NEIL Smith was happy to see Ockbrook & Borrowash “take care of business” with the minimum of fuss ahead of their trip north for a Cockspur Cup tie.

“It had that air about it. I wouldn't say that we were at our best but I feel we did what we needed to,” said the Ockbrook captain.

“Having said that, we bowled well, took some decent catches, which always helps, so it's pretty much job done, which is what we said we wanted to do before the start.

“Ticknall had a bit of a foundation there with some of the batting and if Tanveer Ahmed had come off, it could have been different.

“We were thinking if he got in, they'd have got to 250 quite easily but Russ Sexton took a good catch and it was a bit of a bonus to get him early.”

Smith was full of praise for bowlers Lian Wharton and Gareth Young, who stifled the Ticknall innings and took four wickets each.

“Gareth has never let us down when he's bowled and he's definitely established himself in the team,” said Smith.

“He bowls really well in partnership with Lian Wharton. You can chuck them both the ball for 10 or 15 overs and they're only going to go for three-and-a-half an over, maximum, and they're picking up wickets.

“Lian won the battle with Tanveer and he did what he's done all year. He bowls straight and he gets his wickets by creating a lot of pressure, basically.

“I think he's the best bowler in the league. I don't think there's anyone else who consistently takes 40 or 50 wickets a year.

“You know what you're going to get from him, which means he's great to have in the team.”

Ockbrook's reply featured another unflustered half-century by Matt Lineker, another to leave the ground with the xaptain;s praise ringing in his ears.

“Matt has so much natural ability,” said Smith.

“He seems to have so much time and he never looks like he's in trouble. Having said that we create pressure with the bowling, this year, we've being doing it with the batting as well.

“We've had good partnerships all season, which is something we've really lacked in the past.

“I'm enjoying the captaincy massively. There are four or five in the team with a lot of first-class experience and I'm happy for them to captain themselves.

“Above everything else, we have a great set of lads and, with the experience a lot of them have, it's lovely to have the opportunity to captain them.”