Ben Kitt took 4-35 as Notts Academy beat Welbeck by 14 runs.

Welbeck were all out for 155 chasing 170 for victory after the Academy’s batting effort of 169-8.

Joe New and Jake Libby opened the batting, but just four balls into the innings Libby (0) was bowled by Nottinghamshire bowler Jake Ball (2-1) and Hassan Azad found himself walking to the middle.

In the 10th over, just as a steady recovery seemed on, New (7) edged to keeper Dave Hunt off Ashley Willis’s bowling (25-2) and Anuj Dal came in.

Willis struck again in the 12th over bowling Dal for 5 (32-3) and in the same over Azad (15) was run out by Rob French (34-4). Dan Freeman was joined by Adam Tillcock but the latter was bowled for 5 by Richard Stroh in the 17th over (48-5), Paul Franks coming to the crease.

At drinks (25 overs) the score was 75-5 but in the 30th over Franks (20) was caught by Jonathan Ball off Andrew Marchant’s bowling (85-6).

Connor Marshall (0) was bowled by Jake Ball in the next over (89-7) but Ben Kitt joined Freeman and they added 37 before Kitt (20) was stumped by Hunt off Jonathan Ball in the 43rd over (126-8). Elliott Bowles was next in and Dan Freeman reached his fifty in the 45th over, the pair seeing out the remaining overs to finish 169-8, Freeman 65 not out and Elliott Bowles 16 not out.

Matthew Higgins and Raman Sharma opened the Welbeck reply and had reached 23 by the 6th over when Sharma went for a single that wasn’t on, Adam Tillcock running him out for 14. Richard Stroh joined Higgins but the latter was caught by Connor Marshall off Dan Freeman’s bowling in the 8th over, out for 8, the score 24-2. Matt Cross came in next but after 10 overs rain stopped play with the score 41-2.

In the 13th over Ben Kitt struck twice, bowling Cross (10) and then Jonathan Ball (0) two balls later (49-4). Jake Ball joined Stroh and the last hour started at 7pm with the score 72-4. In the 21st over the fifty partnership was reached with the score also reaching 100 but next over Adam Tillcock bowled Jake Ball (33), the score 101-5.

Rob French was out in the 23rd over when caught by Kitt off Jake Tong (111-6).

Andrew Marchant coming in and watched on as Stroh reached his fifty in the 26th over (134-6). Marchant (4) was caught by Kitt off Elliott Bowles in the 28th over (140-7) and Dave Hunt joined Stroh but the latter was caught by keeper Joe New off Kitt for 62 in the 29th over (149-8). Richie Bentley came in and the 150 came up in the 30th over but Hunt (1) was caught by Dan Freeman off Bowles with the score 151-9.

 

Last man Ashley Willis came to the crease and Ben Kitt had the job of bowling the final over in the last hour (33rd) with the score 155-9. Second ball of the over, he bowled Willis (3) to seal the match for the Academy.