The battle for the 2013 Nottinghamshire Premier League title will go down to the wire after leaders Cuckney, who travelled to Caythorpe knowing that 17 points would be enough to lift the title, crashed to an 11 run defeat.
Caythorpe meanwhile were just looking to improve on the previous week’s outing where they were bowled out for 90 by Rolls Royce.
Visiting skipper Will Butler won the toss and elected to field. Despite an early setback Caythorpe were looking set for a good score with Darren Bicknell and Mat Dowman adding 65 to get the score 96 for one.
Bowling in tandem, Butler and Ian Parkin had other ideas. Butler removing Dowman for 33 and Bicknell for 47 in quick time as Caythorpe subsided to 127 for seven and finally 153 all out. Butler finished with 4-49 and Parkin mopped up the tail to finish with 5-28.
In reply the championship chasers never really got going due mainly to an unchanged 15 over spell from Kafeel Shafique whose 7-59 saw Cuckney reduced to 79 for eight.
The Cuckney tail wagged a little but they fell 12 short of victory, which means their lead over second placed West Indian Cavaliers dropped to eight points with a tense last round imminent.
Cavaliers played host to Kimberley Institute needing victory to stay in the title frame. Visiting skip Sam Ogrizovic elected to bat but Aatif Ali’s opening burst put Cavs in the driving seat when he dropped Kimberley to 64 for four taking 4-49.
Sam Johnson and Dominic Wheatley added a partnership of 98 before Wheatley fell for 41. Johnson was stumped on 83 and the innings ended at 237 for eight.
The Cavaliers reply followed a similar pattern as they fell to 60 for three. Akhil Patel first steadied the ship in partnership with Bilai Shafayat (31), before teaming with Dominic Williamson (46 not out) in an unbroken stand of 121 to win the game.
Patel ended the day on 137 not out from 145 balls, having struck 10 fours and three sixes. The result leaves Cuckney with an eight point lead on top of the table.
Rolls Royce still have a slender title shot after beating Mansfield Hosiery Mills by four wickets. Having won the toss, captain Daniel Birch asked the visitors to bat first.
Wickets fell on a regular basis as MHM posted a tally of 214 for nine from their 50 overs. Gareth Curtis led the way with 75, whilst only Matt New with 43 was able to lend sturdy support. Michael Millwood was the pick of the bowling, taking 3-49.
In reply, Royce looked to be in trouble at 97 for six, but Birch decided to hit his way out of it, leading his side to the win with an unbeaten 137 from just 80 balls, hitting 11 fours and 11 sixes. The partnership with Tom Lungley was worth 120. Rolls are 14 points behind Cuckney going into the final round of games.
Farnsfield’s battle to avoid the drop ended in disappointment after they could only secure the worst of a draw away to Nottinhamshire Academy. The Acads won the toss and batted at Lady Bay, posting just 202 for nine. Only Matthew Cross, with 74, and George Bacon with 56, providing the backbone to the innings.
Graeme White led the bowling attack, taking 5-35 from his 15 overs. The Farnsfield reply was dominated by a stand of 116 between Callum McKenzie (53) and Paul Franks (79).
Indeed these were the only two scores in double figures as the innings finished on 184 for seven. While the eight points mean Farnsfield are mathematically alive, they are now 19 points adrift of 10th placed Kimberley.
At Plumtree, the hosts won the toss and invited Clifton Village to have the first knock. Several batters got starts, but no one really made it count, as the Villagers closed on 218 for eight.
Scott McNeill (48), Richard Harris (35) and Jarrod Coombe (31) led the way while the pick of the Plumtree bowling was Matt Milnes with 4-45, backed up by Mohsin Qayyum, who took 3-38.
Plumtree reached their target with three balls to spare, winning by four wickets. David Bedingham top scored with 51. Matt Milnes completed a fine all-round day hitting 39, whilst Ben Thompson’s patient 36 not out was the bedrock of the innings. Sam Storey also contributed 30 to the winning cause.
In the day’s remaining game, Welbeck Colliery played host to Papplewick & Linby, coming out victorious by nine wickets. Papplewick's skipper, Mark Nelson, called correctly and chose to bat.
At 119 for two this looked a smart choice. However the departures of Jack McIver for 52 and Ross Fitz-John for 67 put the brakes on the innings and it crumbled to 173 all out, one ball into the 48th over.
Martin Dobson was destroyer in chief with 5-26 from 9.1 overs. Dobson made 32 with the bat in reply, before Matthew Higgins (84 not out) and Adam Burgess (41 not out) shared an unbroken stand of 120 to complete the win with nearly 15 overs remaining.