Rain was the winner in Nottinghamshire Academy's game against Ordsall & Bridon at the weekend as play was eventually abandoned at 8pm.
After a delayed start the game had to be reduced to 49 overs per side with Ordsall winning the toss and choosing to bat first.
They got off to a good start, helped in some part by wayward bowling in gloomy conditions, reaching 69-0 in the 13th over. Adam Tillcock was the man to break the partnership trapping Paul Van den Heuvel for 21 before Simon Webster bowled other opener Dave Fagan in the next over. In the 16th over Webster had Roger Wells (1) caught by keeper Tom Keast (73-3) and Martyn Long was joined by Tim Miles.
A long delay for rain in the 18th over with the score at 81-3 forced a ‘timed game’ and in the 20th over Webster struck again, Miles (5) adjudged LBW, the score now 82-4. Webster then bowled Long (4) in the 22nd bringing together Matt Makings and James Brice but Makings (16) was trapped lbw by Tillcock in the 31st leaving Orsdall teetering on 116-6. However, Brice and Aqab Ahmed put on 40 before Brice (33) was caught by Walton off Elliott Bowles’s bowling in the 42nd over, the score 157-7 with seven overs to go.
Jamie Alderson joined Ahmed and the latter went on to reach fifty before being bowled by Webster in the 45th over. Alderson didn't last much longer as Luke Wood removed him for four as the Orsdall innings ended on a final score of 230-9, Webster finishing with 5-48 off 10 overs.
Hassan Azad and Joe New opened for the Academy but New (6) was bowled by Ahmed in the 4th over and Dan Freeman (0) was caught by keeper Alderson off Ahmed in the 6th to leave the score on 17-2.
Wickets kept falling as Sam Wood came and went for 9, caught by Van den Heuvel off Tim Miles. The Academy eventually reached fifty in the 13th over with a fifty partnerhship for Tillcock and Azad coming up in the 20th. Play was interrupted by rain in the 22nd over with the score 93-3 and when they resumed Tillcock reached his fifty in the 24th to bring the score to 112-3.
The last hour started after the 25th over (minimum 16 overs) and in the 27th Tillcock (63) fell to a good catch on the boundary by Wells off Miles with the score on 129-4. Paul Franks joined Azad who reached his fifty in the next over, the 150 came up in the 30th but then Azad (64) hit his wicket in the 32nd as the score had move on to 156-5.
Franks was joined by Simon Webster and the pair pushed on but rain intervened again with the score on 197-5 after 37 overs and that is how it remained. With the rain set in the game was abandoned with Franks 24 not out and Webster 21 not out, and both sides gaining twelve points.