Rain helped the Nottinghamshire Academy side claim a draw when they were in danger of slipping to defeat in the Nottinghamshire Premier League against Kimberley Institute at Lady Bay on Saturday.
The hosts were bowled out for 184 and the visitors 50-0 in their reply after 11.2 overs before the weather intervened and forced the game’s abandonment.
The Academy won the toss and elected to bat first, opening with Louis Kimber and Riecko Parker-Cole but, from the fourth ball of the sixth over, Kimber the former was bowled for 13 by Dominic Brown with the score on 23-1.
Louis Bhabra, Tom Keast and Chris Gibson also fell early, to leave the hosts in difficulty at 41-4 as Connor Marshall came to the middle.
A fifty partnership between Marshall and Parker Cole, who hit two sixes and three fours in a 72-ball half-century, came up from 70 balls to help resurrect the Academy innings.
However, from the first ball of the 31st over, Parker-Cole (60) was bowled by Martin Weightman, making the score 123-5 and Marshall followed soon after when he was caught on the mid-wicket boundary off Alex King’s bowling.
Joey Evison, Jack Blatherwick and Anis Raza came and went in fairly swift succession, but last man Ant Botha scored 19 not out alongside, Nick Kimber, who made 21, as they put on 32 for the final wicket. Kimberley’s King finished with 3-44 off his 12 overs.
Tom Rowe, on 23 not out, and George Bacon, 24 not out, were going well for the visitors in their reply, but it was the rain that eventually had the final say as each team took six points, with two bonus batting points for the Academy and four bowling points for Kimberley.
On Thursday, a combined Second XI and Academy side were comfortable victors over The Australia Future Stars XI in a friendly T20 match at Lady Bay.
The hosts batted first, with Brent Williams, who scored 55, and Matt Carter, who hit a century from 45 balls with five sixes and 11 fours, putting on 142 for the opening wicket.
Lyndon James, unbeaten on 30, and Louis Kimber, who struck 18 not out, helped boost the 20-over total to 226-4, as Liam McMahon finished with 3-25 for the tourists.
The Future Stars never looked likely to overhaul the Notts total as they struggled to 113-9.
Leg-spinner Connor Marshall finished with 3-8 and Jack Blatherwick 2-31, while opener Mitch Todd contributed 41 to the Future Stars’ total.
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