OUTCASTS' GOOD RUN ENDS

By Glen Sands

After having such a good run of form in May, Outcasts have now lost their last two games, the latest being by 74 runs at Louth (in Lincs League div one) where they certainly came off second best in all departments.
Louth chose to bat first and made a terrific start , racing to 32 without loss after eight overs before a sharpe shower saw the teams come off for fifteen minutes. On their return to the field of play Lee Freeman and Mike Searle took the Louth total to 89 before Freeman was first out , caught at mid wicket by Darren Clark off Alex Fletcher for a well constructed 44 then two wickets fell with the score on 96 , John Medler being bowled by Graham Clark for just two and Searle being caught behind by Richard Wroot off Graeme Fletcher for 40 , sportingly walking from the field even though the umpire did'nt appear to give him out. It appeared for a while that Outcasts were pulling themselves back into the game but two university returnees then took control for Louth , namely Zish Ahmed and Zain Siddiqui who batted really well to take the total past 150. Ahmed had reached 30 when he was well caught at deep mid off by Jason Whiteley off Alex Fletcher , then Dean Jacklin was out cheaply , caught by Darren Clark off Alex Fletcher again for just four leaving Louth on 172 for 5. Siddiqui finished the innings on 52 not out whilst Matt Hamilton added eleven , taking the final total to 198 for 5 from their allotted 45 overs , Alex Fletcher taking 3 for 61 for Outcasts although credit should also go to brother Graeme Fletcher who bowled well for his 1 for 23 and Graham Clark who picked up 1 for 24
The Outcasts reply began with Richard Wroot in excellent form but things began to change when Oliver Coulman was bowled by Matt Hamilton for five and he was quickly followed by Darren Clark , bowled without scoring by the same bowler as they slumped to 42 for 2. Andy Lawson hit one towering six but was then caught on the boundary by Ahmed off young spinner Jake Sanders and when skipper Russell Fletcher was fourth man out , bowled by Sanders for six the visitors were struggling on 64. Graham Clark was perhaps harshly adjudged LBW for three with the overall score on 71. David Hobson was another LBW victim having made just four , earning Hamilton his fourth wicket then the last real ray of hope was extinguished when Sanders bowled Wroot around his legs for a splendid 45 , leaving them in the mire at 85 for 7. Jason Whiteley and Liam McAnaney batted freely to move the score past three figures , Whiteley enjoying himself with some crisp leg side shots that saw him end the game on 27 not out but another Louth youngster , Tom Ryder came on to wipe up the tail in the space of four deliveries when he bowled McAnaney for 12 then followed it up by having Alex Fletcher caught behind by Mike Duell and bowling Graeme Fletcher two balls later. That left him with the impressive figures of 3 for 11 from twelve deliveries whilst Hamilton ended the innings with 4 for 59 and Sanders 3 for 32 for the Louth side.
So the Priorymen have seemingly hit a slump after making such a good start to the 2011 campaign whilst Louth appear to be on the up as their players return from uni and they climb the Division One table. Outcasts next match sees them take on Premier League side Cherry Willingham in the George Marshall Cup when they will look to find that elusive early season form that saw them make such a good start.
Outcasts 2nds entertained Division Three leaders Washingborough at Hirst Priory and they gave them quite a scare before losing by just 15 runs. The Lincoln outfit posted a total of 190 for 7 thanks chiefly to David Grieves who hit an excellent ton but the Isle side refused to roll over and gave their opponents quite an uncomfortable time when chasing such a big target.
Their reply was notable for the return to local cricket of former Alkborugh stalwart Jonathan Bramhill, playing his first match for over three years when called upon at the last minute due to lack of numbers and as the old saying goes there was definately life in the old dog as he hit a superb 56 to guide Outcasts so close to causing a shock. The seconds will travel to Barton Town on Saturday in the Bob Welton Cup and who knows if Bramhill senior has recovered from his first game in three years he may even feature again, provided the deep heat has worked it's magic that is!