CONCENTRATING ON THE LEAGUE

By Glen Sands

Last season's beaten finalists Appleby-Frodingham 2nds might well have expected a tough game at Hirst Priory against an Outcasts side that had played so well a week earlier in gaining their first win of the season, but the Steelmen cruised to a comfortable victory on the hottest day of the year so far to ease into the second round.
Outcasts won the toss and chose to bat on what appeared to be a real belter of a wicket but they just couldn't get any momentum into their innings as Frod's young guns bowled a tight line that shackled the Isle side throughout. Father and son Mark and Oliver Coulman opened the innings and took the total to 23 before the first wicket fell, Mark being trapped LBW by Paul Hilton for 10, whilst son Oliver, who hit his maiden century a week earlier in the North Lindsey League, was next to go, bowled by Mohammed Ayub for 23, with the score on 39. Try as they might the Isle side just couldn't put together a really decent partnership and the next wicket went with the total on 58 when Graham Clark snicked a catch down legside to keeper Ben Taylor, off Ben Bramley, having just reached double figures. Andy Torr stretched to reach a wide delivery from the out-of-touch Kieron Watson and feathered a second catch to Taylor, having scored 14. Then Craig McAnaney was bowled by a good delivery from David Pickersgill for 12, leaving Outcasts on 97 for 5. Simon Lewis had batted reasonably well for his 27, only to spiral a catch to old adversary Mick Bramley, off the bowling of Pickersgill. And when David Hobson was next to go for four, stumped by the impressive Taylor off Jack Forrester, the Priorymen were 118 for 7 and looking incapable of setting a testing target for the Steelmen. Sure enough the last three wickets all fell with the total on 123 as Paul Hilton returned to wrap things up.
The App-Frod reply got off to a rocky start when Watson was superbly run out following a terrific throw from Graham Clark. Then skipper Adam Barker flicked a straight-forward catch to Jason Whiteley at backward square, off Matthew Teal, and just for a mopment with the score at 15 for 2 the home side might have thought they had a chance. But that was quickly dispelled when Ben Taylor and Mick Bramley batted them out of the match with sensible and ultimately confident displays. Both batsmen took every opportunity to hit bad deliveries when they came along, coupled with some excellent defensive play. And as the heat of the day began to take its toll, Frod simply cruised to a comfortable 8 wicket win, Taylor scoring a majestic 64 not out and Bramley an unbeaten 48.
So Outcasts are left to concentrate on the league, a task which might well prove to be quite tough unless they can pick up their form, whilst Frod are on the cup trail again with a second round trip to Caistor Town to look forward to next month.