BROUGHTON EVENING LEAGUE: LUDDINGTON v BROUGHTON

BY GLEN SANDS

Luddington fought hard to pick up the three points against Broughton on July 10th who appeared to have put themselves into a winning position only to lose wickets at vital times which saw them fall eleven runs short of the Luddington total in the end.
Andy Lawson's team batted first with Matthew Teal and Oliver Coulman putting on 28 for the first wicket before Coulman was bowled by Shaun Clark for fifteen then Peter Tait joined Teal to move the score along to 56. Tait then picked out Jake Parker in the deep having scored twelve , earning Ryan Thompson a wicket then Lawson himself was bowled by Clark with the total up to 68. Jamie Arrowsmith was run out without troubling the scorers then Russell Fletcher and Teal took the score to 84 with some excellent running between the wickets. Shaun Clark bowled Fletcher for nine which brought Scott Buttrick to the crease and that heralded a partnership of 30 before Teal had to retire on a well constructed 53 after which Tom Reed picked up two late wickets leaving Luddington's final total on 115 for 7, Clark being Broughton's top wicket taker with 3 for 24 from his four overs.
Broughton quickly lost Robbie Glentworth for five in the opening over from Graeme Fletcher then Danny Minshall and Jake Parker set a good pace as they took the score to 62 with more than half the overs remaining. Scott Buttrick and Liam McAnaney then turned the game in Ludd's favour as they picked up eight wickets between them. Parker was bowled by Buttrick for 19 after which wickets began to fall at regular intervals , Minshall being the prized wicket when he too was bowled by Buttrick for an impressive 43. Peter Tait took two terrific diving catches as Broughton pressed the self distruct button , losing five wickets for just nine runs inside three overs. Broughton still had the experienced Neil Simpson at the crease which gave them hope but when McAnaney bowled him for six the target of 116 to win became too much of an ask and the Isle side wrapped up their third evening league victory when Graeme Fletcher restricted the final pair to just six from his final over.
This win lifts Luddington above Broughton in the table with two games remaining , the first of which is at Heslam Park on July 17th then they finish the season with a home game against Barton Town on July 24th.