MID-TABLE FINISH FOR ISLE MEN

By Glen Sands
Outcasts' Lincs League division one season came to a disappointing end yesterday when they let Appleby-Frodingham 2nds off the hook on two seperate occasions in their final match of the summer at Brumby Hall.
Skipper Russell Fletcher invited Frod to bat first on winning the toss and that decision appeared to be a good one as the Steelmen slipped to 33 for 4 after fifteen overs. Simon Wild was first go , caught high above his head by his old Belton team mate Andy Torr off Jonathan Wroot for just two then Liam McAnaney bowled Mick Bamley without troubling the scorers to make it 23 for 2. Rob Day had reached 23 himself when he became the third man out , being caught and bowled by McAnaney and Wroot then bowled Ben Taylor for nought and the Priorymen were well on top. Veteran batsman John Taylor and David Pickersgill then put together a terrific partnership , taking the score to 111 , albeit with a few scares , before Taylor was caught by Graham Clark off Jason Whiteley for an important 33. That brought skipper Vinny Grimes to the crease and along with the improving Pickersgill they proceded to puh the score up to a more than acceptable 183 for 6 , Pickersgill finally getting out bowled by McAnaney for 62 whilst Grimes finished with a run a ball 40 nott out , leaving Outcasts feeling that they had let their opponents off the hook.
If they were to chase down the Frod score it was essential that Outcasts made a good start and that is exactly what happened as Richard Wroot and Andy Lawson put on 47 for the first wicket in just six overs ! Wroot was first to go , bowled by Ben Bramley for 15 , then came the vital break for Frod when Lawson was well stumped by Ben Taylor off the wiley John Taylor for 37 with the total on 56. From that moment on runs became far more difficult to come by , particularly off the slow bowling of Taylor although it was David Pickersgill who picked up the third wicket when he had Scott Buttrick caught by a diving Mick Bramley for seven with the overall score on 72. Andy Torr was trapped LBW by Taylor for nine and Darren Clark then guided a catch to Simon Wild off Pickersgill for 11 which saw the Isle side slip to 90 for 5. Skipper Russell Fletcher was bowled by Taylor who was by now posing all the problems to Outcasts and despite a stand of 31 between Graham Clark and David Hobson they continued to fall behind the necessary scoring rate. Clark became Taylor's fourth victim when he was bowled for 29 then three further staright deliveries brought the game to an end as he had both Jason Whiteley and Liam McAnaney LBW for four each and Jonathan Wroot was last to go , bowled for two leaving Hobson unbeaten on 16 not out. Taylor finished the innings with tremendous figures of 7 for 26 from 16.1 overs , his best figures for many a long time.
So another season ends with Outcasts having flattered to deceive although this season has seen them looking to threaten the top of the table rather than worrying about the threat of relegation. The early season promise faded but there were some bright spots with Andy Lawson showing some excellent form in May and June whilst Scott Buttrick showed great promise with some good batting displays. Unfortunately they were unable to maintain their good form and ultimately will be a little disappointed to end the season in mid-table once again.