LUDDINGTON POWER HOME AT DRAX

By Glen Sands

Despite the low scores there was a thrilling encounter in the Snaith District Evening League between Drax Village and Luddington which went right to the wire before the club from the Isle of Axholme squeezed home with just three deliveries to go.
Drax won the toss and chose to bat first on a track which had not been used before and they quickly found themselves one down when skipper Matt Atkinson was bowled by Scott Buttrick , a delivery that kept a little low in strike the stumps. James Knibb and Ed Montgomery took the total to 11 before Liam McAnaney struck , bowling the latter for three and just four runs had been added when Drax lost their third wicket , Knibb being bowled by Buttrick again for four. Nick Hadfield and Luke Edwards had taken the score to 24 when Buttrick picked up his third victim , bowling Hadfield for seven then McAnaney chipped in with his second wicket , bowling Edwards for 10 and leaving the home side struggling at 30 for 5. K Brook and 16 year old Oliver Ounsley then added twenty to the total with some good batting before Brook was bowled by Graham Clark for seven and a further five runs had been added when Dan Montgomery was out for five , bowled by Graeme Fletcher in his fourth and final over.Young Ounsley was batting spledidly and was joined at the crease by C Wade who hit a couple of lusty blows before he was caught by Gareth Parkin off part time bowler Jamie Belton for 15 valuable runs. Ounsley had reached 32 when he was caught by Scott Buttrick , again off Belton and the Drax innings closed on 97 for 9 from their allotted overs with Buttrick finishing with 3 for 14 whilst Liam McAnaney took 2 for 14 and Jamie Belton 2 for 13 for the visitors.
Luddington's reply got off to the worst possible start as Belton was bowled by Steve Smith with another delivery that kept a little low and things were no better when Richard Wroot was caught by wicket keeper Brook from the very next ball , leaving then rocking on 0 for 2 from just four deliveries ! Father and son combo Mark and Oliver Coulman got Ludd on the board but Mark was third man out when he edged to Brook again , this time off Matt Atkinson , having made nine , and when Graham Clark inexplicably played all around a full toss Luddington were deep in the mire at 13 for 4. Skipper Andy Lawson joined Oliver Coulman at the crease and quickly got into his stride and in no time at all the total had reached 33 when Coulman was bowled by namesake Oliver Ounsley for five and when Russell Fletcher and then Lawson himself were dismissed , both off the bowl;ing of Wade , all seemed lost for the Isle side who were floundering on 34 for 7 , some 68 runs short of the Drax total ! However Scott Buttrick and Liam McAnaney were not to be denied and they began to reduce the deficit with some excellent batting. They saw off the impressive Ounsley who bowled his four overs taking 1 for 17 then began to unleash a flurry of boundaries that brought them ever closer to their target. Buttrick in particular was in exceptional form and between them they had taken their team to within two runs of victory when McAnaney was bowled for 15 in the penultimate over but it was too little too late for Drax and fittingly it was man of the match Scott Buttrick who hit the winning runs to end the game on 42 not out , and in doing so lifting Luddington into third place in the Division One table.
Next up for Luddington in the league is a home fixture against Sykehouse , whilst Drax will look to pick up their first win of the season when they meet Hensall for the second time in a week , the first encounter being in the Cup.

The sun shone yesterday, which meant the Snaith League matches were all played to completion after a couple of weeks of inclement weather had interupted some of the scheduled games.

Division One
Askern Welfare moved level at the top of the table with Goole Town who did'nt have a game , Welfare beating Champions Fishlake by seven wickets as Fishlake posted a total of 132 for 4 thanks to 46 from Josh Mason and 40 not out from Teasdale but Josh Gillies guided Askern to victory with an unbeaten 70 to earn them their win whilst Luddington moved into third spot when they won a low scoring encounter at Drax Village by just two wickets. Drax chose to bat first on a previously unused track and struggled to 97 for 9 , 16 year old Oliver Ounsley top scoring with 32 with Scott Buttrick p[icking up 3 for 14 and it was he who won the match for the Isle side with an unbeaten 42 , aided by 15 from Liam McAnaney as Luddington recovered from 33 for 7 to clinch an unlikely victory. The one other Division One game saw Hensall pick up their first win of the season as they beat Sykehouse by 14 runs , Craig Mains hitting 26 in their total of 108 for 5 before restricting Sykehouse to 94 for 7 , James Davies top scoring with 22.

Division Two
Pollington moved level with Hirst Courtney at the top of Division Two when beating them by nine wickets , Hirst being bowled out for 120 with B Howard hitting 45 and M Alford 24 , Ian Mileham taking 4 for 14 and Duncan Kiddy 3 for 8 for Pollington who replied with 123 for 1 , Adam Slater scoring 72 not out with Mileham making 26. Carlton Towers won by seven wickets against Airmyn who were dismissed for 86 and overhauled for the loss of just three wickets by Carlton and finally in Division Three Burn beat Goole Firemen by just four runs in a real thriller at Goole , A Pearce scoring 35 and R Adamson 30 as Burn reached 176 for 6 , S Cawthorne taking 3 for 38 for the Firemen who came tantalisingly close to bettering Burn's score only to fall narrowly short , L Mitchell hitting 54 , Mark West 47 and Will O'Donnell 36 not out for the unfortunate Firemen.

Division Three
New boys Outcasts moved level with leaders Howden when they comfortably beat Drax Village 2nds at Hirsts Priory by 113 runs , Charlie Mason scoring 62 not out and brother Luke 33 as Outcasts hit 155 for 3 then the visitors were shot out for 44 , Wesley Ellis picking up 4 for 4 and Niall Chester 2 for 10 whilst Alex Fletcher and Jarrod Teanby bowled well whilst picking up a wicket apiece. Eggborough climbed above Thorne Colliery in the table when beating them by 18 runs in a low scoring affair that saw them make 88 for 6 thanks chiefly to Lee Howard's 33 , Jon Appleby taking an impressive 5 for 13 for Thorne who managed 70 for 5 in reply , James Stewart hitting 26 for the Colliery side.

RESULTS
Thursday June 2nd
Division One
Drax Village : 97 for 9 ( O Ounsley 32 ) S Buttrick 3 for 14
Luddington : 98 for 8 ( S Buttrick 42 no )
Result : Luddington win by 2 wickets

Fishlake : 132 for 4 ( J Mason 46 ; A Teasdale 40 no )
Askern : 133 for 3 ( J Gillies 70 no )
Result : Askern win by 7 wickets

Sykehouse v Hensall
Hensall : 108 for 5 ( C Mains 26 )
Sykehouse : 94 for 7 ( J Davies 22 )
Result : Hensall win by 14 runs

Division Two
Carlton Towers v Airmyn
Airmyn : 86 all out
Carlton : 87 for 3
Result : Carlton Towers win by 7 wickets

Goole Firemen v Burn
Burn : 176 for 6 ( A Pearce 35 ; R Adamson 30 ) S Cawthorne 3 for 38
Firemen : 172 for 4 ( L Mitchell 54 ; M West 47 ; W O'Donnell 36 no )
Result : Burn win by 4 runs

Pollington v Hirst Courtney
Hirst : 120 all out ( B Howard 45 ; M Alford 24 ) I Mileham 4 for 14
Pollington : 123 for 1 ( A Slater 72 no )
Result : Pollington win by 9 wickets

Division Three
Outcasts v Drax Village 2nds
Outcasts : 155 for 3 ( C Mason 62 no ; L Mason 33 )
Drax 2nds : 44 all out W Ellis 4 for 4 ; N Chester 2 for 10
Result : Outcasts win by 113 runs

Thorne Colliery v Eggborough
Eggborough : 88 for 6 ( L Howard 33 ) J Appleby 5 for 13
Thorne : 70 for 5 ( J Stewart 26 )
Result : Eggborough win by 18 runs

Fixtures
Thursday June 9th
Division One
Askern Welfare v Goole Town
Hensall v Drax Village
Luddington v Sykehouse

Division Two
Burn v Carlton Towers
Hirst Courtney v Goole Firemen
Pollington v Airmyn

Division Three
Eggborough v Howden Town
Thorne Colliery v Outcasts