JOHN BUSY "ZIELIN" VICTORIES

By Graham Hackney

Cleethorpes 1st X1 maintained their drive for a top six finish in the Yorkshire Premier League with a hard fought 4-wicket win over Sheffield Collegiate at Chichester Road last Saturday. However their inability to knock over late order batsmen once again cost them valuable points as the mid-table of the league becomes more congested. Sheffield Collegiate won the toss and opted to bat on a very dry wicket expected to turn favourably for the Cleethorpes spin twins, Alex Osmond and Harry Clewett. This proved to be the case as the pair took seven of the eight wickets on offer with a smart run out from Osmond accounting for the other wicket. After Sheffield’s openers had added fifty-three for the first wicket the introduction of the spinners was to prove decisive. However after having Collegiate struggling at 98-6, another half-century stand for the seventh wicket held Cleethorpes at bay. Eventually the innings ended with Sheffield grinding out 206-8 in their 55 overs. The league’s leading wicket taker, Osmond, had added another five victims to his impressive haul to finish with 5/54 in a marathon 24-over spell. Clewett provided excellent support to record 2/58 in 18 overs with Keeper Neil Wheeler taking three catches behind. Cleethorpes reply got off to a stuttering response as they soon lost the out of form Mutaliph for a single. Bill Kirby (15) and Chris Wragg (0) soon followed to leave them hanging on at 44-3. Alex Osmond (35) and Eddie Carlton brought some composure to the innings with a fine 61-run stand for the fourth wicket before both departed in quick succession. Carlton (53) followed up his mammoth unbeaten 142 for the North Lindsey side last week with another fine half century. Once again two new batsmen had to rebuild the innings with Charlie Tomlinson (20) and Skipper James Osmond adding 37 before the arrival of Neil Wheeler turned the game for the Meggies. He and the Skipper took Cleethorpes to victory with an unbroken stand of 59 with 2.2 overs to spare. Osmond looking assured made a confident unbeaten 44 with Wheeler prepared to play second fiddle to remain not out for 27. Cleethorpes take another six points from the game to remain in sixth place hot on the heels of Doncaster who they face this Saturday.

After looking out of the title race with defeats in three of their last four matches, Dan Tolson’s Cleethorpes 2nd X1 revived their chances of title glory with maximum points from the trip to Broughton on Saturday and home to fellow title-contenders South Kelsey on Sunday. The crazy nature of the Lincs’ Premier league meant that an of the top six in the ten-team league still had title-aspirations going into Saturday’s fixtures. Tolson’s trip to Broughton ended in a morale-boosting 10-wicket victory as Cleethorpes made light work of the villagers. They bowled them out for just 85 in 25.3 overs in a clinical bowling performance. John Zielinski (pictured here), returning after a knee injury was the pick of the attack with a hostile spell that produced excellent figures of 4/28 in 13 overs. Opening partner Rob Brice chipped in with 3/39 in seven overs with Stuart Harvey also adding 3/16 in 5.3 overs as their opponents wilted in the sun. Cleethorpes’ reply provided no comfort for Broughton as Tolson opted to use Elliott Drinkell as Indy Hayre’s opening partner. The explosive pair soon started to rattle the boundary as they raced to their target of 86 in an incredible 7.1 overs. Drinkell smashed a six and six fours in his rapid 40 not out while Hayre belted two maximums to go with his six boundaries to finish 39 not out to give Cleethorpes 20 points.

Sunday’s 2nd X1 encounter against South Kelsey proved to be an epic encounter that see-sawed both ways throughout the match. Batting first Dan Tolson’s side took maximum batting points in reaching 201 all out in the 49th over. The innings was held together by George Carlton who hit a brilliant 84 before being seventh man out with the score on 186. Rob Brice added 36 in a vital 50-run stand for the seventh wicket while Skipper Tolson hit a crucial 21. South Kelsey’s trio of Sri Lankans ensured they got off to a brisk reply and they had reached 105-2 and odds on for victory before Brice’s second wicket gave Cleethorpes hope. Another hostile opening spell from John Zielinski had brought just one victim but he would return to devastating effect later. Another 44-run were aedded for the fourth wicket before Carlton made a vital breakthrough. Up stepped Zielinski who unsettled Ex-Meggie Atiq Ullah into skying a return catch after a genial welcome to the crease. This seemed to bring doubt into the Kelsey batting order as Zielinski opted to pepper the batsmen with a barrage of short-piched deliveries on a benign track. With Brice returning to swing the old ball prodigiously Cleethorpes sensed victory. Kelsey slumped to 193-8 needing just eight more when a brilliant yorkers from Zielinski and Brice removed Kelsey’s ten and eleven to leave the side celebrating ecstatically as they took the vital twenty points to return to the top of the table with just games at Haxey and Alford to come. Zielinski’s ten-wicket haul over the weekend has certainly brought the Seconds back into the hunt for honours.

Bob Leafe led Cleethorpes 4ths for the trip to Keelby last Saturday and came away with a maximum twenty points. On an excellent batting wicket, Leafe won the toss and saw his side wrack up 252-7 in their 45 overs. A belligerent 64 in just 48 balls from Andy Haith proved the icing on the cake after Rob Cowlam had earlier hit a superb 67 from just 57 balls. With valuable contributions from Leafe (38), Callum Robinson (30) and an unbeaten 24 not out from Simon Taylor, Cleethorpes set a very challenging target. Keelby were never in contention during their reply as they finished 145 all out in the 44th over. Simon Taylor was the pick of the Cleethorpes attack with an eye-catching 6/43 in 15 overs. Lewis Markham passed the twenty-wicket mark for the side with 2/36 in 10.4 overs of leg spin. Danny Khan (1/19 in 5) had opened up well for Meggies while Matty Owen (0/5 in 5) proved hard to get away. The 20 points cements Cleethorpes third spot in the Second Division although they have only one game left.