More than 200 Northampton PaperlinX employees made redundant when the firm collapsed last month are being invited to a drop-in session to help them find a new job.

The Moulton Park firm was placed into administration on April 1 and trading was ceased at 14 of its 19 sites across the country.

A total of 240 staff at both its head offices and another PaperlinX centre in Brackmills have been made redundant in the past month.

Today Northampton Borough Council has announced it will hold a drop-in session at The Guildhall to help the former employees find new work.

Organisations on hand with advice will include the Department for Work and Pensions, TCV Employment and Training Services as well as the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

Former employees will be able to get help with job searches and CV writing, plus advice on available employment and training, council tax arrears and bailiffs, HMRC debt, maximising income and how to attain court representation for rent or mortgage arrears.

The council will also have representatives available to talk about revenue and benefits as well as offering debt counselling.

The session will be held from 9.30am to noon in the Jeffrey Room.

No booking is required.

Samu Manoa may already have been nominated for two awards - but Alex Waller thinks another Saints forward also deserves some recognition.

Waller says flanker Calum Clark has been one of the ‘stand-out players every week’ at Franklin’s Gardens.

And he’d like to see Clark, who is still yet to be capped by England, get the kind of recognition Manoa has.

The American has deservedly been nominated for the Premiership’s forward of the season award as well as the RPA players’ player of the season prize.

But Clark could still also claim a couple of individual accolades, at Saints’ end-of-season awards dinner on May 18.

“Cal has been fantastic this year,” said Waller. “He’s playing the best rugby I’ve seen him play.

“Unfortunately, he didn’t quite get that England chance but he’s been one of the stand-out players for us every week.

“He fights at the breakdown and he’s been playing fantastically well.

“Hopefully he’ll get the accolades he deserves over the next couple of years, but this year has been massive for him.”

A 16-year-old boy was kicked and punched in the face after he was attacked by a group 10 young men in Grange Park, Northampton.

The teenager was approached by four men who were part of a larger group of about ten as he walked along Quinton Road, near the allotments.

The men started to verbally abuse him and three of the group then assaulted him, punching and kicking him to the body and face.

The rest of the group then joined in with the assault, kicking the victim while he was on the floor.

The attackers, a group of white and black young men, then ran off, leaving the victim with bruising to his face and body.

Police, who today released details of the attack that happened on Saturday, April 25 would like to speak to anyone who may have witnessed this incident or who may have any information regarding it.

Witnesses or anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

It may well go down as one of the most sensational, closest , meanest campaign battles in history, but in a matter of hours it will all be over – the results of General Election 2015 are almost upon us.

The national picture could not have been tighter.

Conservatives and Labour were polling neck-and-neck throughout the election with the party taking the advantage changing from day to day...depending of course on which poll you looked at. Every seat counts, if a party is to claim an overall majority. No seat can be classed as ‘safe’ in the county, though there will be large swings needed to overturn majorities in Daventry and South Northamptonshire in particular.

It means marginal seats have become key battlegrounds and one of those - the Northampton North constituency - has seen Labour and Conservative throw everything but the kitchen sink at the patch to win over voters.

The last Lord Ashcroft poll handed Sally Keeble, the Labour candidate there, a slight win, but the seat, held by Conservative Michael Ellis, could go either way with the Green Party, UKIP and the Lib Dems all expected to poll well.

At a ‘meet the candidate’ event at the Royal & Derngate held during the election, floating voters attended with the hope of being wooed by the Northampton North candidates.

On his way into the theatre 64-year-old Frank Ludlow, of Aspen close, Rectory Farm, knew what he was looking for.

“What I want is an MP who has some passion and will sometimes step out of line for the things they believe in,” he said, as he dismayed at the lack of arts funding promised in the main party manifestos this year. Elsewhere in the constituency, others are no closer to making up their mind.

Tim Brown, who runs a marketing and webs design company Media Identity, based at the Portfolio Innovation centre on St George’s Avenue, said he was no closer to deciding who to vote for.

“Obviously I’m a businessman so I’m interested in anything to do with taxes and I’ve got a young family so I’m also interested in anything involving the NHS,” he said. “I don’t think it’s an easy decision to make at this election.”

And while much of the rhetoric at this election has centred around the ‘hard working families’ of Great Britain, 25-year-old Ali Toomey, from Northampton, said she was considering voting Conservative, but had been disappointed with the Coalition government of the last five years.

As a mother of a 10-month old son with special dietary needs, she still works as a carer part time and receives just £10 a week in working tax credits. “There is not enough support for young mothers,” she said. “They need to promise a lot more for working families, I would have earned around £7,000 more if I didn’t work.”

Here are some of the key statistics from the General Election campaign.

650: The number of seats in the House of Commons.

326: The finishing line. That would be enough for a government to vote through new laws without being defeated by their opponents. If they don’t reach that number we have got what is called a hung Parliament.

306: The number of seats won by David Cameron’s Conservative Party in the 2010 election.

258: The number of seats won by Gordon Brown’s Labour Party in the 2010 election.

57: The number of seats won by Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrat Party in the 2010 election.

37: The number of days from the formal start of the campaign on 30 March to polling day on 7 May. This has been the longest official campaign in modern political history, easily beating the previous record of 26 days in 1987.

81: The number of opinion polls published during the campaign, as of May 5.

30: The number of polls showing the Conservatives in front.

37: The number of polls giving Labour a lead.

73: The number of constituencies visited by David Cameron over the course of the campaign.

53: The number of constituencies visited by Ed Miliband over the course of the campaign.

38: The number of constituencies visited by Nick Clegg over the course of the campaign.

12: The number of constituencies visited by Nigel Farage over the course of the campaign.

137: The number of seats visited by at least one of the main leaders.

37: The number of constituencies visited by two of the main leaders.

2: The number of constituencies visited by three of the main leaders... Leeds Central and the constituency of Cities of London and Westminster.

3,971: The total number of candidates standing in the election. This is 162 lower than the all-time high of 4,133 in 2010.

8: The number of BNP candidates standing in the election. In 2010 it was 388. The number of English Democrat candidates has also fallen, from 104 to 32.

37%: The proportion of Green Party candidates who are women. The Greens are fielding a greater proportion of female candidates than any of the other main parties. Ukip is fielding the smallest: just 12%.

72: The number of parties fielding just one candidate.

129: The number of seats visited by one or more of four main leaders, as of May 5. David Cameron has visited the most number of constituencies: a total of 68. Ed Miliband has visited 50 different seats, Nick Clegg has been to 35 and Nigel Farage has been to 12. A total of 32 seats have been visited by two leaders.

485,012: The number of people who registered to vote on April 20: the final day before the deadline.

15%: The estimated proportion of the electorate who have already voted by post.

4,658,499: The amount in pounds raised by Labour through donations during the campaign. The Conservatives’ raised £3,456,017, Ukip took in £1,614,312 and the Liberal Democrats £234,000.

18.3m: The combined TV audience for all of the live debates and interviews. An average of 6.7m people watched the debate on ITV between the seven main party leaders, while 4.3m tuned in for the opposition leaders’ debate on the BBC. The same number watched the BBC’s live edition of Question Time featuring David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg, while 2.9m tuned in the live Q&A of Cameron and Miliband on Channel 4/Sky News.

0.2: The size in percentage points of the Tories’ lead over Labour in the Press Association’s poll of polls at the start of the campaign on March 30.

0.2: The size in percentage points of the Tories’ lead over Labour in the poll of polls on May 5.

72%: Predicted turn-out as predicted by Ipsos Mori.

Conservative Peter Bone has held on to his seat and will represent Wellingborough and Rushden in Parliament for another term.

The new MP for Wellingborough and Rushden has thanked his team for their support in retaining his seat.

Peter Bone, who ran away with the constituency with 26,265 votes, beating his nearest rival by more than 15,000 votes, admitted he was tired when the result finally came in at 4.30am.

But said he was delighted with the result and thanked every member of the team that had helped with the campaign.

Speaking after the result, Mr Bone said: “I am delighted, but I am very tired.

“The team have worked so hard.

“The Listening to Wellingborough and Rushden campaign has worked well.”

He said that it showed that they listened to people’s views and they listen to what matters to people locally. Members of the team he thanked publicly included Dorothy Maxwell, David Jenney and Gill Mercer.

After admitting that the first thing he was going to do after the election was go to bed, he said he would then start on the issues that matter to people in Wellingborough and Rushden, including creating jobs in the constituency.

Mr Bone was congratulated by his opponents, including Richard Garvie who shook his hand before leaving the Redwell Leisure Centre where the count took place.

The results for the seat were as follows:

Peter Bone (Conservative): 26,265

Richard Garvie: 9,839

Dr Jonathan Munday (UKIP): 9,868

Chris Nelson (Liberal Democrats): 2,240

Marion Turner-Hawes (Green Party): 2,218

Turnout was 69 percent.

Peter Bone has been the Wellingborough MP since the 2005 General Election, holding on to his seat five years ago with a majority of 11,787.

His opponents this time round were Richard Garvie who was originally standing for Labour but was suspended, Chris Nelson for the Liberal Democrats, Dr Jonathan Munday for UKIP and Marion Turner-Hawes for the Green Party.

Despite having a respectable majority of 11,787 last time,.

The campaign trail also saw the Labour candidate Richard Garvie convicted of fraud just seven days ahead of the polls.

Garvie, 30, of Rowlett Road, Corby, was found guilty of fraud after buying train tickets worth £890 using a card for a closed bank account at Wellingborough Magistrates Court last Thursday.

He denied the charges but was found guilty and will be sentenced later this year. He was suspended by the Labour Party after his conviction.

In a statement released by Garvie afterwards, he said he still hoped to win the seat for Labour but pledged to resign if elected.

The Wellingborough constituency is 76,848 and turn-out in the 2010 General Election for Wellingborough was 67.2 per cent.

Alex King admits Saints couldn’t have asked for a better scenario with just two games of the Aviva Premiership regular season to go.

And he is now desperate to see the club get over the line against London Welsh on Saturday as they bid to earn the win that would secure a home play-off semi-final.

Saints, who are currently five points clear of second-placed Bath and nine ahead of Saracens in third, know they need just two more points to be certain of a home semi.

And with a London Welsh side who have lost all 30 of their games this season heading to Franklin’s Gardens this weekend, they are huge favourites to get the job done.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better scenario to need two points for a home semi-final with two games to go,” said attack coach King.

“If someone had offered us this 20 rounds ago we would have taken it.

“We’ve very happy, but nothing’s decided yet.

“We’ve got a massive game here on Saturday, it’s our last home league game of the regular season and we want to put a performance in in front of the fans.”

Saints spent some of last week in Portugal, enjoying warm weather training and team bonding.

That came after the 25-20 win against Saracens at stadium:mk, which was a performance that helped banish the demons of defeats to Clermont Auvergne and Exeter.

And King said: “It’s always difficult after the Six Nations. We went through a similar period last season where it took a few weeks for the guys to gel and get back together.

“We finished the season strongly last year and I’m hoping it’s going to be the case this year.

“No season goes smoothly for any club. We’ve had ours (blip) and we want to build on that second half against Saracens in the final few games.”

Boss Chris Wilder has confirmed he will be using loan signings to bolster his Cobblers squad next season, but the plan is for them to be longer-term agreements.

A few months ago it was believed FIFA were going to scrap the loan system, which is what triggered the talk of a development squad being set up at Sixfields.

But world football’s governing body have backed down and now said the loan system can stay as it is for one more season, which means clubs at least have longer to get their development squads together .

Wilder says he again intends to make use of the loan market, but is not a fan of the short-term, quick-fix loan deals.

“I think we’ll maybe have one or two long-term loan signings,” said the Cobblers boss, who last summer brought in Danny Alfei from Swansea City and Kaid Mohamed from Port Vale on long-term loans, and has already revealed he is considering a season-long loan for a goalkeeper.

“There was a lot of talk about the loan system being scrapped, but that hasn’t happened.

“I am not a lover of short-term loans, and if we are going to sign anybody on loan it will be a season-to-season agreement, or a windwow-to-window, which will mean August to January.

“I’m a big believer that when loan players come in they are part of the group, and are not just here to play a few games and shoot back.”

Wilder was forced to utilise the short-term loan market at various points last season, with the likes of Ollie Banks coming in from Chesterfield, Stewart Murdoch from Fleetwood, Enda Stevens from Aston Villa and Ryan Watson from Leicester City, whose stay may have been longer term had he not suffered an injury.

“Sometimes you have to do use shorter-term loans because of injuries, but on the whole I am more of a six-month, 12-month loan-signing manager, “ said Wilder.

“That means the players can really integrate themselves into the football club, into people around the club and the players.”

The Conservatives took a clean sweep of Northamptonshire in the 2015 General Election in a night of high drama locally and nationally.

The Tories took all seven seats after Labour’s Andy Sawford was ousted as MP of Corby by the Conservative candidate Tom Pursglove.

The Conservatives held South Northamptonshire, Daventry, Northampton North, Northampton South, Kettering and Wellingborough with Labour losing the seat of Corby.

In the marginal seat of Northampton North, Michael Ellis retained his seat, defeating close rival Sally Keeble, representing Labour, as she tried to win back the seat she lost in 2010.

David Mackintosh took the seat of Northampton South, left vacant after the retirement of Brian Binley from politics. The former leader of Northampton Borough Council defeated his nearest rival, Kevin McKeever.

Meanwhile, the safe seats of South Northamptonshire, Daventry, Kettering and Wellingborough went to Andrea Leadsom, Chris Heaton-Harris, Philip Hollobone and Peter Bone respectively.

Conservative candidate Tom Pursglove has ousted Labour’s Andy Sawford to take the Corby constituency in the General Election.

Mr Pursglove, who won with a majority of more than 2,000 votes, paid tribute to the outgoing Labour MP and said Mr Sawford had worked very hard in the last two and-a-half years.

He added: “I want to be a hard-working Member of Parliament.

“Andy did a fantastic job and his are big shoes to fill.

“I want to step up to the plate now and make sure that when people have got issues or concerns that I can help them out.”

Mr Pursglove said his win was the culmination not only of a successful recent campaign, but of two years’ hard work in the area.

He added: “I have campaigned on key local issues. We have seen successes like Skew Bridge and Rushden Lakes and I want to keep going with that.

“In Corby, something I would like to see brought in is free parking, which has been a big success in East Northamptonshire.”

Speaking about his win, Mr Pursglove said although he had campaigned to win, he had not let himself believe it was possible until the result was announced.

Mr Sawford left the Lodge Park Sports Centre moments after the result was announced.

In his speech immediately following the result he said: “It has been a real honour to be the Corby MP.

“We will now dust ourselves off and we will carry on the fight.”

UKIP candidate Margot Parker, who won 7,708 votes and finished in third place, said: “Third is third. We do not have the resources of Labour or the Conservatives who threw tons of money at this election.

“We are building up our support and we may see some of our candidates elected in the local elections.”

The full results were as follows:

Peter Harris (Liberal Democrat): 1,458

Jonathan Hornett (Green): 1,374

Margot Parker (UKIP): 7,708

Tom Pursglove (Con): 24,023

Andy Sawford (Lab): 21,611

The count was held at Lodge Park Sports Centre in Corby and the turnout was 70.6 per cent.

Labour had been tipped to hold the constituency in pre-election polls and the seat was hotly contested in the run-up to the General Election, having been traded between the Conservative and Labour parties in 2010 and 2012.

Mr Sawford, son of the former Kettering MP Phil Sawford, was first elected as Corby MP with a majority of almost 8,000 in 2012 in a by-election triggered by the resignation of the former Conservative MP Louise Mensch.

Mrs Mensch had won the seat at the 2010 election but quit two years later when she moved to New York.

Brampton Heath’s Andy Sewell used all his experience over the closing stretch at Collingtree Park to win the Higgs Bowl.

The four-handicapper birdied the 13th and 14th holes and then parred the last four holes to grab the honours by two strokes from four players.

Former county champion Mark Davis, who carded the best gross score, finished second on countback from Wellingborough club-mates Carl Martin and James Willmott and home club member Steve Cole.

Northampton

Ian Barden, Ray Neal, Brian Gent and David Dare were the team to beat in the club’s Charity Day as they compiled a winning score of 95 points.

The quartet of George Hiams, Peter Dunn, Greg Barker and Brian Newey (94) took second by two from Frank Bustin, Nigel Harris, Carl Williams and David Page.

On a day when £3300 was raised for Parkinson’s UK, the ladies prize went to Margaret Worthington, Carol Osborne, Pat Dare and Chris Beeby (87) as they finish six clear of the chasing pack.

Northants County

Tony Lord collected another major honour as he won the Spring Vase by one stroke from Harry Larkins after posting a 36-hole gross score of 153. Matthew Myers was third on 155.

Larkins also had to be content with the runners-up prize in the net category as Paul Stones (net 148) picked up the Wallis Cup by two shots. Chris Winters (151) finished third.

Brampton Heath

Alec Francis found his consistency during the May Medal as the two-handicapper took the honours by two strokes with a net 69.

After starting with three birdies and three bogeys in his opening half a dozen holes, Francis carded 11 pars and one birdie over the remaining holes to finish clear of Roy Welsh.

Brendan Kelly, Keith Thompson and Dean Montgomery were a further shot off the pace.

Overstone Park

Richard Hanna was in great touch on the par three holes in the Seniors April Medal as he carded three pars and a bogey on the four short holes in a winning score of net 71.

A couple of strokes back in second place was Russell Moore, with Dave Bright, Gary Wild and Brian Billingham (all net 75) battling it out for the minor prizes in the Order of Merit event.

Cold Ashby

Stephen Bates won the Seniors April Medal as an excellent round of net 66 earned the 11-handicapper a three stroke victory from Ray Briggs.

Staverton

Gary Birch compiled the best score of 39 points in the April Stableford as he won the second division by four from Steve Thompson and Paul White.

John Singleton (37) clinched the top section on countback from Joshua Morris, while Stephen Hatfield (37) led the way in the high-handicap category.

Collingtree

Roo Smith and Iain Tait had few problems qualifying for the fourth round of the Daily Mail Foursomes as they defeated a pair from Kettering by the scoreline 7&5.

Whittlebury

Four gross pars in the last five holes helped Simon Miller beat Andrew Garner on countback to lift the Bill Hamilton Trophy with 39 points.

Countback was also needed in the other two divisions as Jeff Parsons (38) beat Craig Carrington in the second section, while Paul Booth edged out Roger Martin and Paul Rappo (37) in the top category.

Silverstone

Mike Wood needed countback to edge out Dougie Campbell in the Jim Faulkner Trophy after both players finished one clear of Matt Bishop with 37 points.

Kingsthorpe

Carl Jonas lifted the St. Andrews Cup as his tally of 38 points was one more than Ryan Keeber, Dan Blackmore and Chris Caswell.

Delapre

Stephen Clark and Craig McAuley collected the Past Captains Trophy after the pair carded 47 points to finish one clear of Alan Picketts and Brian Seal.

Malcolm Brown’s net 72 was the best score in the April Medal by four from Nigel Hunter.

Hellidon Lakes

Ted Craig parred half the holes, and carded a birdie on the ninth, in the Captains Drive-In Competition as he shot the leading total of 41 points.

Clive Jennings (39) clinched the top section by one from Paul Craig, while Alan Grant was the best high-handicapper with 36.

Cherwell Edge

David Walkden found his form from the sixth hole onwards in the April Sunday Stableford as he shot the leading mark of 40 points.

Steve Arnold (38) was runner-up.

Farthingstone

Ten gross pars were on the scorecard of Andy Morgan in the Winter Bash as he fired an impressive tally of 45 points.

Stuart Bates carded 40 points, followed by Chris Franklin and Anthony Marriott (both 38).

Former Northants champion Jack Brown returns to the county first team for the opening Anglian League away match against Suffolk at Woodbridge on Sunday.

With Ryan Evans, Kyson Lloyd and Simon Williams having turned pro in recent months and Fraser Carnihan, Lewis White, Paul Hodgkiss and Harry Woan unavailable for selection, team captain Jim Campbell has named an inexperienced line-up.

Brown is joined by teenagers Callum Farr, Ben Jones and Sam Henfrey, while Jamie Milligan is set to make his Anglian League first-team debut. Graham Bott, Michael Campbell and Tom Burgh complete the side.

Another ex-county champion Miles Mudge plays for the second team at Whittlebury Park as he lines up alongside Taylor Sargeant, Stuart Nicholas, Jon Harris, Alec Francis, Jason McGuiness, Michael Farr and Mikey Chambers.

NPGA

Paul Broadhurst (Northants County) was the standout performer in the penultimate Winter Series NPGA Pro-Am event as he fired a magnificent six-under-par 64 at Cherwell Edge.

The former Ryder Cup player finished four ahead of Nick Soto (Northampton), with Jon Handyside (Priors Hall) and Dan Wood (Brampton Heath) a further shot off the lead.

It was a close contest in the team event as Kingsthorpe pro Paul Armstrong’s side grabbed a countback victory from the teams led by Broadhurst and Shane Rose (Cold Ashby) on 127.

Shires Junior Golf Tour

A place in the Ian Poulter Invitational at Woburn this summer will be at stake in the fifth round of the Shires Junior Golf Tour at Kingsthorpe on Sunday.

The leading boy or girl under the age of 18, who has a handicap of 16 or less, 
will qualify to compete in a field of 100 juniors on the Marquess course on Monday, July 21.

The added incentive of meeting the Ryder Cup winner has helped boost the Kingsthorpe entry list, which will almost certainly break the Shires record of 82 players from the previous round at Brampton Heath.

Handicap League

Group A

Collingtree Park burst out of the blocks in their opening match of the season against Kingsthorpe as the hosts went on to claim a 12-4 victory.

Home duo Chris Malton and Paul Dimmock took the opening tie by half a dozen holes, while Harry Williams and Mark Spring won the first six holes on their way to a two hole success in the second game.

From then on, it was a fairly close contest with Collingtree picking up four more points and Mark Fowkes and Martin Bamford (two holes) and Brian Watkins and Barry Crowl (two holes) replying for the visitors.

Family pride was at stake in the first match of the season in Group A as Cherwell 
Edge recorded an excellent 11-4 victory at sister club Silverstone.

Graham Collett and Geoffrey Stone clinched the opening tie by three holes for the visitors, John Thompson and Luis Witherall doubled their lead by winning the next match. With game three being halved and Silverstone taking the fourth tie by four holes, the result remained in the balance with two matches on the course.

Cherwell proved just too strong in both those games as Santi Perez and Peter Sprey won by two holes, before Barry Hill and Stephen Malsher clinched a three-hole success in the last match.

Group B

Staverton Park produced a dominant away performance at Delapre Park as they started their campaign with a 24-2 victory.

Although the hosts took game two by a couple of holes, wins for Paul Hammond and Darren Barrett (six holes) and David Garrett and Dan Allum (one hole) gave the visitors the advantage at the half way stage.

Staverton then took complete control as Samuel Peake and Oliver Braker triumphed by nine holes, Greg Young and Karl Fisher (above) won by six, before Kyle Grant and Nick Shakespeare (two holes) wrapped up a comprehensive away success.

Group C

Wellingborough made the perfect start to the defence of their title as they completed a 14-0 home victory against Rushden.

Paul Redding and Steve Crawley beat Jack McGrath and Michael Stephens by three holes in the opening game, before home team skipper Glen Gulla and Lawrence Berryman doubled the lead.

Glenn Harris and Charlie Higgins extended the advantage by another hole as they edged a tight contest with the father-and-son combination of Shaun Gant and Callum Gant.

The visitors halved the fifth game, but Wellingborough were successful in the matches either side as Alonza Lorenzo and Chris Herring won by three holes and Carl Martin and Steven Hammond triumphed by four.

Oundle had contrasting results in their opening two matches as they defeated local rivals Peterborough Milton 15-5 at home, but then crashed to a 22-1 reverse at Cold Ashby.

The damage was done early on against Milton as Charlie Fowler and Graham Drage took the first game by five holes, while Peter McNally and Dave Reardon extended the home lead by four in the next tie.

Although the third match was halved, Oundle put the result beyond doubt when Charles Underwood and Peter Rice clinched the next game by six holes.

Tony Vardaro and Roy Chowings prevented a whitewash defeat by taking the fifth game by a single hole, before Peterborough’s Ryan Slater and Paul Pateman (four holes) completed the scoring.

It was a completely different story for Oundle three days later in their trip to Cold Ashby as the home side recorded four convincing wins in the first four games.

James Gibson and James Wallis (four holes), Gareth Dolman and Daniel Payne (six holes), David Durkin and Richard Martin (four holes) and Derek Bott and David Dolman (six holes) were in good touch for Ashby.

Guy Fowler and Mark Nicholson got Oundle on the scoreboard with a narrow win, but the home duo of Stephen Bull and Steven Walpole clinched the final match by a couple of holes.

Group D

Local rivals Priors Hall and Kettering were involved in a thrilling contest on Sunday as the two sides battled out a 8-8 draw on the Corby course.

Wins for Jerry Millar and Trevor Shiells (two holes) and Darren Buchan and Jim Collins (three holes) gave Priors the early advantage, but Kettering’s Alan Moreland and Richard Grove replied with a six hole victory.

Nick Toseland and Steve Shiells responded with a three hole success for the hosts, only for Richard Sharp and Jack Murray (two holes) to level up the scores with one match left on the course.

Although Kettering’s Colin Mitton and Bob Wood led going down the last, the two had to settle for a share of the spoils as home duo John McConnell and Matthew McLean won the 18th to snatch a half.

Various park runs proved popular with Silson Joggers runners again on Saturday.

Silson’s ladies team captain Heather Kirk gained a new personal best at Northampton Racecourse, and was the seventh lady home.

Mark Thompson gained a new PB with his seventh place finish at the Nonsuch parkrun. James Darcy crossed the line in eighth and Sue Torrance was the fifth lady to cross the line at the Buckingham parkrun.

Sunday saw the fabulous ‘Wings for Life’ run start (and finish – after 100km!) in Silverstone.

Several Silson Joggers took part in the event, which raises money for an incredibly good cause.

One of the Joggers, Justine Verwey, exceeded her own expectations and managed to run 17k before the ‘catcher car’ caught her.

Milton Keynes’ May Day Marathon and Half Marathon event saw lots of the Silson Joggers taking part. Bob Kellam, Paul Holmes, Chelsey Rose, Sarah Pearson, Amy Wright and Darren Brockwell all had a magnificent run and finished the Half Marathon distance in superb times.

Fellow Joggers, Michael Spencer, Paul Rose and Mike Camwell, took on and valiantly conquered the full 26.2 distance.

Niklas shows class to claim bronze medal

Niklas Aarre of Daventry, a former student at E-Act Parker Academy and Guilsborough School, won a bronze medal in the British Universities National Championship at Bedford last weekend.

Aarre who is in his first year studying acting at Bath Spa University came into the competition ranked 10th (which is impressive as a first year student), but was positioned fourth until the last throw where he managed to get a good one out of the bag of 43.67 with 2kg (senior implement) pushing him into the bronze medal position.

Aarre is combining his studying with his athletics and without the support from Passport to Excellence Scheme from Everyone Active in Daventry, grants from Northamptonshire Community Foundation (Championing Champion) and funding from Bath Spa University, this would have made this very difficult.

He is also part of Birchfield Harriers LDF Junior Development Programme and receiving Nike Kit Drop which is given to athletes which is to be considered to be rising stars in UK Athletics.

R&N youngsters produce super show

Rugby & Northampton Athletic Club’s young athletes put in another phenomenal performance last weekend, easing to victory in the second round of the UK Youth Development League Midland Premier Division in Milton Keynes.

R&N won with a total of 600 points – more than 100 clear of nearest rivals Charnwood (488), Birchfield Harriers (475), and Marshall Milton Keynes (453).

The under-13 girls set the tone for the day with a number of individual victories, along with a win in the 4x100 metre relay, which was won in 55.4 seconds by the team of Annie Saghri, Fenella Downes, Amelia Tutt and Eloise Nowill.

Abigail Ward set a personal best in the 150m with a time of 21.6 to win the ‘B’ race, before taking to the field and winning the javelin event. Ward threw an incredible 28.7m, beating her nearest rival by 17 metres, and propelling herself to the number two ranked javelin athlete in the country at under-13.

The success in the field events didn’t end there as Maia Reynolds won the javelin ‘B’ with a throw of 15.22m, and Nowill and Tutt triumphed in the shot put and high jump respectively. Nowill cleared a height of 1.34m with ease, while Tutt sent the shot 7.54m to take the win. Tutt also took the honours in the 70m hurdles, winning with a personal best time of 12.9.

Back on the track, there was double success in the ‘A’ and ‘B’ 1200m races - Molly Williams (4:01.6) and Claudia Searle (4:14.0) crossed the line quickest, while Downes triumphed in the 75m ‘B’ race, sprinting home in 11 seconds flat.

The girls from the under-15 group were equally as impressive over track and field, earning two victories in the shot put. Lily Mae Pursey won in the ‘B’ competition, throwing 8.61m, and Adele Blenkinsop was victorious in the ‘A’ with 8.73m, a personal best. Blenkinsop then set another PB, triumphing in the long jump, launching herself 4.78m to take victory.

Lucy Laight (44.4) and Georgina Woodward (45.0) secured 300m success at both ‘A’ and ‘B’ level, and Anousha Salehi was victorious in the 75m hurdles ‘B’ race with a time of 12.5 seconds. Along with Poppy Carmichael, the team secured a club record 4x300m relay time, racing home to win in 2:57.9 to smash the previous record by ten seconds. Laight added to her honours in the pole vault, springing to success courtesy of a height of 1.7m.

There was plenty of success for the under-15 boys too, with victories in the field for William Ballinger, Matthew Broome and Sam Tutt.

Ballinger was successful in both the discus (28.39m) and javelin (40.7m), throwing PB’s in both to take victory, and Broome also broke his personal record by leaping 5.68m to win the long jump.

Tutt’s shot put throw of 11.15m earned him victory, and he took that form to the track to win the 80m hurdles ‘B’ event in 11.8 seconds, while club-mate Oli Lambert was successful in the ‘A’ race, recording the same time.

Lambert maintained that form over longer distances, taking the win in both the 200 and 300-metre races with respective times of 24.1 and 38.4, and, along with Tutt, Jaime Nalus and Bradley Whitehead, dashed to victory in the 4x100m relay. The boys crossed the line in 48.2 seconds to top the podium, on what was a good day for Nalus on his R&N debut.

Nalus went on to set personal bests in the 100m and 200m ‘B’ events, triumphing in the former in 12.4 seconds and securing second place over the longer distance with a time of 25.2.

Brilliant Kings Heath ABC boxer Ben Vaughan was England’s finest in last weekend’s Tri-Nations.

Not only did the talented 15-year-old claim gold in Scotland, he also picked up the prestigious best boxer of the tournament prize.

The England captain saw off two of the home nation’s fighters as he impressed the international coaches from start to finish.

Vaughan was up against James Buchanan in the semi-finals and forced a standing count in round one before the referee intervened in the second to stop the fight.

That victory against Scotland’s cadet champion was followed by a split decision success against Nathan Shaw.

Vaughan, fighting at 60kg, beat the highly-respected European medalist over three intense rounds, which brought the crowd to their feet.

The strong and aggressive Shaw tried to put Vaughan on to the back foot in the first round as no quarter was given by either boxer.

Vaughan stepped it up in the second going through the gears with a terrific variety of shots.

With the bout in the balance, the England ace left nothing to chance and his superb level of fitness enabled him to pull away in the last round to win a deserved gold medal.

“Ben has now won three national titles and two Tri-Nations, which is a huge achievement and a reflection of the hard work and dedication he puts in,” said Kings Heath head coach Arthur Daly.

“Ironically, he lost his first bout of the season but used that as a stepping stone and part of the learning curve in amateur boxing.

“Ultimatelym receiving the best boxer award in an international tournament is a testament to his commitment and Kings Heath’s training philosophy.”

Meanwhile, identical twin Harry Pullen joined his brother Jimmy in the Schoolboy quarter-finals.

And Harry proved to be too smart for Corry McPhilbin, earning a clear unanimous points win Kings Heath now have eight boxers in the quarter-finals, which is a record for the club.

“We are enjoying a great season and the results speak volumes,” said Daly, “and it is not over yet.

“As coach I am particularly proud of Ben, as he stands for everything that is right in boxing.

“He is quiet and dignified with a champion’s will to win.

“He is ably supported by a good team, not least of all his dad, Mark, who also brings along a strong positive influence to a buoyant gym.”

Daly’s delight as Bosley is back

Far Cotton ABC head coach John Daly can’t wait to see young gun Morgan Bosley back in action this weekend.

The 57kg scrapper has not boxed since losing in the ABAs earlier this year but he will take to the canvas in Derby on Sunday.

Bosley has been selected to box for an LRN side against Derbyshire.

And Daly is looking forward to seeing the talented teen return to the ring.

“The last time Morgan boxed was a couple of months ago and he’s been back at the gym really training hard since,” said the coach.

“He’s really got a lot of potential and he’s been sparring with (England boxer) Molly Perkins.

“He’ll got far and I’ve always thought so ever since he joined the club.

“He’s been with us since he was eight years old and he’s now in his mid teens.

“His movement is very good and he’s definitely got a lot of talent that will take him far.”

Also in action this weekend will be 10-year-old Zara Aitchison.

Aitchison is heading to Halifax on Saturday night for a skills match.

Meanwhile, England and Great Britain fighter Chantelle Cameron, who is a Far Cotton ABC fighter, headed to Spain earlier this week for a tournament as she continues her quest to make next year’s Olympic Games in Rio.

A man has been charged with rape following an incident in Rothwell on Wednesday night.

Michael Small, 42, of Well Lane, Rothwell, will appear before Northampton Magistrates’ Court this morning in connection with the incident which took place in the pocket park near Glendon Road, Rothwell, between 10pm and 10.25pm on Wednesday, May 6.

David Willey will today make his debut for England.

The Northamptonshire all-rounder has been named as one of five new caps in the team for his country’s one-day international against Ireland.

He joins Zafar Ansari, Jason Roy, James Vince and Mark Wood as first-timers in the England squad.

This time last year. Jimmy Anderson gave us a brilliant demonstration of fast accurate seam bowling with 10 wickets in the match to deliver Lancashire a narrow victory at Wantage Road.

Without him playing for the visitors, Northants would have won that game.

It was a very different Lancashire attack that turned out for the championship match this week, with England’s finest fast bowler recovering from breaking Ian Botham’s test wicket taking record, it was only Peter Siddle to worry about - and he didn’t prove a problem.

The Northants groundsmen seem to have been instructed to prepare flatter pitches to deter defeats this season, and so blunted that Lancashire attack some more.

The home team, boosted by that cracking victory at Leicester, were ready to set about restoring pride against the second favorites in the division after five straight defeats.

But the umpires were not in the mood to get play on on Sunday, and nothing annoys spectators more than when we sit there for hours in warm sunshine and a drying wind and play is delayed.

A couple of innocuous puddles on the boundary were deemed unsafe, yet the bad light at the end of the day that cost Northants two wickets when we were taking control of the game was not deemed unsafe? Go figure.

A rejuvenated Stephen Peters had scored a crisp 56 to set up the innings and Alex Wakely was well set on 59, but the light faded and so did Northants to be 198 for six at the close.

A cracking day’s cricket on day two in front of a decent Bank Holiday crowd saw Adam Rossington continue to batter some meaty boundaries the way David Sales used to do, and his 57 was very enjoyable.

With David Willey rested for England, it was replacement Steven Crook who stole the day, champing at the bit for some first team cricket with a rapid point-making 91 from just 88 balls. he hit a thrilling 15 boundaries to bring up the welcome 300 for the County.

Olly Stone’s first-class personal best of 38 delivered a genuine last-wicket partnership of 52 with the scampering Mohamed Azharullah, and 385 against a side including acclimatising Aussie Peter Siddle and the in-form Zimbabwean Kyle Jarvis on a pitch offering some early seam was a good effort.

Big Rory Klienveldt has drawn some criticism from fans for his physique, but he is beginning to get to grips with the Duke ball and is bowling better lengths and threatening deliveries.

As long as you are accurate and move the Duke just enough, you will get wickets in England, and Lancashire were soon rocking at three for two.

But Kleinveldt did tire, and so was restricted to shorter spells.

The visitors somehow wangled three Kolpaks, as Ashwell Prince carried on where he left off last season by taking another ton off the Northants attack, even though he was irritatingly dropped three times.

The South African rather enjoyed the short boundary on the eastern side of the ground.

Northants superfan Wendell Pemberton was insisting on two gullies for Prince, but Wakely was not listening to the now familiar Caribbean patois from the boundary edge.

Believe it or not, but Wendell actually played international cricket for St Kitts & Nevis at junior level! So he says.

Some good news on a breezy day three was that the ‘Signal Box’ will remain the home of the supporters club for the rest of the season, as Travis & Perkins have agreed to fund a temporary bar between the West Stand and the Signal Box for around £7,000.

I’m guessing they were set to sponsor a Signal Box bar all along and why this was dropped on the fans at the March AGM - it was a rare win for the members in an increasingly corporate set up at Wantage Road.

Not surprisingly on election week, Tory Lord Naseby, the club patron, claimed to have had a quiet word to keep the supporters club in place. Anything to get a vote your honor! But the ‘blue seats’ are not as blue as you think.

The third day was another truncated one on the pitch as the ultra cautious umpires kept the teams off for the morning session in rapidly drying conditions after overnight rain, effectively killing the game.

Prince pressed on for an impressive 153 before being snared by sub David Murphy, who was on for Richard Levi, off a Crooky knuckle ball. Indeed, Northants had no less than four wicketkeepers on the pitch at one point in the day.

It was a surface flattening out and there was nothing much for the seamers as Siddle guided the tail to 436 all out after putting on 100 with Prince.

Well played to Kleinveldt with his five for 99, a bowler that may not fancy long spells but bowls a wicket-taking ball or two.

With Levi out with a broken finger, Rob Newton deputised with Peters and joined Wakeley back in the pavilion before the close as both wafted out.

The wind claimed its first casualty on the final day of the match when the main ground sheet ripped in half, resulting in a call to Lord’s as the groundsmen declined on ‘health & safety grounds’ to cover the full square with the remaining sheet in the vicious wind. If you think we can’t afford a new one you’re probably right!

On the field, with the weather forecasting as random as the umpiring as the rain was blown away, Northants batted on and on until stumps and handshakes with an entertaining 391 for five.

The Lancashire bowlers had lost their intensity and Peters helped himself to his second 50 of the game, while there were hundreds for Rob Keogh and the likeable Crook.

It was Keogh’s fourth ton in 35 innings, and highlights just how frustratingly unproductive Wakely’s career has been to date in the middle order, as he has just two tons in 129 innings.

But the game was wrecked by the weather and poor umpiring and a balance sheet 12-point draw it would be. I say bring back George Sharp and Peter Willey!

Skipper Andrew Neate believes Charlie McDonnell can be the man who helps Horton House ensure that they don’t miss one of last season’s star men.

Kiwi Leo Carter was a huge influence on the Denton Road outfit during the previous campaign, racking up a gargantuan 978 runs in just 21 innings.

He was second only to Old Northamptonians hitter Rob White in the runs league and is a big miss as he has recentlty been back in his homeland, turning out for Canterbury.

McDonnell, who is a key man for Durham University, is the player being asked to step up in place of the 20-year-old.

He hit 45 in the opening-day defeat to Oundle but is now recovering from what his skipper hopes is not a serious injury.

“Charlie’s got what looks to be a side strain and hopefully that’s all it is,” said Neate.

“We’ll hopefully get him back soon and, in the meantime, we’ll try to lay a foundation for him to build on when he returns.

“Leo hasn’t been the easiest player to replace and neither has Will Smith (last season’s captain), but hopefully Charlie can take up the mantle.

“He scored a hundred for Durham University against Warwickshire in pre-season and we’re hoping for lots of runs and wickets from him.”

But it is not only McDonnell who Neate is calling on to impress in the absence of others.

He wants his senior players - Gary Herbert and Stephen Finch - along with the youngsters to push the club forward.

“The senior players need to pick up the responsibility and help players who might come up to the first team from the seconds,” said Neate.

“We want them to feel comfortable in this environment and we’ll look to old heads like Gary and Stephen.

“They have been playing for more years than they’d like me to mention and they are important to us.”

Horton were outclassed by Brixworth last weekend, suffering a 142-run defeat to add to their 92-run reverse against Oundle.

But Neate’s side will look to produce a tidier display against Stony Stratford this weekend to get their season up and running.

“We played a few loose shots last weekend,” said the captain, who saw his team bowled out for 88 in reply.

“We showed our youthful exuberance rather than grinding them down.

“We know Stony will be very similar to us this weekend and we always have a good game against them. We 
just need to start gaining as many points as possible and keep a solid structure to the side.”

And if they can do that, Neate hopes Horton can prove to be the best of the rest in the premier division this season.

“The league’s almost split into two and we want to finish top of the second mini-league,” he said.

“We’d like to be top of the second one by trying to push into the top six.”

Horton have impressed in the T20 competition in recent years, making finals day in the past two.

And Neate feels they can use that experience in the longer form of the game, while also making another bid for the silverware.

He said: “We’ve had huge enjoyment in the T20 with a young side.

“It really helps you learn and we’re all really switched on in that competition.

“We’ve made it to the County Ground during the past two years and hopefully we can do it again.”

Elsewhere in the premier division this weekend, Saints will aim to make it three wins from three when they host Rushden, while Brixworth are at champions Peterborough.

Old Northamptonians host Oundle, Finedon Dolben entertain Wollaston and Geddington are at home to Rushton.

Skipper Thomas believes Bugbrooke can top the rot this season

Ciaran Thomas believes this can be the season that the rot is stopped at Bugbrooke.

The Badgers have endured back-to-back relegations and are now desperate to avoid another.

And with a few new recruits at his disposal, skipper Thomas is confident of a much better campaign this time around.

“We’re looking forward to it,” said Thomas ahead of Saturday’s opener at Long Buckby IIs.

“It’s been a difficult couple of years for the club with back-to-back relegations, but 
we’re a lot more positive of having a much better season this year.

“We’ve got some new players who should strengthen our first and second teams and it should be a lot better this year.

“We don’t really know what to expect and after the past two years we’ve had, I can’t say we’re going to go out and win the league.

“My initial target is stability and to stop what has maybe been a bit of a rot.

“If we get a few good wins under out belt we can look upwards.”

And Thomas knows who will be key if his side are to trouble the top teams in the division.

“Our star man is Bilal Bashir, our quick bowler,” he said.

“He got 50 wickets in division eight last year and he was awesome for us almost every week.

“He’s had some injury problems over the winter, but he’s fully fit and we’re confident he will do just as well, if not even better this year.”

Here’s a round up of all the NCL results from last weekend, Saturday, May 2, plus all this weekend’s fixtures.

Premier Division

Brixworth 230-6 (Tom Worthington 31, Alex Lacey 72, Will Thomas 83, Elliott Ruff 3-14) beat Horton House 88 all out (Elliott Ruff 38, Ross McLean 4-40, Fred Newborough 5-36) by 142 runs

Finedon Dolben 274-5 (Sean Davis 120no, Shane Devoy 70no, Greig Hofbauer 44) beat Geddington 104 all out (Kyle Morrison 33, Shane Devoy 3-19) by 170 runs

Oundle Town 75 all out (Joe Dawborn 6-29) lost to Peterborough Town 77-0 (Asim Butt 42no, Lewis Bruce 32no) by 10 wkts

Rushton 175 all out (Chanaka Ruwansiri 40, Luke Spears 45, Adil Araf 6-44) beat Rushden Town 121 all out (Simon Branston 6-31) by 54 runs

Stony Stratford 162 all out (Praveen Chandran 49, Ben Duckett 37, Corbyn Dolley 4-49) lost to Northampton Saints 163-4 (Chris Park 33, Corbyn Dolley 66no, Dan Harris 33) by 6 wkts

Old Northamptonians 286-6 (Rob White 143, Blayde Baker 43) beat Wollaston 138 all out (Aiden Fowkes 3-2) by 145 runs

Division One

East Haddon 116 all out (Nick Whorton 31, Alpesh Patel 4-31) beat Wellingborough Indians 106 all out (Adrian Isherwood 7-20) by 10 runs

Desborough Town 192 all out (Jason Marshall 53, Ben Parker 3-58, Phil Materna 3-48, Tom Brett 4-34) beat Finedon Dolben IIs 143 all out (Ethan Delargy 4-13) by 49 runs

Burton Latimer 299-7 (David Shelford 61, Alistair McClure 116, Luke Odell 42, Matthew Nel 36, Nicholas Herbert 3-51) beat Loddington & Mawsley 153 all out (Josh Plowright 80, Will Baines 3-33, David Shelford 3-22, Aiden Cunningham 3-4) by 146 runs

Old Northamptonians IIs 230 all out (Richard Hudson 75, James Grayson 43, Muhammad Javed Maqsood 48) lost to Weekly & Warkton 232-4 (Tom Ablitt 85, Craig Ferguson 45, Jacob Palmer 61no) by 6 wkts

Old Wellingburians 38 all out (Karl Tapp 3-14, Kyle Awberry 3-14, Sam Owen 4-8) lost to Wellingborough Town 39-0 by 10 wkts

Isham 269-3 (Tim Robinson 67, Chris Perkins 108, Chris Harrison 78no) winning draw versus Peterborough Town 220-5 (Bob Milne 91, Daniel Oldham 84, Jake Wilson 3-51)

Division Two

Brigstock 242-6 (Tashwin Lukas 81, Duncan Croker 56no, Ben Watts 3-58) drew with Rothwell Town 170-8 (Richard Panter 41no, Tashwin Lukas 3-48)

Kettering Town 306-0 (Greg Munro 147no, Pete Bevan 122no) beat Great Oakley 177 all out (Craig Perry 32, Darren Cullen 59, Matthew Cannon 4-34, Liam Sayles 3-55) by 129 runs

Irthlingborough Town 230-8 (Terry Butt 39, Alex McDonald 52, Martin Hills 34no, Devang Shah 4-47) beat Horton House IIs 99 all out (Guvinder Bhangal 35, Ben Parsons 4-31, Alex McDonald 4-32) by 131 runs

Stony Stratford IIs 177 all out (Sainath 46, Nabeel Ahmad 30, Ali Hasnain 5-30) lost to Saints IIs 183-1 (Josh Turner 46, Jack Mousley 61no, Mainak Ray 64no) by 9 wkts

St Crispin & Ryelands 136 all out (Chris Taylor 31, Matt Rowe 51, Mark Albright 5-38, James Rawlins 3-9) lost to Rushden Town IIs 140-3 (Jordan Baxter 30no, Oliver Woodhouse 34no) by 7 wkts

Thrapston 118 all out (Guy Sunter 6-18) lost to Overstone Park 122-1 (Jordan Capel 63no, Kunal Patel 32no) by 9 wkts

Division Three

Great Houghton 237-4 (Matthew Jackson 32, James Watson 143, Colin Wayman 40no) winning draw versus S&L Corby 113-8

Heyford 271 all out (James Baldwin 63, James Edwards 84, Charles Wilkins 31, Steve Brooks 3-61, Jack Bolsover 4-71) lost to Oundle Town IIs 275-3 ( Jack Bolsover 114, Steve Brooks 84no) by 7 wkts

Wollaston IIs 122 all out (Scott Lawson 3-42, Craig McDonald 3-18) lost to Irchester 124-6 (Brendon Tate 54, Adrian Ward 3-15) by 4 wkts

Brixworth IIs 227-5 (Paul Gardner 49, Henry Timm 42, Robert Dow 76) winning draw versus Long Buckby 139-8 (Sam Bevin 57, Christian Timm 3-5, Dave Marlow 3-27)

Old Northamptonians IIIs 203-8 (Paul Harris 70, Stephen Ball 53, Charlie Lawrence 4-50) winning draw versus Earls Barton 188-8 (Mark Patching 60, Daniel Jackson 32, Simon Hill 4-51)

Old 303-4 (Drew Olsen 150, Sam Street 62, Ben Street 39no) winning draw versus Wellingborough Town IIs 258-7 (Darren Trotter 120no, Anthony Hall 50, Jamie Denny 3-56)

Division Four

Grendon & Prims 273-8 (Steve Hanwell 101, Dave Wood 64, Oliver Hanwell 57, Andrew Humphries 4-97, Nicholas Wootton 3-42) winning draw versus Wicken 115-8 (Stephen Ratcliffe 62, Parry Moore 3-30, Harry Moore 4-22)

Raunds Town 185-8 (Lee Morgan 44, Duncan Green 61no, Sam Freer 4-32) beat Bowden 182 all out (Anthony Paton 57, Daniel Masic 60, Ollie Bates 4-37, Paul Kimpton 3-41) by 2 wkts

St Crispin & Ryelands IIs 196 all out (Mark Richardson 30, Jake Spencer 48, Brad Harden 4-30, Mark Pearson 3-36) lost to Geddington IIs 197-9 (Lee Sutherland 48, Marcus Knight 62, Garth Boyles 5-42) by 1 wkts

Weldon 129 all out (Matthew Hay 54no, John Hart 4-19) lost to Poddington 130-7 (Adam Tee 35, Harpreet Saini 3-42) by 3 wkts

Wellingborough OGs 204 all out (Gary Small 44, Tom Pace 69) lost to Kempston Hammers 205-3 (Ashley Field 57, Robert Wainwright 37, Nigel Thorn 42no, Nathan Joshi 3-44) by 7 wkts

West Haddon & Guilsborough 229-8 (Geoff Carpenter 34, Ryan Smith 72, Oliver Churchill-Coleman 36, Harry Bailey 3-32, Ryan Donnelly 3-55) winning draw versus Northampton Saints IIIs 201-8 (Ray Swann 52, Nasakat Hussain 32, Alex Churchill-Coleman3-57)

Division Five

Burton Latimer IIs 82 all out (Adam Weston 3-29, William Dallimore 5-20) lost to Finedon Dolben IIIs 83-2 (Matthew Swann 35no, Ashley Campden 30no) by 8 wkts

Kettering Town IIs 158 all out (Jeremy Lines 79. Martin Wilcox 3-59) lost to Badby 161-4 (Stuart Bonthuys 68, Andy Humphries 34) by 6 wkts

Stony Stratford IIIs 186-9 (Andrew Ellemore 62, Rahul Popat-Junior 4-44) beat Overstone Park IIs 120 all out (Daniel Bird 52, Andrew Ellemore 4-32, Neil Fewtrell 3-31) by 66 runs

Rushton IIs 142 all out (Harvey Burton 31, Liam Spreadbury 5-22, Bradley Grimes 3-27) lost to Rothwell Town IIs 143-3 (Ryan Spreadbury 43, Cory Ludwig 47no) by 7 wkts

Wellingborough Indians IIs 128 all out (Ankur Patel 30, Steven Materna 4-22) beat Higham Ferrers Town 117 all out (Sunil Semplay 5-26, Sunny Patel 3-8) by 11 runs

Yelvertoft 55 all out (Benjamin Swingler-Brown 3-29, Nathan Jones 3-25) lost to Kislingbury Temperance 300-6 by 245 runs

Division Six

Carrib United 179 all out (Bayes Day 5-50) beat Irthlingborough Town IIs 45 all out (Haseeb Mazhar 3-11, Ijaz Hussain 3-4) by 134 runs

Weekley & Warkton IIIs 150 all out (Lee Fox 66, David Hobbs 5-28) lost to Isham IIs 151-3 (Jim Lyon 34, Ben Reid 59no) by 7 wkts

Division Seven

Desborough Town IIs 243-8 (Dave Winter 54No, Jon Roberts 55no, Jon Hill 5-67, Jins Cherlan 3-59) beat Ashby Timken 147 all out (John Burdett 43, Jon Hill 33, David Starkey 3-11, David Peel 3-9) by 96 runs

S & L Corby IIs 190-6 (Mark Harrison 56, Mark Parker 40) beat Podington IIs 147 all out (James Nimmo 77, Mark Parker 3-36, Chris Dunn 7-43) by 43 runs

Division Eight

Barton Seagrave 200 all out (Christopher Barton 55, Jack Butlin 35, David Ryan 3-55) lost to Oundle Town IIIs 201-6 (Jonathan Dalley 64, Justin Jeffrey 62no, Christopher Barton 3-23) by 4 wkts

Northampton Saints IVs 138 all out (Nick Allbury 32) lost to Wellingborough Town IIIs 141-3 (Tony Walker 68no) by 7 wkts

Spencer 142 all out (Steve Faulkner 32, Terry Eaglen 6-23) lost to Old IIs 144-6 (Tom Windrum 33, Gareth Tighe 34) by 4 wkts

Division Nine

St Michael’s 172 all out (Simeon Tinant 32, Matthew Collier 31, Ian Geddes 37, Anthony Roberts 5-28, Michael Brammer 5-29) beat Bowden IIs 31 all out (Malcolm Swann 3-9) by 141 runs

Division 10

Wollaston IIIs 145 all out (Paul Jones 45no, David Hughes 3-41, Oliver Timm 3-35) lost to Brixworth IIIs 149-3 (Martyn Cowley 57no, Lewis Perrin 33 retired) by 7 wkts

Division 11

Harlestone IIs 176 all out (Matthew Sleight 37, Vishal Singh Varma 39) beat Higham Ferrers Town IIs 86 all out (Kevin Johnson 4-14) by 90 runs

Division 12

Finedon Dolben IVs 272-9 (Alex Pearson 31, Nathan Clarke 62, Cameron Arnold 60, Nick Coles 31, Toby Nevett 38, Andy Devonshire 4-59) beat Kislingbury Temperance IIs 251-3 (Danny Mackintosh 89, Tony Roodt 87, Lee Rose 36no) by 21 runs

Horton House IVs 155-5 (James Martin 34no, Nick Walker 30no, Ben Harris 3-56) beat St Crispin & Ryelands IVs 89 all out (Nick Walker 6-12) by 66 runs

Thrapston IIIs 214-7 (Erica Turner 61no, Ben Perry 30no) beat Obelisk IIs 104 all out (Robert Kennedy 33, Tim Sawford 3-18, Ben Perry 3-15, Mohammed Saif 3-4) by 104 runs

Division 13

Weekley & Warkton IVs 130 all out (Lee Walton 33, Cole Streather 34, Steven Rolf 3-39, Ian Russell 4-9) lost to Kettering Town IVs 131-4 (Richard Clark 40no) by 6 wkts

Division 14

Great Oakley IIIs 168-8 (Gavin Goodchild 53, Gavin Clay 32) beat Grange Park 120 all out (Justin Benedetti 59no, Nathan Griggs 4-20) by 48 runs

Barby IIIs 129 all out (John Hardbattle 35, Harry Potkins 5-37) beat Irthlingborough Town IIIs 74 all out (Chey Manzella 6-11, Dave Sherwood 3-38) by 55 runs

Brixworth IVs 156 all out (William Cox 88, Michael Wells 6-22) lost to Stony Stratford IVs 157-6 (Graham Brandom 32no) by 4 wkts

FIXTURES

Premier Division: Finedon Dolben v Wollaston, Geddington v Rushton, Horton House v Stony Stratford, Saints v Rushden, Old Northamptonians v Oundle, Peterborough v Brixworth.

Division One: Burton Latimer v East Haddon, Isham v Old Northamptonians IIs, Old Wellingburians v Finedon Dolben IIs, Weekley & Warkton v Desborough, Wellingborough Indians v Peterborough IIs, Wellingborough Town v Loddington.

Division Two: Irthlingborough Town v Great Oakley, Kettering v Thrapston, Overstone Park v Rothwell, Rushden IIs v Brigstock, St Crispin & Ryelands v Northampton Saints IIs, Stony Stratford IIs v Horton House 
IIs.

Division Three: Brixworth IIs v Heyford, Earls Barton v Great Houghton, Old Northamptonians IIIs v Wellingborough Town IIs, Oundle IIs v Irchester, S&L Corby v Long Buckby, Wollaston IIs v Old.

Division Four: Bowden v Geddington IIs, Grendon & Prims v St Crispins Ryelands IIs, Kempston v Weldon, Northampton Saints IIIs v Raunds, Podington v West Haddon & Guilsborough, Wicken v Old Grammarians.

Division Five: Badby v Wellingborough Indians IIs, Finedon Dolben IIIs v Kislingbury, Higham Ferrers v Burton Latimer IIs, Rothwell IIs v Yelvertoft, Rushton IIs v Overstone Park IIs, Stony Stratford IIIs v Kettering IIs.

Division Six: Bold Dragoon v Gretton, Cogenhoe v Isham IIs, Mears Ashby v Caribbean United, Obelisk v Irthlingborough Town IIs, Thrapston IIs v Weekley & Warkton IIs.

Division Seven: Ashby Timken v Earls Barton IIs, East Haddon IIs v Podington IIs, Great Oakley IIs v Desborough IIs, Harlestone v Old Northamptonians IVs, Loddington IIs v S&L Corby IIs.

Division Eight: Raunds IIs v Old IIs, Spencer Bruerne v Kempston IIs, Wellingborough Town IIIs v Oundle IIIs, West Haddon & Guilsborough IIs v Northampton Saints IVs.

Division Nine: Brigstock IIs v Horton House IIIs, Irchester IIs v Bowden IIs, Long Buckby IIs v Bugbrooke, Old Grammarians IIs v Overstone Park IIIs, St Crispin & Ryelands IIIs v St Michaels (N).

Division 10: Abington v Old Wellingburians IIs, Gumley v Cogenhoe IIs, Heyford IIs v Wollaston IIIs, Kettering IIIs v Brixworth IIIs, Little Harrowden v Rushden IIIs.

Division 11: Burton Latimer IIIs v Mears Ashby IIs, Great Houghton IIs v Geddington IIIs, Hardingstone v Higham Ferrers IIs, Weekley & Warkton IIIs v Wicken IIs, Weldon IIs v Harlestone IIs.

Division 12: Kislingbury IIs v Grendon & Prims IIs, Old Northamptonians 5th v St Crispin & Ryelands IVs, Overstone Park IVs v Finedon Dolben IVs, S&L Corby IIIs v Obelisk IIs.

Division 13: Bugbrooke IIs v Barton Seagrave IIs, Old IIIs v Bold Dragoon IIs, Old Grammarians IIIs v Hardingstone IIs, Rushden & Dean Academy v St Michaels 74 IIs.

Division 14: Barby IIIs v Isham Zingari, Brixworth IVs v Irthlingborough Town IIIs, Great Oakley IIIs v Grange Park.

Saints have made three changes to their side for Saturday’s visit of winless London Welsh (kick-off 3.15pm).

Alex Waller, Gareth Denman and Lee Dickson are rewarded for impressive cameos from the bench in the 25-20 win against Saracens last time out.

Waller replaces Alex Corbisiero, Denman comes in for Salesi Ma’afu and Dickson continues his rotation with Samoan star Kahn Fotuali’i.

Ben Foden (knee) and George North (concussion) remain sidelined.

Saints know a win will secure a home Aviva Premiership play-off semi-final on May 23.

London Welsh, who have lost all 30 of their games in all competitions this season, name former Saints players Tom May and Koree Britton in their starting 15.

Influential No.8 Chris Hala’ufia misses out due to the ban picked up for striking Leicester’s Laurence Pearce in a recent defeat at Welford Road.

Saints: Tuala; K Pisi, G Pisi, Burrell, Elliott; Myler, Dickson; A Waller, Hartley (c), Denman; Lawes, Day; Wood, Clark, Manoa.

Haywood, Corbisiero, Ma’afu, Dickinson, Fisher, Fotuali’i, Stephenson, Wilson.

London Welsh: Jewell; Awcock, Reynolds, May (c), Elder, Barkley, Rowley, Trevett, Britton, Cooper, West, Corker, Browne, Waters, Fonua.

Replacements: Morris, Aholelei, Gilding, Down, McNally, Liston, Lewis, Robinson.