BY GLEN SANDS
Outcasts continue to wait for that elusive first win of the season as they were beaten by Louth 2nds for whom John Medler hit a terrific hundred and Ed Brindle took 6 for 54 on the firstwarm and sunny afternoon in weeks.
Skipper Russell Fletcher won the toss and given the lack of cricket for both sides of late he chose to invite Louth to take first knock and for a long time his decision appeared vindicated as Louth found runs hard to come by in the face of some tight bowling from Tom Sharpe and Alex Fletcher. Sadly for the Isle side their catching was to let them down as opener John Medler was given three lives as Tom Sharpe picked up the early wickets of Mark Duell , bowled for three and Zane Siddiqui who was well held by Darren Clark for five with the total on 30 for 2. After 30 overs Louth had reached 84 for 2 and the likelyhood of them reaching 219 seemed a million miles away but Medler and Steve Wright took the bull by the horns and produced some incredible cricket as the ball flashed to all parts in the final fifteen overs. They put together a third wicket partnership of 156 whilst the irrepresible Medler raced to a quite brilliant hundred , his second fifty coming from just 33 deliveries as Outcasts were made to toil in the afternoon heat. Wright , who was suffering from a leg injury , also scored a half century but it was Medler who took the plaudits when he was eventually out , aught by Andy Torr off Josh Bramhill for a fantastic 104. Tom Sharpe returned to pick up match figures of 5 for 38 as Louth looked to pile on the runs , one of which was that of Wright who edged to wicket keeper Richard Wroot for 63 and when the final over had been bowled Louth had made 219 for 6 , which meant they hit 135 runs in the final fifteen overs !!
Darren Clark and David Hobson opened the innings for Outcasts and both appeared in no trouble as they took the total to 26 after just six overs then Clark was caught by ton up hero Medler off Lee Freeman for 15. Andy Torr joined Hobson and he too looked comfortable only to reach 14 then offer a catch to Tom Ryder off Ed Brindle when the score stood at 47. Brindle was to go on to have an outstanding afternoon with the ball and he picked up his second wicket when trapping Hobson infront of his stumps for 18 , leaving the Isle side on 54 for 3 but all was not lost as the quick scoring Andrew Lawson was still at the crease , joined now by Richard Wroot. Lawson's golfing back ground means his ability to hit the ball cleanly and a very long way poses a threat to any bowling attack and he was quick to set about the Louth bowlers when mashing tree ever increasingly large sixes. At the other end an out of sorts Wroot was soon out , caught by Steve Gale off that man Brindle which saw skipper Russell Fletcher join Lawson in the middle. As they approached three figures Brindle struck a huge blow when bowling the threatening Lawson for 38 and the home side breathed a collective sigh of relief , only for Graham Clark to enter the arena with the stride of a determined man. Russell was bowled by Matthew Elston for eleven with the total on 125 but youngster Josh Bramhill then headed to the crease and runs began to flow , particularly from the bat of Clark. He batted superbly , cracking the ball to the boundary with some awesome drives , then Bramhill was caught by man of the match Medler off Elston with the total on 153 and the burden of seeing his team home rested squarely on Clark's shoulders. He took his own score to an impressive 55 but then was enticed into one big shot too many and hoisted a catch to Henry Tye off Elston and the writing was on the wall. Ed Brindle returned to mop up the tail , finishing the inings with figures of 6 for 36 and in doing so earned his team a maximum twenty points with Outcasts making just five.
So the run of defeats for Outcasts stretches to five now , leaving them rooted in the bottom two in the league table and with a hugely important match to come on Sunday August 5th at Cleethorpes who are the only side currently below them. As for Louth it was a day to remember for John Medler who's excellent ton was witnessed from the balcony by family and team mates alike who gave him a deserved standing ovation when he walked from the middle as they did for Ed Brindle who's calmnss under fire from the imposing Mr Lawson and his consequent 6 for 36 meant that he too could dreams sweet dreams after Louth's impressive win.
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