Derbyshire League record-breakers share 410-run opening stand

Openers Oliver Dimmick (129 runs off 127 balls) and Kieran Preston (243 not out off 146) scored 410 for 0 for Mickleover during the club's 94-run victory over Walton-on-Trent. And it turns out the pair are no strangers to big stands...

If England have taught us one thing in recent years, it’s that batting, and in particular opening the batting, is no walk in the park.

However, during their Derbyshire County Cricket League Division 3 South clash with Walton-on-Trent on May 28, Mickleover openers Oliver Dimmick and Kieran Preston made it look very easy indeed.

Batting first on a sunny Saturday in Walton, the duo shared an unbeaten 410-run partnership, with Dimmick scoring 129 runs off 127 balls and Preston smashing 243 runs off 146 balls, including 27 fours and a huge 13 sixes.

Their stand broke both the club and Derbyshire League record for the highest partnership in any position, surpassing the 388 runs shared by Morton Colliery openers Sam Finlaw and Mick Caunt against Cutthorpe in May 2019.

And it turns out, they are no strangers to putting on a big stand, holding the Derbyshire League record for four years between 2014 and 2018. "Kieran batted at No.4 then, and we put on about 320 for our old club record partnership," explains Dimmick. "He got about 198 that day, I got 120-ish again so pretty much the same – I’m a bit more moderate, Kieran is destructive."

His memory isn’t bad. The partnership in question was 318 runs for the third wicket against Melbourne Town, with Dimmick not out on 112 (13 fours) at the top of the order and Preston contributing 198 runs (17 fours, 12 sixes) before being stumped by Mark Rossi in the closing stages.

1️⃣s in *Record Breaking* ✅

MCC 🪙 & 🏏, 410-0 👀 a @DerbysCountyLge record 🤩‼️

Incredible hitting by @kieranprest0n 243*, well supported by @dimmo_9 129*.

Walton 316-7, @rance_stuart 2-39, @OllieCammidge 2-42 & @WhitterzJnr 2-55 + a KP run out.

🎦⬇️https://t.co/WEYbYX5XNU pic.twitter.com/4vvBkJPlbL

— Mickleover CC 🏏 (@Mickleover_CC) May 30, 2022

Recalling their new record knock, Dimmick is modest about his own contribution: "Kieran is aggressive, he strikes the ball so cleanly, so I try to give him as much of the strike as I can. That’s our plan for the whole season – I try to be steady, put on a moderate knock and get him on strike.

"It was a nice day, the track looked lovely, and luckily our captain won the toss and batted. Kieran was taking the bowling attack apart, so I just stood at the other end taking singles and had the best seat in the house!

"Halfway through at drinks, I said we should be looking at 300-plus and when we got that in about 35 overs, I said to Kieran, 'If you carry on going, we’ll get 400!' We were laughing about it between overs, we didn’t really believe it. It was the last over when we got the 400 and then the last ball when Kieran was on strike, I was like please don’t get out."

Preston didn’t get out, quietly seeing off the final delivery with an out of character dot ball before everyone around the ground erupted. Only then, says Dimmick, did their 400-plus knock begin to sink in.

"It was a weird one," he continues. "Usually in the nineties, there are a few nerves, but Kieran was so far ahead that it didn’t register. It was my 10th century for Mickleover, I think, which was a nice milestone to get – I’ve been stuck on nine for a while!

"But for the two-and-a-half, three hours that we were batting, we were in a kind of trance. It was as if no one else was there. When we were walking off and everyone was clapping and the opposition were shaking our hands, that’s when it sunk in."

For a week, messages of congratulations poured in from across the league and beyond, and the pair were the toast of Mickleover - "Kieran went out for a few drinks that night and anyone who recognised him would talk to him about it!"

But unfortunately, cricket is a fickle sport and on Saturday against Risley, the duo came back down to earth with a bump: Dimmick stumped for 9 (38 balls), Preston bowled for 18 (20).

"There were a few comments from the opposition (before the game) but we didn’t get that many runs," laughs Dimmick. "We did joke that it could happen again. But that’s cricket."