OUTCASTS BEATEN IN TROPHY FINAL

BY GLEN SANDS


Carlton Towers won the Snaith Evening League's Arthur Brant Trophy by beating Isle of Axholme side Outcasts by 36 runs at a damp but remarkably well prepared Carlton ground.
They got off to a poor start when batting first , losing Mark Holmes to an excellent catch from wicket keeper Ben Wicks off Sean Byrne and Lewis Ellin who was caught by Scott Buttrick off Joe Woolhouse with the total just into double figures but the dashing Jonathan Dilks played some entertaining shots to kick start Carlton's innings. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals at the other end with Byrne finishing his five over spell with 3 victims and when Alex Fletcher bowled the impressive Dilks for 27 Towers were standing at 67 for 6 and in danger of posting a relatively low total. Fletcher picked up a further wicket and then saw team mate Niall Chester pick up two in as many deliveries but an excellent unbeaten stand of 26 from Matt Atkinson ( seven not out ) and Matty Fenton ( eleven not out ) saw Carlton rally and reach a presentable target of 99 for 8 from their alotted 22 overs.
Carlton opened the bowling with slow bowlers Will Brown and Matt Torn and their tactic of taking the pace off the ball appeared to work as Ben Wicks was brilliantly stumped by Lewis Ellin before Chris Jones skied a catch to Oliver Lister leaving the Priorymen struggling on 8 for 2. Opening bat Josh Bramhill looked a class apart and was sensibly keeping the score ticking over along with Joe Woolhouse following the dismisal of Scott Buttrick to another exceptional piece of glove work by Ellin but then Woolhouse  was bowled by Torn and it was becoming apparant that Bramhill was to be the key to any Outcasts success. The first boundary of the innings came in the tenth over , a testiment to how well Carlton were bowling and fielding but skipper Peter Tait was by now at the crease along with young Bramhill and they looked as if they were just getting Outcasts into a good position to head for the winning post when Bramhill was bowled by Jonthan Dilks for an impressive 36 and suddenly the balance tipped decidedly in favour of Carlton. Mark Fletcher was unable to get into his stride before being run out rushing for a second and the same fate befell Tait when he had reached double figures which saw Outcasts stumble to 60 for 6 after which they collapsed to a disappointing 63 all out with Matty Fenton being the chief tormentor as he took 3 for 3 to finish the game in quick time.
League Chairman Jimmy Smith presented the trophies to match umpires Ralph Maud and Steven Carr and awarded the Man of the Match trophy to Matt Fenton for his late contribution of 11 not out and his excellent figures of 3 for 3. He then congratulated the Carlton ground staff for being able to get the ground playable despite the wet weather and having commended Outcasts for their brave fight he then presented Carlton Towers with the Arthur Brant Trophy for 2012.
The weather continues to thwart Askern in their attempts to play Sykehouse in the Snaith League Shield Semi Final as once again their game was postponed due to the wet Askern ground but Fishlake were able to cement their place in the Final when beating Goole Town by six wickets , bowling Goole out for 78 with Ryan Pearson picking up 4 for 11 before Kev Pearson's 28 not out guided them to 79 for 4. A date and venue for this Final will be announced in due course.