HOLTON HALT OUTCASTS' RUN

By Glen Sands

Outcasts' recent good form in Lincs League Divison One was brought to a halt at Holton-Le-Clay on Saturday when they were dismissed for only 126 then saw the opposition ease to their target with the loss of only one wicket on an afternoon that began in sunshine but ended in very cool and cloudy conditions.
Richard Wroot took over the captaincy from the unavailable Russell Fletcher and all appeared well when he won the toss and chose to bat first. Oliver Coulman hit a couple of boundaries but then somehow steered a full toss straight to Steve Marshall at backward square off the bowling of Ian Hallam which brought Darren Clark to the crease to join his skipper. For a while they batted comfortably , both pouncing on any loose deliveries , then just when they looked set to press on there was a dreadful mix up that saw Clark run out for 19 with the total on 46. That setback was the catalist for a somewhat disappointing batting performance as wickets began to fall far too regularly , with Wroot going for 23 with the total on 55 , caught by Paul Holmes off David Taylor. Hallam bowled David Hobson for two to make it 59 for 4 then Graham Clark went the same way as the home side began to turn the screw on the Isle side. Andy Lawson was bowled by Dan Portus for 12 as Outcasts reeled but Andy Torr and Matty Teal settled things down with a partnership of 38 runs to take them past the three figure mark. Torr had made 30 valuable runs when he was trapped LBW by the wiley Portus and that heralded the beginning of the end as Liam McAnaney quickly followed along with Teal ( for a well constructed 18 ) and Tom Sharpe , leaving Outcasts all out for 126 , Portus finishing with 4 for 30 and Hallam 3 for 41 in what had been a splendid bowling and fielding performance.
If they were to have any hope of salvaging a victory Outcasts really needed early wickets which they failed to take , indeed it was Holton le Clay who made a terrific start , reaching 30 for 0 after only five overs. Skipper Wroot rang the changes with his bowlers but the opening batsmen David Taylor and Paul Holmes used their experience to hold back anything that Outcasts could throw at them. Taylor seccumbed when he was well caught by Andy Torr off Liam McAnaney for 15 with the total on 44 but from that moment on Holton le Clay cruised to victory with Holmes and number three batsman Josh Plaskitt batting sensibly to see them home. Holmes hit 59 not out from 136 deliveries whilst Plaskitt finished on 37 from 77 which may not have been spectacular but in the context of the game was exactly what was required , earning their team a maximum 20 points whilst Outcasts collected just one from their afternoon's work.
So the run has come to an end but the Isle side are still handily placed in third place and will look to bounce back when they travel to Louth 2nds on Saturday whilst for Holton le Clay they will travel to Hykeham buoyed by their excellent victory.

Outcasts 2nds produced a very satisfactory Division Three performance when beating Old Lincolnians by three wickets at Hirst Priory , bowling their opponents out for 115 with four wickets for Alex Fletcher then Peter Tait hit 62 not out as the Priorymen eased to 116 for 3 to collect twenty much needed points.

Outcasts CC would like to offer their most sincere condolences to Anthony Fitzgerald and his family on their recent bereavement. The club's thoughts are with them at this sad time.