Northamptonshire head coach David Ripley has admitted that he is delighted with the way his bowlers have started the year.

And Ripley said that there was a bit of thought given to the make-up of the quartet, especially with regards to the overseas player.

He said: “It wasn’t a big plan as such but with Trent (Copeland) we actively went looking for someone with his kind of strengths.

“We wanted someone who was accurate with a good record and who stacked up the overs and Trent certainly does that.

“With Steve (Crook) we wanted a bit of a cutting edge to replace Jack Brooks and he’s provided that.”

Copeland has been the least productive of the four with just three wickets but Ripley says that doesn’t paint the entire picture.

He added: “It’s not like he’s only bowled 10 overs here or there.

“He’s bowled more than anyone else, he’s bowled a lot of hard overs into the wind and he’s looked a threat in every spell.

“He’s doesn’t go for many runs which provides pressure and I think that a big haul is around the corner.”

Another plus point has been the form of Andrew Hall.

The South African, who has had his share of injury problems in the recent past, has been fit and bowling his quota which has given the side a better balance in terms of its make-up.

Ripely said: “He’s a clever, skilful bowler and having (David) Murphy up to the stumps has added another dimension.

“He’s been fit and touch wood he can stay like that.”

The decision by the home side to have first use of the pitch upon winning the toss could be viewed as a bit of a gamble given what transpired but Ripely said that his side’s brains trust had been in two minds.

“It was a good toss to lose,” he said.

“We were a bit undecided and it came down to overhead conditions. If it was sunny then we would’ve batted but because it was overcast we bowled first.”

The interim chief executive at NGH will leave the hospital in June.

Christine Allen took over the top job on a stand-in basis from Dr Gerry McSorley at the end of March.

But she will leave in June, by which time the hospital hopes to have recruited a new boss.

An NGH spokesman said: “Christine Allen, currently interim chief executive at Northampton General Hospital, has been appointed as chief executive for James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Norfolk, and will leave Northampton at the end of June.

“Interviews for her replacement at NGH are planned, and Dr Sonia Swart our current medical director and deputy chief executive will provide continuity.”

Mrs Allen’s main role, chief operating officer, will be filled on an interim basis by Clive Walsh of Leeds Teaching Hospitals. He currently holds an equivalent role at that trust, also as an interim.

The spokesman said: “Clive has significant experience in operational management within the acute healthcare sector, having worked in a range of hospitals. Clive joins us on 29 April and we look forward to working with him.”

CARP, carp and more carp – that was the matchmen’s weekend lot as a sudden burst of sunny weather brought the brown fish on feed with a bang!

And nowhere was that more true than at Meadowlands where Steve Richards won the spring league second round with an arm-aching 214lb, all taken down the edge on corn and worm.

Nigel Smith made second with less than half that, 111lb, followed by Danny Mount 107-12 and oh-so-close Paul Garner 107-2.

Probably the biggest local carp of the week was Andy Cwiklinski’s 32lb common from Stanwick’s Elsons, where several 20s also came out.

If you fancy a really big eel there could be worse places to try than mega trout water Grafham where, this week’s AT reports, ‘a professional angling guide’ had the surprise of his life when he hooked and landed a 7-8 monster...while fly fishing!

Winning catches in this year’s ‘town specimen group’s annual awards read like an angling dream and range from dainty chalkstream grayling to 220lb mekong cats.

CarpinCapers’ Dougie carried off the all-rounder-of-the-year title.

Full list

Frank Wright Trophy

1st Rob Pitkin Barbel Nene 16-1, 2nd Jamie Cartwright Barbel Nene 15-15, 3rd Rob Pitkin Barbel Nene 15-11

Sea

1st Pete Britten Plaice Weymouth (B) 5-03, 2nd. Pete Chillingsworth Smoothound Bradwell (B) 12lb, 3rd. Andy Gilling Thornback Bradwell (B) 12lb

Fish of the Year (Grayling Only)

1st Pete Chillingsworth River Itchen 2-3, =2nd Paul Douglas River Itchen 1-12, =2nd Bob Church River Test 1-12

Foreign

1st Vince Rogers Mekong Catfish Thailand 220lb, 2nd Vince Rogers Mekong Catfish Thailand 170lb, 3rd Vince Rogers Siamese Carp Thailand 110lb

Cyril Inwood

1st Bob Church Sea Trout River Test 5-8, 2nd Bob Church Brown Trout River Test 6lb, 3rd Bob Church Rainbow Trout Rutland 4-11

Otter Trophy

1st Jamie Cartwright Chub R.ouse 8-4, 2nd Rob Pitkin Barbel R.nene 16-1, 3rd Tony Gibson Carp N’pton G.p. 45-2

Catch

1st Rob Pitkin 9 Barbel R.nene to 16-1, 2nd Tony Gibson 2 Carp N’pton Pit. to 45-2, 3rd Paul Douglas 3 Catfish to 49-7

All Rounder

1st Paul Douglas, 2nd Jamie Cartwright, 3rd Tony Gibson

WHITE Hart Flore, Springpools: Mark Griffiths 99-8, Tom Griffiths 73lb, Andy Sibley 66lb.

OLD Kings Head, Higham on the Hill: Darren Oakley 97lb, Pete Hayward 84lb, Ian Wills 43lb.

DAVENTRY, Tofts (weather included a ‘mini twister’!): Ivan Mills 95-8, Paul Barnes 86-14, Mick Turner 71-2.

CASTLE Ashby: midweek, Grendon, Grant Howie 44-4, Paul Hardman 28-14, Bob Reed 24-4; Saturday, Brickyard, Reed 38-14, Chris Garrett 26-12, Steve Dorks 24-6; Sunday Grendon, Richard Dunkley 38-4, Kevin Folwell 24-8, Keith Bishop 23-8.

BISHOPS Bowl open: Steve Bull 42-10, Mick Wheeler 41-4, Damian Green 39-1.

CASTLE, silverfish, Canons: Jeff Rice 25-2, Paul Lafflin and Nick Antonacci both 20-15.

NEWPORT open, Abbey pits: Kevin Osborne 16-2 (tench to 5-11), Mike Buchwalder 10-6, Dave Tebbutt 10-4.

TOWCESTER open, Bairstows: Mick Goodridge 15-14, Dave Martin 14lb, John Balhatchett 10-10.

FLORE & Brockhall, Barby Mill: Steve Smith 14-6, Rob Rawlins (well out of his depth with fish which fight back) 14-4, Ken Cadd 9-10.

MOBBS Miller, silverfish, Willowbrook: Jim Broadbent 11lb, Ken Taylor 9-12, Philip Hamilton 9-8.

GLEBE, Marston Trussell lake; Pat Byrne 5lb, Dave Jones and Brian Beard both 3-11.

TROUT: town’s Chris Tierney has banked Ravensthorpe’s biggest trout of the season to date, a 14-2 rainbow.

FIXTURES: Sunday, Towcester open, Silver lake 07915 613862; May 5, Newport Abbey pits spring league opener 07795 068428.

Northampton Saints will go into the new Northants Cricket League season having not played a friendly match – due to a delay in the installing of fencing to protect a new housing estate that has been built on the site of the old Cherry Orchard School.

Saints’ tight Birchfield Road East ground has always been book-ended at one end by the school building, and that never caused a problem in the past because the school was always closed at the weekends when games were played.

Yes, the odd window may have been smashed, and the odd ball lost on a roof, but there were never people around and no serious damage was ever done.

But the school was closed down several years ago before being demolished, and has now been replaced by a shiny new housing estate, meaning family homes are now in the firing line of a straight hit or a flying top edge over what is a short boundary.

That of course creates all sorts of problems and health and safety concerns, and Saints are having to erect a 60-foot high fence at the Cherry Orchard end of the ground to try and ensure the residents in the housing estate don’t suddenly find a shiny, red and very hard cricket ball crashing through their bedroom window, or landing in their back garden.

Work has been going on to put up the fence this week at the Saints’ ground ahead of their opening NCL Premier Division clash of the season against Burton Latimer on Saturday.

But to the frustration of skipper Chris Park it has been left to the last minute, and that has meant most of his players have been unable to spend time in the middle ahead of the campaign, which is not ideal.

“We haven’t managed a friendly because the fencing hasn’t been erected at the ground,” said Park.

“We need to protect the new housing estate, and 60-metre high fencing is going up this week, and until that is up we can’t take the risk of balls flying into the housing estate.

“We did manage to have a net session on Saturday, and everything was good.

“Two or three of the lads play minor counties cricket so they have got a couple of pre-season friendlies in, and I still expect the lads to hit the ground running because we have been netting since January.”

As well the lack of match practise ahead of the season, the late installation of the fencing has also had another effect – with the outfield suffering from the heavy machinery needed to get the netting in place.

“The outfield is going to be 10 yards smaller this year,” admitted Park.

“It was small enough already, but the diggers and dumper trucks have all created a bit of a mess and I wouldn’t like to be fielding at long-off, long-on, third man or fine leg this weekend.

“I am glad I am behind the stumps that’s for sure!”

A jury has heard how a CCTV camera was shot with an air rifle and a motion sensor was taped over by an apparent “inside man” before a £200,000 heist at a John Lewis warehouse.

Przemslaw Chyla, aged 26, and Krzysztof Bogszewski, aged 33, stand accused of conspiring to help a gang of burglars raid the firm’s national distribution centre, based at Brackmills, in Northampton, on Saturday, October 29, 2011.

A gang stole iPads, Mac Books and electrical items worth more than £200,000 in a “planned, organised raid”.

A trial at Northampton Crown Court heard both Chyla and Bogszewski, who are accused of being the “inside men”, had been working on the evening of the raid.

Chyla, who was a manager at the warehouse, had effectively been in charge on the night of the burglary, while Bogszewski, a warehouse porter, was also working on the 2pm–10pm Saturday shift.

The warehouse closed at 10pm on the night of the raid until 1.30pm the following day, when the burglary was discovered.

The gang had constructed a makeshift “tunnel” across the huge warehouse to hide from CCTV cameras, while white tape was placed over a security sensor. A back door was cut in half, meaning an alarm was not triggered, while an outside CCTV camera was shot at using an air gun.

Prosecuting, Andrew Copeland, said: “The prosecution’s case, in a nutshell, is that these two gentlemen are the inside men. This burglary could not have been carried out without a person who placed the white piece of sticky tape on the sensor. Their roles, the prosecution say, are vital to this burglary. ”

Chyla, of Pleydell Gardens, Far Cotton, and Bogszewski, of Wellington Street, both deny the charges. Four other men have already admitted their roles in the raid.

Marcin Bakowski, aged 30, Piotr Kozlowski, aged 31, Lukasz Srodecki, aged 32, Vitalijs Razadovskis, aged 26, will all be sentenced at a later date.

The trial continues.

Heyford Athletic avoided the ignominy of being the first Premier Division side not to pick up a Duston Garage (Bosch Service) Premier Division point with two draws on the spin.

A midweek stalemate with Milton put the first point on the board, and a follow up with fellow strugglers Ringstead at the weekend finally put some smiles on Heyford faces.

Fraser Bennett and Alex Marlow netted the critical goals.

Khalsa and Nomads drop deeper into trouble following this week’s matches.

Nomads suffered a second defeat in four days to Harpole in midweek, while Khalsa were pummelled by derby opponents Weldon at the weekend.

Jay Arnold and Paul Simpson both scored twice.

At the top of the table it seems to be Harpole’s title again unless they throw it away.

Victory over long time leaders Welford, and Moulton’s defeat to Blisworth allowed the defending champions to move six points clear with four to play.

Milton moved into third after victory against Pegasus with a top half finish looking likely after several seasons of languishing at the wrong end of the table. Brixworth and Stanion drew.

Duston Garage (Bosch Service) Division One

Two wins in the week pushed Everards into second place ahead of Kislingbury and cup-engaged Locos.

Craig Ginns scored twice in the weekend win over Stanwick.

Kislingbury stay in touch after defeating struggling Gretton.

Ise Lodge dented Burton’s aspirations for second-place with victory over the challengers.

Luke Coleman netted the second goal to give Volta a further point in the draw with Orchard Park.

Rothenberger Tools Division Two Cup

Drama was the order of the night at Sileby Rangers where Daventry Comms erased memories of last season’s defeat in the Division Two cup final to beat 10-man Wilby on penalties.

Comms took the lead in the first half before surrendering it in a mad spell just after the break.

A 90th-minute penalty brought them level again before Wilby had a man sent off in the last minute of extra time.

Onto spot-kicks and Wilby’s failure to convert any of their first four kicks saw Comms crowned champions.

Rothenberger Tools Division Two

In a twist of fate befitting a Greek Tragedy the two finalists met again at the weekend, and vengeance was on Wilby minds.

Ben Wharton and Dean King scored hat-tricks while Mark Dudley and Tony Walker added the others as Wilby tore Comms apart in the comprehensive victory.

Corby Eagles finish the season unbeaten after drawing with Grammarians, but face an anxious wait to see if they will be crowned champions ahead of Wollaston.

Four points behind with two to play, Wollaston know that two wins will seal the title.

A win and a draw will be enough...if the win is by more than 24 goals.

Duston Garage (Bosch Service) Division Three

A thumping derby victory over Grange Park in midweek left Exiles needing one victory to complete the league and cup double.

This was achieved when Sam Savage struck the third goal against Ferrers.

Drayton Grange looks set to end their relationship with the league as runners-up after battering West Haddon.

Jed Brennan and Darren Taylor netted two each.

Weedon were left ruing what might have been, finishing their season with a win over Grange Park.

Matt Farrell scored both goals but third is the best that Weedon can achieve.

Gleneagles’ winless run stretched to 20 games after defeat by Great Doddington.

Duston Garage (Bosch Service) Division Four

James Knowles and James Langley wrote their names in the history books after scoring the goals that gave debutants Borough Alliance the Division Four crown.

Park Rovers closed on second-place after defeating AFC Rothwell, and one more win will seal that spot.

Nat Gosling-Tyler was the pick of the scorers for Higham, getting three in the win over Kingswood.

Corby Ravens drew with Desborough & Rothwell.

Duston Garage (Great Wall Cars) Reserve Premier Division

Bugbrooke A steamrollered cup runners-up ON Chenecks A to maintain a title challenge.

Blisworth remain top after defeating Brixworth, while Spencer sit third after defeating Moulton.

Indeed mathematically speaking, Moulton are still at risk of the drop.

Nomads remain rooted to the bottom after defeat to Roade, while Weldon keep Ringstead anxious following victory against them.

Duston Garage (Great Wall Cars) Reserve Division One Cup

It is rare that finals feature goals in extra time, but this time out there were three, including one at the death that gave Stanion victory over Bugbrooke B.

Duston Garage (Great Wall Cars) Reserve Division One

A brace apiece for Mark Watson and Luke McAuley saw Stanion complete the double in the space of five days.

Old Grammarians moved into second after defeating Bugbrooke B, while Earls Barton slip to third after drawing with Welford.

James Burton was the Medbourne hero scoring all four goals in the win over Kislingbury.

Duston Garage (Great Wall Cars) Reserve Division Two

Joe Battison scored three as champions Wollaston romped to victory against Hellenic.

Colin Prentice scored twice in reply for the Corby side.

Francis Nelson also scored three for Redstar in the win over Higham, while Spratton edged out Strip Mills 4-3.

NTFA Gorrell Barnes Cup

There will be no Sixfields repeat for Corby Redstar this season as the Gorrell Barnes trophy will be the property of a Division One side.

NBC Cup holders Redstar succumbed to derby opponents Locos with Ben Longhurst netting the winner.

Their opponents will be runaway league leaders Earls Barton, the team that have lost only to Locos thus far this season.

Tony Abbott opened the scoring for Barton in the comfortable win over Wootton.

Duston Garage (Bosch Service) Star Award

Heyford Athletic who ended a 22-game losing streak to claim successive draws in the same week.

Consumer spending in Northampton has fallen by just four per cent since the recession officially started, according to new figures published today.

Research by Barclays, using their database of six million customers, also showed it dropped off less in the East Midlands than any other region in the UK and while spending in Nottingham fell 10 per cent - just under the regional average - and Leicester eight per cent, the fall in Northampton was markedly less since the fourth quarter of 2008 when the recession officially began.

The research, which is published on the day new Treasury figures show the UK economy grew in the last quarter by 0.3 per cent, thus avoiding a triple dip recession, claims families aged 40-60 have seen the biggest reductions in consumer spending with a 15 per cent decrease, while consumers aged 60 plus have only seen a 13 per cent reduction.

The research also highlighted the squeeze on consumer spending is hitting everyone as the biggest income earners (£100k+) have seen the biggest reduction in consumer spending (20 per cent) since 2008 while people earning less than £30k have watched reductions of only 15 per cent because they have less disposable income to allocate and less spending to tighten.

David Gibbons, regional director for Barclays in the East Midlands said: “A real reduction of 11 per cent across the East Midlands before even taking into account inflation shows it has been a difficult period for consumers whose household budgets have been squeezed to cope with rising costs.”

Two men have appeared before magistrates after police found a bag containing heroin with a potential street value of £50,000 in a car on the M1 motorway in Northamptonshire.

Craig Allen, aged 31, and Andrew Clay, aged 38, both from Coventry, appeared before Northampton Magistrates’ Court this morning after they were charged with possession of a class A drug with intent to supply.

The court heard the men had been stopped by police on Tuesday on the M1 as the drove up the northbound carriageway.

Officers searched the car and found a sports holdall in the back.

When they searched the bag then found some glue around the inside and upon for investigation found heroin seemingly hidden underneath.

Prosecuting, Sally-Ann Flemmings said initial tests suggested the heroin could be high-purity “China white”, which she said is “unusual to find in Northamptonshire”.

The drugs weighed roughly one kilo, meaning the stash had a potential street value of around £50,000.

Allen, of Rosemary Close, and Clay, of Philmont Court, both deny the charges.

The two men say they were sightseeing in London on the day of their arrests and were driving home having taken in the London Eye and Buckingham Palace.

District Judge John Temperley rejected a bail application from both men and remanded them into custody.

The case is due to return to the magistrates’ court in June where it is expected to be committed to Northampton Crown Court for trial.

A police spokesman today said: “Officers stopped a car on the M1 northbound on Tuesday and carried out a search of the car.
“A quantity of drugs and the car were seized. 
“Two men, a 38-year-old man and a 31-year-old man, both from Coventry, were arrested and have been charged with possession with intent to supply class A drugs.”

Mens Own will be playing Midlands Three East (South) rugby next season after they avoided relegation on Saturday.

Own lost 34-13 to Stewarts & Lloyds, but Long Buckby’s defeat to Rushden & Higham sealed Own’s safety and consigned Buckby to relegation.

The game against S&L was hard fought from the start with S&L fielding a strong pack that made the Own work hard for the full 80 minutes.

Own applied pressure on the S&L line early on but it was S&L who scored first following good forward driving 
play to make it 5-0 after 12 minutes.

A hard battle continued and the Mens Own backs tackled well to keep S&L out and the score only changed by an S&L penalty on 15 minutes followed by a Matt Brace penalty on 26 minutes to make it 
8-3.

A final drive on 40 minutes by the Corby pack got them the last points of the half with a converted try to make it 15-3 at half-time.

The second half continued with the same hard match and S&L pulled further ahead with a try on 47 minutes.

Own scored next on 58 minutes with a well-taken interception by Tom Frost who showed a good turn of pace to win the 60-metre race to the line to make it 20-8.

Tries from S&L on 70 and 78 minutes put them safe with a bonus point.

Own refused to give up and were rewarded with a try from Steve Ennew following a good phase of pressure on the S&L line.

Despite the defeat there were notable performances from Tom Frost, Nick Brown, Chris Gould, Danny Golden and Alex Cairns.

Mens Own’s secons string hosted Old Scouts in a friendly and won 40-25.

This weekend sees Own take on Bedford Queens in their final league match of the campaign.

Rose shines in ONs romp

Alex Rose inspired Old Northamptonians to an eight-try romp as they swept aside Matlock 52-0 at the picturesque Cromford Meadows ground.

ONs led 19-0 at half-time and a further five tries after the break saw them claim their 20th victory of the season. Man-of-the-match Rose scored 22 individual points in the win.

The ONs took an early lead when they won a scrum against the head and after moving the ball to the left switched the attack across to the right and Richard 
Blank stretched over the line but he was injured in scoring and replaced by Jack Bradbury.

A Matt Love break almost produced a second try for the visitors however the pass missed the intended receiver, Matlock gathered and only a last-ditch tackle prevented a score at the other end.

A mazy run from Matlock’s top try-scorer Henry Packard again threatened the ONs line but when possession was lost the ONs countered, Alex Rose finished and added the two points, the first of his six successful conversions.

Five minutes later the ONs scored their third try when a misdirected kick was fielded by Rose and he made ground before a long pass found Rory Seymour who handed on to Dan Napier to step inside the defence before touching down under the posts to give the ONs a 19-0 lead at the break.

This lead was extended to 26-0 within two minutes of the restart.

Matlock again lost the ball in contact, Rose picked up, fed Sam Howes and his offload put Chris McKee over for the bonus-point score.

The ONs were now dominating the game and Bradbury raced through the middle before Matlock were penalised. A scrum was chosen, the play was moved to the blindside and Rose went in for his second.

Jake Spencer, whose strong running had caused the Matlock defence problems all afternoon, was the next casualty and McKee moved from the back row to centre but this enforced change didn’t affect the ONs control.

Bradbury again picked his way through the middle,Phil Beaumont was in support and when the ball was recycled, Seymour’s long pass found Love who touched down.

The biggest cheer of the afternoon from the visiting supporters followed the seventh try.

Captain Rhys Hughes received the ball 30 metres from the opposition line and despite having supporting players all around he set off on a thundering run, leaving would be tacklers in his wake as he powered over.

McKee rounded off the scoring after he picked up another spilled opposition pass and despite the ONs being down to 14 for the final five minutes following a yellow card,the defence held firm as Matlock pounded the line seeking a consolation try.

Scouts end season on high

Scouts’ patched-up squad, with 13 forwards included, completed a double over Lutterworth to round off the season on a high. Scouts won 29-12 with tries coming from Tom Powell, Russ Lynch (2), Adam Frost and Cameron Hauxwell.

Faced with several injuries Scouts had been forced to play players out of position as well as calling in a few favours to make the squad up.

This did not deter them from attacking from the first whistle and after two minutes a Frost jink past his opposite fly half saw scrum-half Powell touch down. Frost added the extras.

Within five minutes a kick and chase from a loose ball in midfield resulted in skipper Lynch crossing the line.

Lynch then scored his second when Aaron Ashmore countered from full back and quick hands from winger James Blackmore put Lynch through a gap to dot down out wide.

Although Frost missed both conversions Scouts were cruising at 17 points to nil with barely 15 minutes on the clock.

Lutterworth were looking like a beaten side but in the face of adversity fought back with 12 points late in the half to bring the score to 17-12.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first and Frost fooled everyone with an outrageous dummy to go in under the posts and he duly converted to increase the lead.

This try secured a rare bonus point for the visitors and Scouts cruised through the rest of the game in complete control.

Hauxwell rounded off the scoring for Scouts with a deserved try in the latter stages to complete the scoring.

Market Bosworth’s hopes hit by Towcester

Towcestrians dealt a big blow to Market Bosworth’s efforts in avoiding Midlands One East relegation after winning 28-25.

Tows led 14-7 at half-time thanks to tries from Chrissie George and Matt Yuill, both converted by James Falvey.

The visitors’ performance waned slightly in the second half, as though they had one eye on last night’s Alliance Cup final at Franklin’s Gardens.

But Tows did just enough to secure the win, with further tries from Ronnie Speakman andYuon Skelton, both converted by Ben Roe.

Tows’ colts will join the club’s Lewis Shield side in the Oceanic Cup final at Franklin’s Gardens after a 20-10 win over Casuals.

Bad start costly for Brackley

Brackley’s season came to a disappointing close on the road to Bedford Swifts. Just as they had failed to show up in the first half against Daventry three days earlier, so it was against Swifts on Saturday.

Trailing 25-0 at the interval, Brackley were a shadow of the team that swept all before them for 20 consecutive league matches. They produced a much-improved second half display but the damage was already done as they went down 28-19.

The Cobblers are ‘very positive’ that Lee Collins will be able to play for them in the play-offs despite the defender being given a curfew as part of his punishment for an assault conviction.

Collins was sentenced to 12 months in prison (suspended for 24 months), ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and placed on a curfew for 12 weeks between 8pm and 6am for his part in a pub attack in May of last year.

The terms of the curfew would mean the defender would be unable to play for the club in the first leg of their play-off semi-final, as it kicks off at 7.45pm on Thursday night.

But manager Aidy Boothroyd has confirmed the legal process to allow Collins to feature has begun and is confident he will be able to select the player.

“Part of his sentence is that he will have the curfew, along with lots of other punishments that he needs to deal with,” said Boothroyd.

“I’m led to believe the judge will take into consideration his job.

“If he needed to work a night shift then he would be allowed to work a night shift.

“The legal process has begun and we wait to hear what happens but we’re very positive he will be able to play morning, noon or night.”

Collins has been one of the team’s best players in the past month and will be a valuable member of the team for the play-offs, their opponents in which Northampton will learn after the final round of league games on Saturday.

Boothroyd spoke in Collins’ court case as and did so because he believes the player is essentially a ‘good character’.

“What Lee has got now is a second chance,” he said.

“The incident happened 11 months ago and it has been dealt with in a court of law.

“I was happy to be there to give a character reference because I do think he is a good character and I wanted to speak on his behalf.

“I’m delighted that we got a really good result.

“He loves playing for this club and he loves living here and being part of this club.”

Connor Cinato claimed four county titles in the finals held at Northampton & District IBC.

Desborough’s Cinato beat Mark Corbyn in a thrilling men’s singles final, winning 21-20, while the 16-year-old also triumphed in the under-25 singles, NBYDS 15-18 singles and under-18 mixed pairs.

The men’s pairs saw a win for Kingsthorpe’s David Walker and Andrew Manton, while the Northampton team of Chris Bland, Alan Ramscar, Andy Smith and Richard Lemon triumphed in the fours.

Full Results

Women’s competitions

Singles: Chloe Wordingham (Rushden Town IBC) 21 Delia Panther (Kettering Lodge BC) 8.

Pairs: Rebecca Wigfield & Jeannie Flippance (Desborough IBC) 22 Chloe Wordingham & Margaret Cave, (Rushden Town IBC) 19.

Triples: Caroline Cinato/Jeannie Flippance/Rebecca Wigfield (Desborough IBC) 22 Alison Dring/Jan Hunt/Pat Gayton (Wellingborough IBC) 14.

Fours: Caroline Cinato/Dorothy Diver/Rebecca Wigfield/Jeannie Flippance (Desborough IBC) 20 Chloe Wordingham/Jenny Dempsey/Margaret Cave/Enid Bone (Rushden Town IBC) 19.

Men’s competitions

Singles: Connor Cinato (Desborough IBC) 21 Mark Corbyn (Wellingborough IBC) 20.

Under-25 Singles: Connor Cinato (Desborough) 21 Matt Cattell (Rushden) 8.

Pairs: David Walker & Andrew Manton (Kingsthorpe IBC) 21 Darren Lewis & Vernon Gearey (Kingsthorpe IBC) 9.

Triples: Scott Johnson/Neil Corbyn/Jamie Walker (Wellingborough) 17 Colin Dalgleish/Alan Ramscar/Dominic Graham (Northampton) 7.

Fours: Chris Bland/Alan Ramscar/Andy Smith/Richard Lemon (Northampton & District IBC) 20 Jim McCamley/Trevor Anderson/Martin Cinato/ Connor Cinato (Desborough IBC) 16.

Tipler Trophy (Over 60 Fours): Jim Diver/Ron Chambers/George Warren/John Haines (Desborough IBC) 19 Geoff Allen/Mick Richardson/Duggie Mitchell/Mick Worthington (Daventry IBC) 16.

NBYDS competitions

Under-15 Singles: Adam Pitfield (Rushden Town IBC) 21 Jack Botterill (Northampton & District IBC) 13.

15-18 years Singles: Connor Cinato (Desborough IBC) 21 Will Walker (Wellingborough IBC) 15.

Under-18 Mixed Pairs: Megan Rolfe (Kingsthorpe IBC) & Connor Cinato (Desborough IBC) 20 beat Emily Carr & Will Walker, (Wellingborough) 18.

Broderick the main man on home turf

The open singles circuit, entitled ‘Planet Bowls’ came to Wellingborough IBC at the weekend and attracted the usual field of 64 players, including many international players.

Of the local players, six from the host club got through the first round, including Dave Love, Tina Broderick, Paul Broderick, Curtis Johnson, Jamie Walker and Graham Maddams but others fell at the first hurdle, including Phil Exley (Desborough), Dennis Collins, Martin Walker, Tony Asher (all Wellingborough) and Tracy Nunn (Desborough).

Walker and Broderick proceeded to the quarter-finals, with the former taking out England bowler Danny Denison of Torquay comfortably 8-6 and 11-1. Broderick beat P Sharman 2-0 in a tie break.

Walker came undone in the quarter-final against S Jones, but Broderick came out on top by two sets to love against M Hyde and in the semi-final continued his good form to destroy S Jones 9-0 & 7-3 to reach the final.

The final saw Broderick pitting his skills against England international

Andy Ware of the City of Ely IBC.

Playing absolutely brilliant drawing bowls, Broderick was just untouchable, and he took the first set 9-3 in six ends and the second set 7-1 in six ends.

County make Headway

Northants bowls president Tony Warren has chosen the Northampton Headway as his charity for the year in office.

On April 21, at his end of season presentation luncheon, held at Northampton & District IBC, he announced that through the generosity of bowlers he had raised the magnificent sum of £1,250 through various charitable initiatives.

He presented cheques to Marilyn and Fred Oram, who received them on behalf of Headway.

Graham and Dalgleish dominate club finals

Two players dominated the men’s finals at Northampton & District Indoor, with Dominic Graham

and Colin Dalgleish each appearing in all of the competitions.

Graham edged Dalgleish in the trophy stakes, winning four to three.

RESULTS - Singles winner: Dominic Graham. Runner-up: Colin Dalgleish. Pairs winner: Colin Dalgleish and Dominic Graham. Runners-up: Rob White & Ray Castle. Triples winner: Colin Dalgleish/Dominic Graham/Richard Lemon. Runner-up: Tony Ellis/Tony &Wayne Stanley. Rinks winner: Tony Ellis, Wayne Stanley, Dominic Graham, Richard Lemon. Runners-up: Colin Dalgleish/Ian Bland/Andy Smith/Chris Bland. Two Wood Singles winner: Colin Dalgleish. Runner-up: Dominic Graham

Dalepak backing Triples League

The successful Northampton Area Triples Bowls League has entered into a new arrangement with Dalepak Ltd.

Dalepak are a warehousing and contract packing specialist company, and they have agreed to sponsor the Triples League Knockout played within the league set-up.

League secretary Peter Saunders said: “We thank Mick White, chairman of Dalepak, for his company’s generosity and we hope that the sponsorship will continue for the foreseeable future.”

The league’s four divisions are as follows:

Division One: Kingsthorpe B, Abington A, Northampton Express A, Northampton West End A, St Crispin A, Abington B. Division Two: Brackley, Whyte Melville A, Wootton A, Byfield, Earls Barton, Bugbrooke. Division Three: Daventry Town A, West Haddon, Carlsberg, Northampton West End B, Heyford, Northampton Express B. Division Four: Harpole B, Cogenhoe, Daventry Tigers, St Crispin’s B, Whyte Melville B, Cold Ashby.

Tony Letts led home the 16 Northampton Road Runners who made the trip to the capital to take part in this year’s London Marathon.

Letts clocked an impressive 3:01:01, while team-mate and London regular Andy Blaize was close in his footsteps in 3:02:25

Fundraiser Matt Brand grabbed a personal best with a 3:19:07 and Gary McDaniels recovered well from a recent injury to cross the line in 3:22:26.

Another PB star was John Fleming, who beat last year’s time by 10 minutes to finish in 3:35:48. New member Ben Mullaney made his London debut with a great follow-up to last year’s Rome Marathon with a time of 3:50:12.

Jocelyn Granger raised much-needed funds for local charity The Lowdown and finished in a PB time of 4:06:16.

Granger was seconds ahead of Wendy Parker, who also registered a PB of 4:06:44. Rob Donovan finished in 4:12:13 only minutes ahead of Michael Franks, who completed his first ever marathon in 4:17:06.

Full NRR results: Tony Letts 3:01:01, Andy Blaize 3:02:25, Matt Brand 3:19:07, Gary McDaniels 3:22:26, John Fleming 3:35:48, Ben Mullaney 3:50:12, Jocelyn granger 4:06:16, Wendy Parker 4:06:44, Rob Donovan 4:12:13, Michael Franks 4:17:06, Pauline Horne 5:00:37, Dave Solomon 5:15:59, Glen Cousner 5:22:45, Sue Thompson 5:31:30, Spike Breydin 6:35:30, Alan Hackett 7:25:02

Davies shines for R&N in London Marathon

Hywel Davies led home the Rugby & Northampton athletes in the London Marathon with a time of 2hrs 32mins 51secs and in doing so became the fastest Rugby-based runner for 30 years round the streets of the capital.

The 38-year-old triathlete had been in superb shape throughout the winter and he maintained that form to produce this brilliant run.

Paul Rigby was the next man over the line for the club in 2hrs 43mins and was closely followed by 47-year-old Greg Spellman when he recorded 2hrs 46mins 35secs in what was his last race in R&N colours.

Brendan Moen has always been a consistent performer when taking part in the 26 mile event and this was no exception with a time of 2:53.38 and also breaking the three hour barrier was Dave Rayfield in 2:55.40.

First R&N lady was Jo Pulsford with a lifetime best run of 3hrs 5mins 23secs and Neil Willsher had a good solid performance with 3:13.21.

Daisy Rigby was the second lady over the line for the club with 3:14.27 and Maree Jesson also had a good run with 3:19.45.

Ian Husband and Dean Shears followed with the former being timed at 3:34.32 and the latter 3:53.38.

After recording 3:01.42 in the previous week’s Brighton Marathon, Matt Howes took a more leisurely approach to accompany his sister Jemma and crossed the line in 4:21.25. Russ Dickerson completed the course in 4:54.54.

Wootton’s Boden clocks quick time

Lazloe Boden led a large contingent of Wootton Road Runners home in this year’s Virgin London Marathon.

Boden clocked a super quick time of 2hrs 44mins 57secs, earning him 330th overall.

He was followed home by Simon Tootell to finish in an excellent 3.01.09.

First Wootton lady to cross the line was Julie Dixon who recorded a fine personal best of 3.12.49 and next up with another personal best performance was Vicky Ayliff to finish in 3.16.11. There were excellent performances all round, together with a lot of money raised for charities.

Wootton RR results: Lazloe Boden 2.44.57, Simon Tootell 3.01.09, Julie Dixon 3.12.49, Vicky Ayliff 3.16.11, Olly Craughan 3.28.00, Mike Carrea 3.41.16, John White 3.43.34, Steve Atkinson 3.45.47, Diane Rogers 3.50.28, Colin Randle 4.10.18, Chris Fulthorpe 4.11.49, Steph Carpenter 4.17.58, Richard Baldwin 4.19.26, Hannah Groves 4.22.15, Andrew Davidson 4.34.47, James Miller 4.58.04, Scott Wellington 5.00.54, Martin Lewis 5.13.08, Mick Heap 5.14.26, Josie Steedman 5.24.31, Hefina Davies 6.20.30, Joy Swindells 7.00.09

Heighway takes 38th at Flitwick

Steve Heighway ran a time of 39mins 31 secs to finish a brilliant 38th in the recent Flitwick 10k.

Fellow Wootton Road Runner Annette Burgess also took part, crossing the line in 44.56 for 149th.

Delapre Old Boys retained their Town League Premier Division title on the back of a convincing 4-1 victory over JLB on Wednesday night.

A Leon Cosford double strike and singles from Gareth Errington and Rob Bushell was enough to secure victory and claim their third Championship in their illustrious history.

A Dan Jennings solo strike accounted for JLB’s goal.

On Monday, Yusen Logistics turned the form book upside down as they beat Harlequins 2-1 thanks to a goal apiece from L Jeffries and S Nightingale while D Healy netted for the Quins.

A brace from Martin Stones and a strike from the prolific Charlie Wixon helped Hardingstone get the better of Sporting Lings 3-1 leaving Roman Radocha to hit Lings’ lone reply.

Back to Wednesday and Spartak beat Yusen Logistics 4-2 with Adam Bazely, Frazer Francis, S Gibson and A Moore all getting on the score sheet for the victors which left S Nightingale and Robert Osiki to hit the target for Yusen.

Harlequins returned to winning ways on Wednesday as the beat Mereway United 2-1 courtesy of strikes from D Healy and Les Watson.

In Saturday’s action, Duston Dynamo recorded a good 4-1 triumph over Yusen Logistic with their goals being shared between Josh McCulloch, Jack McLoughlin, Jay Blackwell and Benjamin Jones.

Sporting Lings condemned Thorplands Club 81 to a 5-2 defeat.

Goals from Richard Dunkley and Nathan Garafalo gave Thorplands hope but a twosome from Matt Brown and a strike each from James Church and Roman radocha was enough to see Lings grab all three points.

Spatrtak’s Frazer Francis scored the only goal of the game to beat JLB 1-0.

FA Inter League Cup Extra Preliminary Round

The Northampton Town League played host to the Anglian Combination in the FA Inter League Cup and in a close game which was dominated by both defences it finished 0-0 after 90 minutes.

In the extra period Anglian took the lead from the penalty spot but with time running out Andrew Condon hit a superb equaliser to take the tie to a penalty shoot out which resulted in the Town League Rep team going down 5-4.

Aussie Ashes reject Mitchell Johnson could be on his way to Northants to play in this summer’s Twenty20 competition.

The County’s chief executive David Smith has declared an interest in signing the left-arm pace bowler and hard-hitting batsman, who was this week overlooked by the Australia selectors for this summer’s Ashes series against England.

The 31-year-old will now be available for a full stint in the English T20 season that starts at the end of June, and Smith has admitted Northants will be interested in signing the player who has has played 51 Tests for his country and taken 205 wickets at the highest level.

Speaking to BBC Radio Northampton, Smith said of Johnson: “He’s a player that would interest most that have a vacancy.

“He’s someone I know [head coach] David Ripley is looking at, along with one or two others at the moment.”

The Steelbacks have already signed up Johnson’s fellow Australian Cameron White for the T20 season, and after being rebuffed by another Australian in Shaun Marsh, it could be that Johnson is now offered the chance to be Northants’ second overseas T20 player.

“We’re following up our next in line,” said Smith. “I think most people are aware that with Mitchell Johnson having not been selected for Australia, clearly he has become a candidate for a number of counties for T20.

“My understanding is he doesn’t want to play [four-day] county cricket, he wants to play T20. He’s likely to have some involvement with the Australia one-day team after the Ashes.”

Johnson is currently playing for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League and is seen mainly as a fast bowler, but he has displayed good batting ability and has a Test century and seven Test half-centuries to his name.

He averages just shy of 22 in Test cricket, but has a poor T20 record with the bat, averaging 10.6 in 28 matches.

In the current IPL season with Mumbai, he has only batted once in six games, scoring 11.

But Smith believes that record will improve if Johnson were to sign on at the County Ground.

“Whoever we bring in will be a batsman or an all-rounder. Batting prowess will be required,” said the chief executive.

“The problem with a bowler is they can only influence four overs of the game,” added Smith.

“Mitchell’s a good all-round cricketer. He has a Test hundred and he hits a pretty hard ball in white-ball cricket.

“We feel the balance of someone of that ilk would be considered.”

As temperatures in Northampton town centre hit 20C, the leaders of Northampton Borough Council have said they hope to turn the town’s fountain back on ‘soon’.

The Market Square fountain was switched off in August, 2012 after traces of legionella were found in the water.

Following the discovery, tests were carried out during the winter, when the device is normally switched off because of low temperatures.

It is however usually switched back on in April each year and the leader of Northampton Borough Council, Councillor David Mackintosh (Con, Rectory Farm) said he hoped that would be repeated this year.

He said: “We hope to be able to switch the fountain back on again soon, although we will not be reactivating it until we’re absolutely certain that no risk is posed to the public through contamination.

“We have been working with experts to find the most effective and affordable way to achieve this so that the public can enjoy the fountain for years to come, with the confidence that it poses no risk to their health.”

The water fountain was built in 2010 at a cost of £98,000.

Police are investigating a crash that saw a car flip onto its roof in Northampton in the early hours of this morning.

Officers were called to the junction of Fetter Street and St John’s Street, in Northampton town centre, just after 4.20am.

However, when police got their the driver had already fled.

A ward at Northampton General Hospital was put on special measures after MRSA was detected twice in one month.

Board papers reveal action was taken on Creaton ward during March after the superbug was found on the skin of one patient in February and another during March.

An environmental audit also highlighted high dust levels on curtain frames and computer keyboards. Both areas were cleaned and self-imposed special measures, including more stringent checks on hand washing and daily cleanings with sanitizer, were introduced.

Suzie Loader, who is in charge of infection prevention at NGH, said: “These were precautions we took to prevent the spread of the skin colonisation.

“It is important to note that colonisation does not mean people were infected with MRSA. For that to happen it needs to be in a patients blood and that was not the case.”

Police made 24 arrests and stopped more than 100 vehicles during a operation to tackle rogue traders in Northamptonshire yesterday.

The Operation Guardian day also saw officers tackle burglars and vehicle crime.

Criminals were arrested for theft of motor vehicle, handling stolen goods, cannabis cultivation, assault, possession of indecent images and failure to appear at court.

A total of 51 warrants were executed, 107 vehicles were stopped and checked, residents were visited in areas identified as hot spots for burglary and vehicle crime.

Chief Superintendent Paul Fell said: “We acknowledge that burglaries and vehicle crime have increased in Northamptonshire. These types of offences can be very personal to the victim and we are working hard to reverse this trend by carrying out days like yesterday.”

In Northampton, a play about distraction burglaries was held at The Guildhall, Northampton.

Crime Prevention Manager Laura Jones said: “We welcomed about 100 people to the event, which was held as part of the national day of action to clamp down on rogue trading.

“Evidence strongly suggests that there are links between those who are involved in rogue trading and those who commit distraction burglary.

“In the last 12 months there were 28 distraction burglaries and six attempted distraction burglaries in Northamptonshire.”

A total of 47 vehicles were stopped as part of an ANPR operation and 22 vehicles were seized.

Two men, aged 19 and 20, were arrested for theft from motor vehicle, one man was arrested for driving whilst disqualified.

Another man was arrested for failing to appear at court.

Chief Superintendent Fell added: “The day was about us being visible, meeting people to spread the crime prevention word, and to send a clear message to thieves that burglary and vehicle crime will not be tolerated.”

John Johnson has urged the Cobblers supporters to use the atmosphere created by the Port Vale fans on Saturday to inspire them to create a Sixfields wall of sound in the next two games.

A crowd of more than 12,000 watched the 2-2 draw at Vale Park a week ago, and although considerably less will witness the final game of the season, against Barnet on Saturday, the ground will be close to capacity.

More than 7,000 people are expected to be at Sixfields for the Barnet game with around the same amount due in for the first leg of the play-off semi-finals, either on Thursday or Sunday.

And defender Johnson wants to hear the fans in good voice for both of the team’s remaining home games.

“We’re all very much looking forward to the play-offs but we all know how big the job in hand is,” he said.

“A lot of the lads have been talking about how great it is to play at Wembley but we’ve got two tough games to get through before we can even think about that.

“Port Vale was a great atmosphere and those are the kind of games that all players want to play in.

“Experiencing a loud crowd like that is a bit of a taster for us for what we want in the next couple of games at Sixfields and it definitely does help.”

Johnson was not in the Town team that was well beaten at Barnet in October, with injury preventing him from travelling to Underhill.

But he is aware of the pain the 4-0 loss inflicted on the side and wants to form part of the revenge mission against the Bees this weekend.

“We’ll treat it like every other game,” he said.

“We always go out with the same mentality, and that’s to win.

“We very much owe Barnet one. We had a bad night down there earlier in the season and that will be on our minds.

“Edgar Davids had a brilliant career as a player and he’s done a good job for them as a manager but we just need to focus on what we’re doing.”

Half-centuries from Alex Wakely, James Middlebrook and Steven Crook put Division Two leaders Northamptonshire in control on the second day of their LV=County Championship match against Gloucestershire at Bristol.

Wakely led the way with 88 as the visitors ran up 404 all out in reply to 192, Middlebrook making 62 and Crook 53.

Gloucestershire were left with an awkward period to bat before the close and lost skipper Michael Klinger for a single in moving to 34-1, still 178 runs behind.

Northants began the day on 107-3 and Rob Newton soon set about adding to his score of 14, pulling a ball from Alex Gidman over fine leg for six.

Newton had moved brightly to 39 when caught at backward-point by Jack Taylor off Benny Howell to make the score 149-4.

Wakely, unbeaten on 23 overnight, looked in good touch as he was joined by Andrew Hall, who was given a life on 18 when dropped by Chris Dent at second slip off David Payne.

The pair had added 77 by lunch, which was taken with Northants 226-4.

Wakely had moved to 80, having reached an elegant half-century off 113 balls, with eight fours.

Hall was 27 not out at the interval, but could add only a single in the afternoon session before falling leg-before to Will Gidman. He had struck six boundaries and the score was 227-5.

That became 242-6 when Wakely departed, also lbw to Gidman, having faced 166 balls and extended his boundary count to 11.

It was 268 for six when the second new ball became due and, not surprisingly, Klinger opted to take it immediately.

Payne was the bowler to capitalise as David Murphy was caught by diving wicketkeeper Cameron Herring for 16 and three balls later David Willey had his middle stump uprooted.

The Northants lead was just 91, but their tail wagged energetically as Crook joined Middlebrook to produce the most attacking batting of the day.

Middlebrook hit eight fours in reaching a 72-ball half-century, while Crook also punished anything loose.

By tea they had taken the score to 353-8, earning Northants a third and fourth batting point in the process. Middlebrook was unbeaten on 62, while Crook had hit six fours in his 35 not out.

The final session saw Middlebrook caught behind off Taylor’s off-spin without adding to his score but last man Trent Copeland then contributed 27 not out to a stand of 46 with Crook.

Will Gidman claimed his fourth wicket when Crook chipped a catch to Dent at mid-wicket, having made his valuable 53 off 78 balls, with eight fours helping Northants to maximum batting points.