THROUGH TO SEMIS

By Ann Boulton

Boston, Lindum, Grimsby and current trophy holders Bracebridge Heath won through to the semi-finals of the Lincolnshire ECB Premier League’s Winkworth Cup.
All 12 league teams were involved in round robins at four venues – and at Louth, the umpires had their calculators out as each of the three teams won a match with Grimsby declared winners with the highest runs to wickets average.
Earlier, Grimsby had beaten Louth, then Louth beat Woodhall Spa and in the final match Woodhall chased Grimsby’s 189 for three to win by seven wickets, Jack Luffman with 103 not out, the only century of the day. But Grimsby had lost only eight wickets in their two matches and came out on top in the countback.
Alex Hornsby hit 72 off 42 balls in Lindum’s final game against Bourne who made 133 from their 20 overs, Pete Morgan scoring 70 of these runs. Lindum took just 14 overs to chase this total down for the loss of only two wickets. Earlier, both teams had beaten Hartsholme with Pierce Morley-Barnes making 53 for Lindum in the opening game.
At the Mayflower Ground, Nettleham went down to Boston and to Market Deeping who were set a target of 157 in the final match but were bowled out for 107, Jonny Cheer hitting 52 off 28 balls for Boston.
Sleaford hosted some of the closest games, with the home side first up against Bracebridge Heath who were set a challenging total of 181 for six. But a captain’s innings of 86 not out from Paul Cook saw the cup holders to victory with seven balls to spare.
Sleaford then faced Skegness – and won by just seven runs. Will Brewster and Matthew Mountain each made half centuries in the Sleaford total of 160 for nine while the seasiders’ 20 overs ended 153 for seven.
In the last match, Bracebridge Heath faced Skegness who reached 147 for six, Wade McCall making 59. But Cook was soon back in action making 60 to help his side to victory, again with seven balls to spare.
The semi-finals and final will take place at Sleaford CC on Monday, May 30 with matches at 10.30am, 1.30pm and the final at 4.30pm. The overall winner will go forward to represent Lincolnshire in the Cockspur Cup Area Finals against the winners of the South Yorkshire and Central Yorkshire Leagues.