syresham v Castlethorpe

XLC Print Studio's Division One: Bodicote v Chipping Warden; Great Northampton IIs v Evenley IIs; Printers v Hanslope; Shenley Church End v Wicken

Division Two: Banbury Lions IIs v Syresham; Crown v Bodicote IIs; Preston Bissett v Heyford IIIs; Wardington v Middleton Cheney IIIs