Tickhill CC ready for crucial triple-header after derby win over Wickersley

They stand 24 points off Yorkshire Southern Premier League leaders Sheffield Collegiate after Saturday’s comfortable win away to struggling Wickersley and have little margin for error.

Collegiate are the visitors to Tickhill this weekend in what skipper Ross Diver acknowledges is a pivotal fixture.

"This is a big one to get us back into the mix. The next three games are really,” he said.

"After Collegiate we’ve got Cleethorpes (in third) and then Wakefield (in second), so where we are at the end of those three games will tell us if we are in contention to win it or not.

"If we win all three then I think we will be bang up there”

Tickhill bowled Wickersley out for 179 at a muggy Northfield Lane, Subhaan Hussain the top home bat with 40.

Joe Whelan (65) helped the visitors to a seven-wicket win.

"It was comfortable. We played really well,” said Ross. "We lost the toss and they decided to have a bat, which I think most teams in South Yorkshire would have done with it being so hot.

"We did really well to restrict them to 179 and it was a compelling knock-off really.”

On Saturday’s biggie, he added: "’We lost a tight one to Collegiate in a 40-over cup game with a pink ball earlier in the season but it could have gone either way.

“We’ll have local people behind us and home advantage so it should be good.”

Wickersley, third bottom, have an important fixture away to second-bottom Shiregreen this weekend. Just four points separate the teams.

In Division One, leaders Upper Haugh had a free day and third bottom Wickersley B agonisingly fell five short of Darfield’s 254-9.

Jack Eggleston took 5-40 in defeat and Nathan Taylor (68) and Liam Heathcote (96) put on 149 for Wickersley’s fourth wicket but after they were parted the innings fell away.

Thorpe Hesley and High Green fell 14 points behind Elsecar B and the safety line in Division Two after losing to them by six wickets. Thorpe had posted 196-8.

Better luck for mid-table Aston Hall B, who overturned bottom side Sheffield United’s 203-7 at Bawtry Road with a wicket to spare.