WES HAS TIME ON HIS HANDS

Caistor stalwart Wes Allison is currently taking on the role of Old Father Time. For has a cricketer's watch he's keen to return to its rightful owner. It's an Accurist type and was left in the away dressing room at Messingham Cricket Club early in the season. Caistor played there on Sunday, May 15 but Wes says the watch does not belong to any of his club members. Could it possibly belong to a Horncastle player who was there on May 14? If it's yours, call Wes on 01472851617 or 0533254058.

HOPING FOR A GOOD TURNOUT AT FINAL

Tomorrow (Monday Aug 1) sees the final of the John Pettit Grimsby and District Cricket League's Ibwest Cup at Cleethorpes’ Chichester Road ground (6pm) beween One Medical 1 and Springfield Ibwest.
Spectators are very welcome.

GOOD CHEER

By Ann Boulton

Colin and Jonathan Cheer made it a family affair when second placed Boston inflicted the first defeat of the season on Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League leaders Bracebridge Heath.
After Boston had won the toss at the Mayflower Ground and invited their opponents to bat, Colin was first up, dismissing four of the top six visiting batsmen with the top three all clean bowled. From 100 for seven, Jonathan Darke and Ashley Schultz steadied the innings with a stand of 66 and the final wicket fell on 182 in the 50th over.
Matt Bradley took a wicket on 19 but by the time the second fell Boston had 99 on the board and Matthew Poole joined Jonathan Cheer to take the home side to an eight wicket victory with six overs to spare, Cheer finishing with 128.
However, Bracebridge still have a comfortable 40 point lead while Boston gained just one point on third place Bourne who are now 11 behind in third following a 38 run victory over Louth at Abbey Lawn. The visitors were all out for 164 chasing their hosts’ 202 for eight. Fahad Masood claiming five wickets to take his total for the season to 45.
Grimsby now share fourth place with Sleaford after both successfully chased runs on their home tracks.
At Augusta Street, Lindum made 224 for 5, Richard Bishop and Geoff Middleton hitting half centuries. But Grimsby were also on good batting form with 50s from Richard Antcliffe, Neal Snell and Harry Warwick who top scored with 58 not out as his side claimed a seven wicket win.
The highest scoring game of the day was at Sleaford where Market Deeping blasted 260 for seven, Josh Bowers just missing out on a century with a knock of 97. But Oliver Burford made not mistake with his ton, hitting an unbeaten 113 with Matthew Mountain making 67 to give their side a six wicket victory.
Deeping are now sixth but only two points behind while Hartsholme moved up to seventh with a resounding win at Woodhall. Warren Nel’s 127 and Henry Rush with 53 saw the visitors to 244 for seven before the home side were reduced to 12 for six and were eventually bowled out for 67.
This left Woodhall further behind in 11th place after Skegness beat bottom side Nettleham by 10 wickets, Tony Santini taking five and Peter Houghton hitting 67.

RESULTS
Nettleham 101 (Santini 5-12), Skegness 105-0 (Houghton 67no); Bourne 202-8 (Hopkins 59), Louth 164 (Shiroman 56, Masood 5-60); Bracebridge Heath 182 (C Cheer 5-78), Boston 183-2 (J Cheer 128no); Market Deeping 260-7 (Bowers 97), Sleaford 263-4 (Burford 113no, Mountain 67); Lindum 224-5 (Bishop 52, Middleton 52), Grimsby 225-3 (Antcliffe 51, Snell 50, Warwick 58no); Hartsholme 244-7 (Nel 127, Rush 53), Woodhall Spa 67.

HOW THEY STAND
P W L Draw Ab/Can Bat Bowl Win Draw Ab/Can Total
Bracebridge Heath 15 10 1 1 3 58 54 100 9 21 242
Boston 15 7 3 4 1 46 52 70 26 8 202
Bourne 15 7 5 2 1 47 56 70 10 8 191
Grimsby 15 7 5 1 1 47 47 70 7 8 179
Sleaford 15 6 6 2 1 55 40 60 16 8 179
Market Deeping 15 5 3 5 2 53 45 50 13 16 177
Hartsholme 15 3 3 6 3 51 42 30 24 21 168
Louth 15 4 6 3 2 45 47 40 19 16 167
Skegness 15 4 5 4 2 48 39 40 26 13 166
Lindum 15 5 7 1 2 34 46 50 9 16 155
Woodhall Spa 15 3 7 4 1 39 42 30 12 8 131
Nettleham 15 0 8 3 3 24 22 0 9 21 76

SPRINGFIELD IBWEST REACH FINAL

Last night's second semi-final of the week in the John Pettit Grimsby and District Cricket League's Ibwest Cup produced some good cricket and a victory for Springfield Ibwest.
Punjab Lions 119 for seven (Hayre 42, Mani Singh 33, Davis 2-22), Springfield Ibwest 123 for two (A Osmond 58, Chamberlin 35).
Springfield Ibwest now meet One Medical 1 in the final on Monday (August 1) at Cleethorpes CC (6pm).
SPECTATORS VERY WELCOME.

SUPERIOR WIN RATE

By Ann Boulton

Boston have the opportunity to peg back runaway Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League leaders Bracebridge Heath when the Lincoln side visit the Mayflower Ground tomorrow (Saturday) for the reverse of the first half fixture that the top side won by six wickets.
Since then, Boston have come within one run of Bracebridge in the Winkworth Cup final and have climbed the table to their current second place, where they lie 10 points ahead of Bourne whose third place could be in danger if they lose to Louth at Abbey Lawn.
Louth are sixth, on equal points with Grimsby who have a superior win rate while Market Deeping are breathing down Bourne’s neck, just one point adrift in fourth place.
Market Deeping travel to Sleaford who are seventh but are only 11 behind Bourne and in a good position to break into the top six. However, the London Road side could find the going tough against the experienced Deeping line up.
Grimsby are at home to Lindum whose season took a turn for the better when last weekend’s victory moved them up three places. Grimsby are aiming to recover their first half form and will be relieved to have bowler Carl Taylor back to full fitness.
At the foot of the table, Skegness could be in danger of finding themselves in the bottom two should they slip up at home to bottom side Nettleham and at the same Woodhall manage a win at home to Hartsholme. However, the Lincoln side know that a victory could put them within touching distance of the top half of the table and Jubilee Park could host a tight battle.

TOMORROW, SATURDAY
(12.30 start)Boston v Bracebridge Heath
Bourne v Louth
Grimsby v Lindum
Skegness v Nettleham
Sleaford v Market Deeping
Woodhall Spa v Hartsholme

SECOND SEMI TONIGHT

Grimsby Town CC's Augusta Street ground is the venue for the second of the Ibwest Cup semi-finals tonight (6pm) between Springfield Ibwest and Punjab Lions.
The first semi was held on Tuesday, when One Medical 1 booked their place in the final.
Holton-le-Clay 103 for three (A Langford 36, I Snowden 31 not out, D Rands 18, C Wathukarage 1-10), One Medical 1 108 for four (Wathukarage 45 not out, D Rands 2-21).
The final will be on Monday, August 1 at Cleethorpes CC (6pm).
SPECTATORS VERY WELCOME TONIGHT AND ON MONDAY.

CLEETHORPES NOW FOURTH

Paul Sunley attempts to break the shackles.


By Graham Hackney

Any aspirations Cleethorpes had of challenging for this season’s Yorkshire league title were blown away with a heavy nine-wicket defeat at Yorkshire Academy on Sunday.
Having opted to bat first in excellent conditions, Cleethorpes laboured to just 103 all out in 47 overs before seeing the Yorkshire youngsters knock off the runs in the 22nd over. Deprived of three of their front line bowlers Cleethorpes had earlier elected to try and set a total but Cleethorpes openers Bill Kirby and Rory Osmond found things tough with Academy bowlers Wainman and Moxon offering little opportunity for the pair to play shots. Osmond hit Wainman for the first boundary of the innings with a push through cover off a rare loose ball as the bowlers kept a tight grip on the run rate. After patiently making 8 off 24 balls, Osmond was first to depart as left armer Wainman shaped a delivery back into the batsman who inside edge knocked the stumps over with the score on 11. Eddie Carlton (1) departed three overs later as his attempted pull off Moxon only found Ross at midwicket who collected a superb diving catch. Academy’s opening pair had bowled eight maidens in the first 14 overs before making way. Windeatt joined Kirby and the pair added 14 with Windeatt smashing Coad through midwicket before the bowler had his revenge as Windeatt’s tentative drive only found Blain at mid-off. Harry Clewett (3) had been promoted to five but soon departed as Coad found a gap between bat and pad to shatter the stumps. At 36-4 in the 24th over Cleethorpes were in deep trouble but this was to get worse as Kirby, who had progressed to 23 in 78 balls missed a long hop from Academy spinner Ross while Harrison (2) chipped Coad to midwicket. Paul Sunley adopted a patient attitude to the spinners but having weathered the storm perished with an ugly swing at Ross to be taken by Leaning at midwicket. At least Gary Cowlam and Peter Thompson got the scoreboard ticking with some good running between the wickets as they began to the spinners. Having added 21 for the eighth wicket Cowlam lost patience with leg spinner Tatterasall who beat him in the flight after inducing him down to be stumped for 18 having hit two boundaries. Fred Lumby departed first ball when trapped back on the crease first ball to Tattersall and it took last man Andy Ellis to deprive the leg spinner of a hat trick. In fact Ellis and Thompson looked in little difficulty in adding 22 in five overs as the pair took the total finally past the hundred. Having reached 103 though Thompson called Ellis through for a single and after both hesitated Ellis was run out to bring the innings to a painful halt.
Thompson and Lumby opened the bowling for Cleethorpes but both struggled with their lines as both conceded wides in the opening four overs. Academy opener Lees, fresh from a century on Saturday looked in confident mood twice driving Thompson for sumptuous boundaries down the ground. Having added a quickfire 33 inside six overs it was Lumby that made the breakthrough as a wide legside delivery saw Lees overbalance for Cowlam to take a superb stumping. This was to prove Cleethorpes’ only success as Tattersal and Leaning had little difficulty knocking off the remaining 71 runs for victory. Tattersall in particular looked a fine prospect constantly piecing the cover field with backfoot drives to the boundary in making 43 not out. Leaning finished 36 not out as Academy ran out easy winners in only 21.2 overs to further dent Cleethorpes hopes as they slip to fourth in the table with Scarborough jumping above them after victory at Hull.
With league double headers overs the next two weekend’s Cleethorpes’ batting must improve if they are to remain in the upper reaches of the Yorkshire league table.

Cowlam claims the stumping of Alex Lees for Cleethorpes' only wicket.

MEGGIES FALL FURTHER BEHIND

Collegiate's Fisher is bowled by Alex Osmond.


Alex Osmond snaps up Collegiate opener Patmore at first slip.


By Graham Hackney

A disappointing batting display saw Cleethorpes fall 30 runs short of a gettable target in Saturday’s home defeat to a young Sheffield Collegiate side.
The defeat means Cleethorpes fall further behind league leaders York and second placed Rotherham who both had convincing wins. Sheffield had earlier won the toss and surprisingly opted to bat on a green wicket. With overseas professional Omesh Wijesiriwardana recalled to Sri Lanka for a domestic Twenty20 tournament and opening partner John Zielinski also unavailable, Cleethorpes had been forced into changes with Andy Ellis returning and opening the attack with Peter Thompson. Neither proved threatening as Sheffield openers Callis and Patmore comfortably negotiated the opening 13 overs to take Sheffield past fifty with little difficulty. Patmore was particularly punishing on Ellis as he despatched anything short and wide as Ellis’ six overs went for 25. Thompson proved tighter until a careless final two overs went for twelve runs as his line began to stray also conceding a number of byes with keeper Windeatt stood up to the stumps. Once again it took the introduction of spin pair Harry Clewett and Alex Osmond to make the breakthrough. It was Clewett who struck first inducing Patmore (48) to edge to Alex Osmond at first slip after the pair had added a solid 79 runs in the 25th over. Osmond followed suit the next over as he trapped the dangerous Root lbw. With Callis (28) edging Osmond to first slip for Kirby to complete a juggling catch and Wall (4) attempting a suicidal single to Indy Hayre, Sheffield had slipped to 104-4 in the 34th over. Turnbull had survived a sharp chance when edging Clewett behind but he soon began to play fluently taking on both spinners. He received good support from veteran Gaywood and the pair added 72 runs in under 14 overs before Hayre claimed a second run out to dismiss Gaywood for 30. With Sheffield pushing for late runs Osmond was to profit as both Street and Varley ran past spinning deliveries to provide Windeatt with easy stumpings. With Fisher bowled by Osmond with a delivery that kept low the spinner completed his third successive five wicket haul as Sheffield closed on 214-8 in their 55 overs. Osmond finished with 5/72 in a marathon 22-over spell with Clewett also bowling unchanged to record 1/63 in 19 overs.
Bill Kirby and Rory Osmond got Cleethorpes reply off to a slow start as pacemen Australian Fisher and Turnbull conceded just six runs in the opening four overs. Kirby had just struck the opening boundary when left hander Fisher found the batsman’s outside edge with a fine delivery that shaped away to leave Meggies 6-1. Carlton (13) joined Osmond and looked in confident mood as he took Fisher for three classic boundaries before being beaten all ends up as Fisher brought a delivery back through the gate. Alex Osmond joined cousin Rory and the pair added 29 for the third wicket. Alex too had started in good touch consistently finding the boundary although twice with a stroke of fortune as cleared the slip cordon. The introduction of Sheffield spinner Street would account for Rory Osmond as his second delivery found the edge to keeper Patmore for a solid 21. Alex Osmond (28) followed 14 runs later when Gaywood showed lightning reflexes to snare a one handed catch at slip. Cleethorpes had maintained the run rate at four an over but the inability of any of their batsman to push on after a start was proving telling. James Windeatt (11)briefly threatened after launching Street for a massive straight six but the spinner soon had his revenge trapping Windeatt on his back leg the next ball. Paul Sunley and Harry Clewett appeared to be Cleethorpes final hope and the pair looked untroubled in adding 28 to take Cleethorpes to 122-5 at drinks. Sunley, again looking composed had reached 23 with five boundaries but fell the over after drinks edging young spinner Pearson behind. Clewett (15) followed six runs later trying to clear mid off but only succeeding in offering another simple catch to Gaywood. When Thompson (5) and Hayre (18) fell with the score on 145 the game looked over for Cleethorpes. It took a fine 39-run ninth wicket stand between Fred Lumby and Skipper Andy Ellis to raise Cleethorpes hopes of at least taking two points from the game as the pair saw off fourteen overs with little difficulty. With the rate having climbed to over five an over Cleethorpes had little prospect of victory but just as it looked as if they would hold out for a share of the spoils Ellis (25) edged Fisher to second slip to complete a 30 run victory. Lumby remained unbeaten for a battling 14 as Cleethorpes closed on 184 to fall further behind in the chase to catch the league leaders.

Cleethorpes' Eddie Carlton hammers Fisher to the boundary.

DEBUT TON FOR HAXEY'S TOM

By Glen Sands

Division One KO Cup Semi Final
Messingham 3rds rearranged their KO Cup Semi Final with Grimsby Town 3rds due to their ground being unavailable on the scheduled date and it was they who reached the Final when beating Grimsby by 19 runs. Donovan Deeble hit 39 and Matt Lawson 31 as Messingham set a total of 157 all out then Deeble picked up 3 for 7 and Andy Langford 4 for 41 as Grimsby were bowled out for 138 , White top scoring with 38.

Division One
The one scheduled match in Division One saw Appleby Frodingham 3rds concede to Scunthorpe 4ths as they were unable to raise a team.

Division Two
Outcasts 3rds won a high scoring encounter at Hirsts Priory against a strong Barton Town 4ths side and are now just a win away from clinching promotion. Barton batted first and ammassed a total of 209 for 7 , Reece Ogle hitting 106 for the Humbersiders whilst the ever improving Graeme Fletcher picked up 3 for 33 then the Outcasts young guns all weighed in with valuable contributions as they replied with 210 for 5 , Charlie Mason leading the way with 52 along with Oliver Coulman ( 42 ) and Scott Buttrick ( 41 ). Alkborough 3rds missed the chance to move clear in second place when they lost a run fest at Haxey 3rds who set a huge target of 291 for 3 thanks to a maiden century from Tom Scott , the Haxey youngster finishing on 134 with Oliver Tonks adding 39and despite a response that saw Alkborough reach 197 for 7 the visitors were well short of their target although Alex Jenkins made an excellent 81 and Dave Kilgallon 40. The other scheduled game between Wheatley & Leverton and Hibaldstow was awarded to Hibaldstow as Wheatley were unable to raise a team now the harvest period has arrived.

Division Three
The top of the table clash that promised so much proved to be a damp squib as Misterton 2nds crushed Luddington by nine wickets. The Isle side batted first and were shot out for just 57 , Richard Taylor taking 7 for 12 to leave the visitors innings in ruins then Mark Boscolo and George Taylor finished on 21 not out as Misterton completed a very comfortable victory which leaves them just two more wins away from promotion. Broughton 4ths won the other promotion battle when beating Everton 3rds by 105 runs , Nick Dobbs hitting 58 and Neil Simpson 29 for Broughton who made 176 for 8 , Sean Leach taking 4 for 39 for Everton then the village side were bowled out for 69 as Jack Siddall took 3 for 24 and 14 year old Ryan Thompson 2 for 0 toset up a win that lifts Broughton up to second in the table. Finally in Division Three Upton cum Kexby beat Normanby Park and it was their opener Nick Ward-Lowery that took centre stage , batting through their whole innings for 82 not out to set a total of 194 for 5 , 16 year old Will Cawte adding 54 for his maiden half century whilst Mark Knapton was Normanby's best bowler taking 3 for 47 before then hitting 45 with the bat when they replied with 115 all out , debutant Josh McCabe taking 3 for 42 for Upton cum Kexby.

SUNDAY JULY 24TH
NLL DIVISION ONE KO CUP SEMI FINAL
MESSINGHAM 3RDS v GRIMSBY TOWN 3RDS
Messingham : 157 all out ( D Deeble 39 ; M Lawson 31 )
Grimsby : 138 all out ( White 38 ; Hinchcliffe 36 )
RESULT : Messingham 3rds win by 19 runs

NLL DIVISION ONE
SCUNTHORPE TOWN 4THS v APP FRODINGHAM 3RDS Postponed App Frod unable to raise a team

RESULT Scunthorpe 4ths 3 pts App Frod 3rds -1 pt

NLL DIVISION TWO
HAXEY 3RDS v ALKBOROUGH 3RDS
Haxey : 291 for 3 ( T Scott 134 ; O Tonks 39 )
Alkborough : 197 for 7 ( A Jenkins 81 ; D Kilgallon 40 ) G Skelton 3 for 44
RESULT : Haxey 3rds win by 94 runs

OUTCASTS 3RDS v BARTON TOWN 4THS
Barton : 209 for 7 ( G Fletcher 3 for 33 )
Outcasts : 210 for 5 ( C Mason 52 ; O Coulman 42 ; S Buttrick 41 )
RESULT : Outcasts 3rds win by 5 wickets

WHEATLEY & LEVERTON v HIBALDSTOW 2NDS Postponed Wheatley unable to raise a team

RESULT : Wheatley & Leverton - 1 pt Hibaldstow 2nds 3 pts

NLL DIVISION THREE
BROUGHTON 4THS v EVERTON 3RDS
Broughton : 176 for 8 ( N Dobbs 58 ; N Simpson 29 ) S Leach 4 for 39
Everton : 69 all out J Siddall 3 for 24
RESULT : Broughton 4ths win by 105 runs

MISTERTON 2NDS v LUDDINGTON
Luddington : 57 all out R Taylor 7 for 12
Misterton : 58 for 1
RESULT : Misterton 2nds win by 9 wickets

UPTON cum KEXBY v NORMANBY PARK
U + Kexby : 194 for 5 ( N Ward-Lowery 82 no ; W Cawte 54 ) M Knapton 3 for 47
N Park : 115 all out ( M Knapton 45 ) J McCabe 3 for 42
RESULT : Upton cum Kexby win by 79 runs

Fixtures for Sunday July 31st
NLL DIVISION ONE KO CUP SEMI FINAL
App Frodingham 3rds v Scunthorpe 4ths

NLL DIVISION TWO KO CUP SEMI FINALS
Haxey 3rds v Hibaldstow 2nds
Wheatley & Leverton v Broughton 3rds

NLL DIVISION THREE
Broughton 4ths v Upton cum Kexby
Misterton 2nds v Bottesford


DIVISION ONE
PLAYED WON LOST NO RES TIED TOTAL
1. CAISTOR COUGARS 8 5 1 2 0 17
2. GRIMSBY TOWN 3RDS 7 4 1 2 0 14
3. MESSINGHAM 3RDS 7 4 3 0 0 11
4. APP FRODINGHAM 3RDS 8 3 2 3 0 11
5. SCUNTHORPE 4THS 8 2 5 1 0 7
6. CLEETHORPES 5THS 8 2 5 1 0 6
7. BARTON ACADAMY VIKINGS 8 2 5 1 0 5

DIVISION TWO
1. OUTCASTS 3RDS 9 7 1 1 0 22
2. ALKBOROUGH 3RDS 8 4 3 1 0 13
3. BROUGHTON 3RDS 8 4 3 1 0 13
4. HAXEY 3RDS 9 4 4 1 0 13
5. HIBALDSTOW 2NDS 9 4 5 0 0 12
6. WHEATLEY & LEVERTON 7 2 4 1 0 6
7. BARTON TOWN 4THS 10 2 7 1 0 6

DIVISION THREE
1. MISTERTON 2NDS 9 6 1 2 0 20
2. BROUGHTON 4THS 9 4 3 2 0 14
3. UPTON cum KEXBY 8 4 3 1 0 13
4. EVERTON 3RDS 8 4 4 0 0 12
5. LUDDINGTON 9 3 3 3 0 12
6. NORMANBY PARK 7 1 4 2 0 5
7. BOTTESFORD 8 1 5 2 0 5


DIVISION ONE
CLEETHORPES 5THS DEDUCTED 1 PT FOR NON FULFILLMENT OF FIXTURE
BARTON ACADAMY VIKINGS DEDUCTED TWO POINTS FOR NON FILFILLMENT OF FIXTURES ON TWO OCCASIONS
MESSINGHAM 3RDS DEDUCTED 1 PT FOR NON FULFILLMENT OF FIXTURE
APP FRODINGHAM 3RDS DEDUCTED 1 PT FOR NON FULFILLMENT OF FIXTURE
DIVISION TWO
BARTON TOWN 4THS DEDUCTED 1 PT FOR NON FULFILLMENT OF FIXTURE
WHEATLEY & LEVERTON DEDUCTED 1 PT FOR NON FULFILLMENT OF FIXTURE
DIVISION THREE
ISLEONIANS RECORD EXPUNGED AS THEY WITHDREW FROM LEAGUE

GOLDEN GRAHAM

By Glen Sands
Outcasts gained a rare victory over Broughton last Saturday in a top of the table clash in Lincs League Div One that saw them beat their bogey side for the first time in several attempts.
Broughton were invited to bat first by home skipper Russell Fletcher and despite missing regular opener Matt Hammond they made a steady start as Neil Simpson and Nick Crawford batted with cauton. Jonathan Wroot and youngster Alex Fletcher kept things tight before the latter suffered a leg injury and had to come off to be replaced by Liam McAnaney but the scoring rate continued sedately as Broughton were made to battle for every run. Skipper Fletcher then turned to the recently in form bowler Graham Clark and once again he produced the goods , picking up the first wicket when trapping Crawford LBW for 29 with the total on 67 and he soon added a second when bowling Simpson for 31 , making it 76 for 2. Nick Dobbs and Jake Parker took the score up to 119 and were beginning to push the run rate on when Scott Buttrick took an exceptional catch to send Dobbs back to the pavilion for 29 , earning Clark a third wicket and with a further 30 having been added Jason Whiteley picked up his first when bowling Parker for 18. The big hitting Paul Reed was next to go , comfortably caught by Oliver Coulman off Clark for 19 then there was a clattering of wickets as Broughton went for late runs , Mark Coulman taking a terrific catch at deep mid wicket off Whiteley's bowling to remove Liam McIntyre before Clark and Whiteley took one more each , leaving the visitors final total on 157 for 8 from their 45 overs.
Father and son combo Mark and Oliver Coulman opened the Outcasts innings and they had made 22 when Mark was caught at slip by Neil Simpson off Paul Reed for eight. That brought Scott Buttrick to the crease to join fellow acadamy youngster Coulman and the exciting young bucks put together an exceptional partnership of 76 runs in no time. Coulman appeared set for a half century only to fall two short when he was caught by Simpson again this time off Jake Parker but yet another player who came through the youth ranks , Graham Clark , strode to the middle and along with Buttrick proceeded to guide the Priorymen to victory. Clark had reached 16 when he gifted a simple catch to Martin Wilson off Robbie Glentworth with the total on 151 which brought Andy Lawson onto the scene. Buttrick took his personal score to 50 with a single but it was Lawson who cracked the winning boundary that brought their total to 160 for 3 , earning them an additional batting bonus point and an all too rare win over Broughton whom they trail in the table by just 29 points now.
So there was yet another five wicket haul for " golden arm " Graham Clark and a well constructed and classy half century from Scott Buttrick for Outcasts who also had reason to thank Jason Whiteley for his three wickets and Oliver Coulman who hit 47 to help them to a dominent win over a below strength Broughton side and they will hope to continue their good form on Saturday when table toppers Scothern are the visitorsa to Hirsts Priory in what promises to be another thrilling encounter.

THOMAS CRACKS 148no

By Ann Boulton

Billingborough kept up their charge for the South Lincolnshire & Border League Division One title with an eight wicket win over Lindum Ramblers while Stamford 2nd remain second following a similar victory over Sleaford 2nd.
Chris Bore hit an unbeaten 108 for Stamford who restricted Sleaford to 163 for nine and opened up a gap over the chasing group after third placed Belton Park went down to Woodhall Spa 2nd.
Steve Scott took five catches in the field for Billingborough who bowled Lindum out for 121. And Bourne 2nd won the battle of the bottom two to move within eight points of opponents Market Deeping 2nd.
Leaders Skegness suffered their second defeat in Division Two but rivals Billingborough 2nd failed to capitalise, going down to Heckington by 10 runs.
A second wicket partnership of 95 between Dave Robinson (83) and Alex Glover (53) set up Cavalier’s victory over the seasiders but the Peterborough side were made to work hard for their win as Skegness came within 14 runs of their opponents’ score of 198 for seven before the final wicket fell. Again it was Robinson who turned the game, taking three lower order wickets in five overs.
Scott Sharp hit a maiden half century in Heckington’s total of 150 and Billingborough were then bowled out for 140 while Kev Manning’s 60 off 46 balls saw Boston 3rd to victory over Sleaford Sunday.
But the closest game in this division was at Ropsley where Stamford reached 176 for three only to see their opponents come within two runs of this score for the loss of five wickets.
Division Three also saw a close game at Pinchbeck where Steve Robinson took five wickets to restrict Claypole to 132 all out in their pursuit of their hosts’ 144 for seven.
North Luffenham drew away at the top when Baston beat challengers Moulton Harrox Sunday by five wickets. Steve Richardson took six for 19 for Baston as Moulton were bowled out for 111.
Blankney are now one of the best placed to challenge the leaders after David Thomas and Lee Williams shared a third wicket partnership of 224 to take their side to 280 for three. Thomas hit the day’s highest total of 148 not out and Williams made 95 before Spalding 3rd were bowled out for 136.
Division One
Grantham 133-6 (Wing 55no), Moulton Harrox 137-2 (Jex 66);
Belton Park 117 (Hunt 5-45), Woodhall Spa 2nd 118-4 (Bee 56);
Lindum Ramblers 121 (Taylor 57), Billingborough 123-2;
Bourne 2nd 209-7 (Knowles 56), Market Deeping 2nd 128;
Spalding 217-9 (Hendry 60), Boston 2nd 156-8;
Sleaford 2nd 163-9, Stamford 164-2 (Bore 108no)
Division Two
Heckington 150 (Sharp 68), Billingborough 2nd 140;
Thomas Cook 85 (Orrey 5-14), Welby 86-2;
Boston 3rd 111 (Lamming 8-16), Spalding 2nd 116-3;
Cavaliers 198-7 (Robinson 83, Glover 53), Skegness 184 (Hewitt 50);
Stamford 176-3 (Peck 53), Ropsley 174-5;
Sleaford Sunday 147 (Cheer 5-29), Boston 3rd 149-4 (Manning 60);
Division Three
Pinchbeck 144-7 (Smith 59), Claypole 132 (North 54, Robinson 5 wkts);
Blankney 280-3 (Thomas 148no, Williams 95), Spalding 3rd 136;
Burgh & District 85, North Luffenham 88-1 (Brew 65no);
Moulton Harrox Sunday 111 (Barnett 61, Richardson 6-19), Baston 112-5;

WILLIAM FITS THE BILL IN LINCOLN

Picture and report kindly supplied by Ann Boulton

William Wright (pictured) became the youngest player to hit a half-century in the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League when he scored 56 for Lindum in a seven-run victory over Skegness.
Wright, who celebrated his 14th birthday at the end of January, was making his fifth appearance for Lindum 1st XI, having enjoyed some success with the second team, Lindum Ramblers, in the South Lincolnshire & Border League where his highest score is 79.
The youngster has come up through the Lindum and Lincolnshire junior rankings and currently plays for the county U15 side.

TITLE WITHIN THEIR SIGHTS

By Glen Sands

Yesterday's table-topping clash between Misterton 2nds and Luddington had the potential of being a cracking match but it proved to be anything but as leaders Misterton cruised to an easy win against a Luddington side that were decidedly second best throughout.
Having won the toss Gareth Parkin chose to bat first but right from the start the Clark brothers were put under pressure from home skipper Darren Emmingham and Richard Taylor and it was the latter who picked up the first wicket when Graham Clark played on for just a single. Oliver Saxon played one sumptuous drive before he was bowled by Taylor and moments later it was 19 for 3 when Darren Clark edged Taylor to wicket keeper Dave Manning having scored nine. Andy Lawson clipped the ball to the boundary to get off the mark only to then be bowled by Emmingham by a beauty and Geoff Smith became the fifth man out when he was sensationally caught one handed at slip by Tom Denman to give Taylor his fourth wicket of the innings.Syeve Proctor was caught by Manning without troubling the scorers which left Ludd floundering on 26 for 6 and that soon became seven when skipper Parkin was adjudged LBW to Taylor. Arron Curry managed a couple runs before he was the seventh Luddington player to get out to the rampant Taylor but there was then a long partnership from Danny Taylor and Martin Fletcher who finally showed some spirit taking the total steadily up to 56 before the former snicked a catch to Manning off Dave Lawson for a top score of 12. The same bowler brought the innings to a close when he deceived Fletcher with a slower ball when he has made nine which meant Misterton needed to score 58 to earn a victory that was likely to st them up to become Third Division Champions. Richard Taylor was undoubtedly the pick of the bowlers taking 7 for 12 from nine overs.
With such a low score Luddington needed to make early inroads into the Misterton top order but that was not to be as that man Taylor and Mark Boscolo put on 28 for the first wicket , then Taylor edged a catch to Steve Proctor off Graham Clark having scored 14. George Taylor joined Boscolo at the crease and they comfortably took Misterton to 58 for 1 with no further problems , both batsmen finishing the game on 21 not out.
So the Nottinghamshire side are now within sight of clinching the title whilst Luddington will have to lick their wounds and hope for a big improvement when they take on Bottesford on August 7th if they are to make it into second spot come the end of the season.

WILL WRIGHT ON SONG FOR LINDUM

READERS LINCOLNSHIRE ECB PREMIER LEAGUE
July 23

Grimsby 105 (Scheepers four catches and one stumping), Bracebridge Heath 109-1 (Atri 61 no); Bourne 251-5 (Louth 67, Hopkins 87no), Nettleham 100; Boston 231 (Ward 78, Cheer 55, Rush 6-29), Hartsholme 200-6 (Shooter 50); Lindum 176 (Wright 56), Skegness 169 (Wilson 54, Rutherford 6-55), maiden ECB League half-century for 14 year old Will Wright; Woodhall Spa 228-7 (Luffman 66), Market Deeping 178-9; Louth 157, Sleaford 160-4 (Burford 78no).

Bracebridge Heath picked up another 20 points in the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League and second placed Boston opened up a 10 point gap over the chasing teams.
But lower down the table it was all change as 2010 champions Bourne shot up from sixth to third and Lindum jumped from 10th to seventh.
Lindum were involved in the tightest game of the day as the team gave new captain Harry Dunn his first victory by beating Skegness by just seven runs at St Giles Avenue. The home side were bowled out for 176 with 14 year old Will Wright scoring 56, his maiden century in the ECB Premier League. Matt Rutherford then took six wickets as Skegness were bowled out for 169, Carl Wilson hitting 54.
Jason Scheepers took four catches and made one stumping as Bracebridge demolished Grimsby’s batting for just 105, Matt Bradley and Brett Houston with four wickets each. Vikram Atri then hit 61 off 49 balls with 13 fours as the leaders cruised to a nine wicket win.
Boston had a harder game at Hartsholme where Matt Ward hit 78 and Jonathan Cheer 55 in a first wicket partnership of 104. The visitors went on to make 231, Henry Rush taking six wickets and Tim Shooter then hit 50 as Hartsholme reached 200 for six at the close to claim a share of the points.
Bourne made the highest total of the day and added to bottom side Nettleham’s woes. Conrad Louth made 67 and Charlie Hopkins an unbeaten 87 as the visitors ended their 50 overs on 251 for five then bowled the home side out for 100.
Rain reduced the game to 92 overs at Market Deeping where Jack Luffman hit 66 for Woodhall Spa who made 228 for seven then restricted their hosts to 178 for nine. However, the points gained were enough to keep Deeping in fourth place, only one behind Bourne after Louth failed in their quest to move into the top three.
Sleaford swapped one London Road for another and came away with 20 points after bowling Louth out for 157 and winning by six wickets to go within one point of their opponents in the table.

HOW THEY STAND
Team P W L Draw Ab/Can Bat Bowl Win Draw Ab/Can Total
Bracebridge Heath 14 10 0 1 3 55 54 100 9 21 239
Boston 14 6 3 4 1 41 47 60 26 8 182
Bourne 14 6 5 2 1 43 51 60 10 8 172
Market Deeping 14 5 2 5 2 48 44 50 13 16 171
Grimsby 14 6 5 1 1 42 45 60 7 8 162
Louth 14 4 5 3 2 43 44 40 19 16 162
Sleaford 14 5 6 2 1 50 37 50 16 8 161
Lindum 14 5 6 1 2 30 45 50 9 16 150
Hartsholme 14 2 3 6 3 46 37 20 24 21 148
Skegness 14 3 5 4 2 43 34 30 26 13 146
Woodhall Spa 14 3 6 4 1 39 39 30 12 8 128
Nettleham 14 0 8 3 3 24 22 0 9 21 76

GAMES FULL OF EASTERN PROMISE TODAY

From Phil Burrell

Today (Sunday 24th July) sees a couple of mouthwatering games in the the Cojos East Lindsey Cricket League.
In Division One, 6th and 7th placed Graves Park and Sutton on Sea meet, with Graves Park looking to leapfrog Grainthorpe (who are without a fixture) and Sutton move even further away from the relegation zone.
At Jubilee Park, several ECB Premier players are expected to be on show as Woodhall Wanderers host Louth Taverners, Louth desperately need points as they currently lie 2nd from bottom.
In Division 2, game of the day must be at Freiston, where the leaders take on 2nd placed Brocklesby Park.
Rain saw 3 of the 8 fixtures abandoned on Sunday 17th July in both Divisions.
In Division 1 Skegness vs Friskney was abandoned, this gave an opportunity for 2nd placed Woodhall Wanderers and 3rd placed Alford a chance to close the gap. Woodhall visited Grainthorpe, won the toss and choose to bat, they complied a very challenging 226 for 5 off their 40 overs. However they wouldn’t have banked on Grainthorpe reaching their target for the loss of only 2 wickets with 9 balls to spare. Alford (108 all out) also failed to gain ground as they lost by 99 runs at home to Graves Park (207 for 7). Sutton On Sea moved further clear of the relegation zone when they won by 53 runs at home to Tetford. New recruit Ian Hallam scored 153 not out in Suttons 249 for 3, Tetford finishing on 191 all out. Currently in Division 1 three batsman have exceeding 300 runs so far, with Chris King (Graves Park) leading with 325, Neil Pridgeon (Grainthorpe) 324 and Neil Sparham (Sutton on Sea) 320 the others. Sean Chamberlain (Skegness) tops the bowling with 21 wickets.
In Division 2, leaders Freiston Leake and Leverton claimed yet another victory, this time against Holton le Clay, all the bowlers claimed wickets as Holton le Clay were dismissed for 92, Sunil Panjwani (63) top scored as Freiston won by 6 wickets. The only other game completed in Division 2 saw Southbank (181 for 5) beat neighbours Keelby (84 all out) by 97 runs. Freiston’s Sunil Panjwani tops the Division 2 batting with 325 runs, whilst Dean Richards (Hainton) has taken the most wickets with 19.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT OVER LINCS LEAGUE TEAS

Teas were a talking point at the mid-season meeting of the Lincolnshire County Cricket League, with one forecast that they might have to be taken off the menu eventually.
It is some years since the league introduced a £25 flat fee per team for teas, but there has been a big rise in the price of commodities, including bread.
The Management Committee raised the issue for discussion, pointing out that a rule change would be required at October’s AGM to increase the amount.
Acting general secretary Glen Sands read an email from one club suggesting £30 might be a suitable figure.
During the debate, Mike Campion (Appleby-Frodingham) said it was becoming more and more difficult to find tea ladies and he wondered whether that might prove impossible for many clubs in the future.
It was pointed out that in some leagues the cost of teas rests with the home team and no cash is collected from the visitors.
The mid-season meeting was held at Rase Park, by kind permission of Market Rasen CC.
Lincs League chairman Bob Welton (pictured) offered his congratulations to the four teams involved in the Bob Welton Cup Semi Finals on Sunday, July 17th - in very inclement weather and to the umpires concerned in ensuring that both games produced results in what were far from ideal conditions.
The results secretary reminded clubs of the need to still ring in the result of their games, as well as ensuring they were in putted on the Play Cricket site.
A letter was read from the Lincoln Umpires’ Association requesting teams be reminded that match officials must be given their expenses no later than tea-time and NOT after the game is completed.
Scothern’s inquiry about applying to enter a second team in the league next season was reported and their representative was reminded of the closing date for applications – July 31.
Although not present at the meeting, Acting League Statistician Neil Simpson forwarded a couple of requests to clubs.
They were asked to use the “Match Report” section on Play Cricket when adding the umpires’ and ground marks.
Neil also requested that clubs check their stats packages to ensure their players show the right ones for each division.
Results Secretary Nigel Fisher reviewed the first few months of using Play Cricket to handle scorecards and registrations online, rather than traditional paper scoresheets and forms.
He said generally things were working well but also explained that leniency had been shown to clubs this season for deficiencies in providing information, which would have resulted in fines in previous seasons.
Following a suggestion by the Chairman, it was agreed leniency should remain in place for the rest of the season.
A discussion then took place about whether some information contained in the league handbook could, instead, be put online, such as league and individual records.
It was pointed out that if the Lincs League, the South Lincs & Border League and the Lincs ECB Premier League produced only one handbook, instead of three, costs could be greatly reduced.
However it was felt the Lincs League would lose its identity if all three were amalgamated and the matter was left in for possible further discussion at the AGM.
The Chairman then informed the meeting that former General Secretary Jeremy Slater (Keelby) had expressed an interest in returning to the post at the next AGM, the league having failed to replace the retiring Mike Savage at last October’s meeting.
The 2011 AGM will take place at Market Rasen CC on Wednesday October 19th.

OUTCASTS JOINT LEADERS

By Glen Sands

SNAITH EVENING LEAGUE UPDATE

Division One
Askern Welfare clinched the First Division One title when beating closest rivals Fishlake and in doing so maintaining their unbeaten tag for the season. Welfare made 149 for 6 thanks chiefly to Ashley Towler who hit 77 then he starred with the ball , taking 3 for 10 as Fishlake were bowled out for 90 by the Champions. In the other First Division match Sykehouse won a thriller against Hensall , posting a total of 118 for 7 before restricting the home side to 116 for 6 in a nail biting last over.

Asken v Fishlake
Askern : 149 for 6 ( A Towler 77 ) Webster 3 for 41
Fishlake : 90 all out A Towler 3 for 10
Result : Askern win by 59 runs and are Champions

Hensall v Sykehouse
Sykehouse : 118 for 7
Hensall : 116 for 6
Result : Sykehouse win by 2 runs

Division Two
Hirst Courtney continued their impressive season by setting something of a league record at Carlton Towers where opening pair Phil Alford ( 100 ) and Brian " Titch " Howard ( 116 ) batted throughout the whole innings to set a total of 232 for 0. Mark Holmes replied with 48 , Louis Ellin 40 not out and Scott Wooffenden 39 for Carlton who ended their innings on 169 for 4 on what was obviously a batsman's paradise. Pollington remain hot on Hirst's heels following their victory over Goole Firemen who are four points adrift now at the bottom of the table and finally Burn climbed into third spot after beating Airmyn , making 105 then bowling them out for 97.

Airmyn v Burn
Burn : 105 all out
Airmyn : 97 all out
Result : Burn win by 8 runs

Carlton Towers v Hirst Courtney
Hirst : 232 for 0 ( B Howard 116 no ; P Alford 100 no )
Carlton : 169 for 4 ( M Holmes 48 ; L Ellin 40 no ; S Wooffenden 39 )
Result : Hirst Courtney win by 63 runs

Pollington v Goole Firemen - Pollington win

Division Three
Joint leaders Howden Town suffered a shock defeat at Thorne Colliery which means they remain level with Outcasts with just two games each to play , the latter being against their Isle of Axholme rivals. James Stewart hit 52 not out and Thomas Taylor 20 not out as Thorne set a target of 107 for 3 then Howden slumped to 45 all out to suffer their first defeat of the season. Eggborough had a comfortable victory at Drax Village who were restricted to 78 for 8 before Eggborough eased to 79 for 1 , Pearson hitting 36 and Morris 31 not out to set up the win.

Drax Village 2nds v Eggborough
Drax : 78 for 8 ( A Coulbeck 17 )
Eggborough : 79 for 1 ( D Pearson 36 ; D Morris 31 no )
Result : Eggborough win by 9 wickets

Thorne Colliery v Howden Town
Thorne : 103 for 3 ( J Stewart 52 no ; T Taylor 20 no )
Howden : 45 all out
Result : Thorne Colliery win by 62 runs

FIXTURES
Monday July 25th
(at Hensall)
Burn v Hirst Courtney

Thursday July 28th
Division One
Goole Town v Askern Welfare
Sykehouse v Luddington

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

Division Three
Eggborough v Outcasts
Howden Town v Drax Village 2nds

HOW THEY STAND
DIVISION ONE
PLAYED WON LOST NO RES TIED TOTAL
1. ASKERN WELFARE 9 7 0 2 0 23
2. FISHLAKE 9 5 3 1 0 16
3. GOOLE TOWN 9 5 3 1 0 16
4. LUDDINGTON 8 2 3 3 0 9
5. SYKEHOUSE 9 2 6 1 0 7
6. HENSALL 10 2 8 0 0 6
DRAX VILLAGE RECORD EXPUNGED DUE TO WITHDRAWAL FROM LEAGUE

DIVISION TWO
1. HIRST COURTNEY 13 8 5 0 0 24
2. POLLINGTON 13 7 6 0 0 21
3. BURN 13 6 6 1 0 19
4. CARLTON TOWERS 12 5 5 2 0 17
AIRMYN 13 5 6 2 0 17
6. GOOLE FIREMEN 12 4 7 1 0 13

DIVISION THREE
1. HOWDEN 10 7 1 2 0 23
2. OUTCASTS 10 7 1 2 0 23
3. EGGBOROUGH 10 4 6 0 0 12
4. THORNE COLLIERY 11 3 7 1 0 10
5. DRAX VILLAGE 2NDS 10 1 8 1 0 4

CAPITAL MATCH FOR GRIMSBY BOYS

By Ann Boulton

Grimsby head for Bracebridge Heath tomorrow, intent on gaining the points that will see them climb the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League table.
Following last weekend’s washout, the forecast is set fair for a full programme with Boston defending their second place against not only Grimsby but also Market Deeping and Louth, both of whom are hot on their heels.
With Bracebridge now well out in front, Grimsby will have their work cut out to beat the leaders who have yet to lose a game this season but Richard Antcliffe’s side will go into the game with confidence following some good performances in the first half of the season.
All teams know there are no easy games this season and Boston could find this out when they travel to Hartsholme who have shown marked improvement in the past few weeks. Deeping, meanwhile, entertain Woodhall Spa who are looking to Fawad Alam to help them improve on their 11th place.
Louth are at home to Sleaford who are pushing for a place in the top half, having picked up the pace following a disastrous start to the year.
Last year’s champions Bourne have made it up to sixth and could go higher if they beat bottom side Nettleham while Lindum have their first game under new skipper Harry Dunn when they take on Skegness at St Giles Avenue, both teams languishing in the lower reaches of the table with Lindum in 10th but only seven points and two places behind their opponents.

Fixtures
(12.30 start)
Bracebridge Heath v Grimsby
Hartsholme v Boston
Lindum v Skegness
Louth v Sleaford
Market Deeping v Woodhall Spa
Nettleham v Bourne

MEGGIES MAKE SOGGY CUP EXIT

By Graham Hackney

Cleethorpes 1st X1 failed in their attempt to reach their first Yorkshire League Cup final after losing in unfortunate circumstances at a soggy Scarborough on Sunday. They failed to capitalise on an explosive start as Scarborough ran out winners on run rate when the umpires finally brought proceedings to a close at the 7.15pm cut off. At this point Scarborough were 164-4 chasing a challenging Cleethorpes target of 206-8 with the game in the balance. However Scarborough had forged ahead of the run rate in the latter overs and go forward to face either York or Yorkshire Academy in the final.
With rain preventing any play until 2pm both captains agreed to a 35 over a side contest with Skipper Charlie Tomlinson losing an important toss and being asked to bat first. Tomlinson chose to open the batting with himself and Eddie Carlton and Cleethorpes got off to the perfect start as both players blitzed the boundary boards in the opening overs. Lyth and Scarborough Skipper Rinke opted to bowl length and both were severely punished as Carlton plundered four boundaries while Tomlinson also chipped in with a couple and cleared the ropes at mid-wicket with a massive six. The pair had raced to 34 in just 3.2 overs when Rinke bowled Carlton through the gate for a quickfire 20 in just 13 balls. Alex Osmond kept up the theme adding 11 with a maximum and a four but it was Tomlinson who would dominate a 42-run second wicket stand that saw Cleethorpes pass fifty in just 5.4 overs. Tomlinson continued to launch a one man assault at the bowling passing his own half century in just 32 balls. First change bowler Simpson however was get plenty of seam movement and brought one back to bowl Osmond in his first over. Bill Kirby joined Tomlinson and the introduction of Scarborough’s spinners brought some calm to a hectic opening to the game. Kirby was content to push the ball into the gaps as the pair rotated the strike to bring up the 100 in 11.3 overs. The fifty stand came in 51 deliveries and the pair moved this on to 73 before Kirby was next to depart with the score on 149. Attempting to clip Tennant through midwicket, he only succeeded in finding the safe hands of Harland who took a sharp catch. Cleethorpes were to a suffer another blow one run later as Tomlinson holed out to long on having blitzed a brutal 82 runs in just 64 balls. His innings included three sixes and eight fours to give Cleethorpes an excellent platform. With the spinners continuing to peg Cleethorpes back the lower order found runs much harder to come by. Rory Osmond edged the excellent Holt behind for 10 while James Windeatt (10) was trapped in front to a delivery that kept low to give Tennant his third wicket. Omesh Wijesiriwardana came and went for seven as the race for late runs stalled and it took a calm knock of 21 not out from Paul Sunley to guide Cleethorpes to their final total of 206-8.
With rain failing the umpires decided to begin Scarborough’s innings. Omesh and John Zielinski opened up for Cleethorpes and kept it reasonably tight during the first ten over powerplay in which Cleethorpes could only have two fielders outside the fielding circle. Despite Zielinski getting some slight movement but little carry, the wicket appeared to be playing better as neither of Scarborough’s openers looked in any real trouble. It took the introduction of chief-wicket taker Alex Osmond to break the pair with Harland slashing to Kirby with the score on 49 in the 11th over. Ashley Lyth, brother of Yorkshire opener Adam, came in and immediately got the run rate rising as he advanced to hit Osmond for a six over long on. With Clewett joining the attack the rate continued to hover at around six and a half runs an over for victory. Lyth continued his counter attack hitting another maximum off Clewett as well as three boundaries as the score reached 96. Cleethorpes introduced spinner Indy Hayre into the attack and he also struck in his first over as the impatient Lyth swept to the deep square boundary were Rory Osmond took a calm catch under pressure. Scarborough opener Simpson had continued to tick along and after the total had passed the hundred in the 19th over reached his own half century in 66 balls an over later. Joe Padmore picked up the mantle left by Lyth with both Cleethorpes spinners struggling to contain. The wet ball was doing little to assist Cleethorpes but Omesh managed to remove Simpson for 68 (81 balls) when he loosely drove to Clewett as cover. Scarborough skipper Rinke came and went in three balls as he blasted Clewett for a six over deep midwicket before falling attempting a repeat and only succeeding in top edging for keeper Windeatt to take a running catch. With the weather closing in Padmore ensured Scarborough remained comfortably ahead of the rate as he slashed Omesh for six over third man and remained 32 not out in 22 balls when the umpires finally took the players off the pitch after 26.2 overs. With time running out the umpires brought the game to an end finishing Cleethorpes hopes of cup glory as they bowed out of their second cup competition at the semi-fanal stage. Osmond finished with expensive figures of 1/34 in five overs while Omesh’s pace went for 1/37 in his 6.2 overs. Zielinski’s opening burst had been the pick of the Cleethorpes attack having gone 26 runs in a six over spell

BROUGHTON MAKE FINAL

Broughton 2nds beat Alkborough 2nds on Sunday in the semi-finals of the Bob Welton Cup, organised by the Lincs League.
Full report in tomorrow's Scunthorpe Telegraph. And you can view a gallery of pix from Broughton's tie by visiting the Brigg People website through this link...

BRIGG PEOPLE

IBWEST CUP SEMIS NEXT WEEK

The remaining quarter-final of the 2011 Ibwest Cup will be on Monday, July 25, between Holton-le-Clay and Grimsby Pumas.

SEMI-FINALS
(both at Grimsby Town, 6pm)
Tuesday, July 26: One Medical 1 v HLC or Pumas.
Thursday, July 28: Springfield Ibwest v Punjab Lions.

FINAL
Monday, August 1: At Chichester Road, Cleethorpes (6pm).

PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF DATE FOR THE QUARTER FINAL AT TETNEY LANE, HOLTON, WHICH WE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT WOULD BE PLAYED THIS FRIDAY.

LINCS U15 LADIES VISIT GAINSBOROUGH

By Jimmy Snee

Lincolnshire under 15 Ladies will play West Yorkshire under 15 ladies at Marshalls Sports Ground, Gainsborough, on Sunday 24th July (13-30 start). Spectators are most welcome. This is a friendly fixture as the Ladies prepare to enter the ECB National competition next season.

FINAL REMINDER

The Lincolnshire County Cricket League holds its mid-season meeting tomorrow (Wed) at Market Rasen CC, Rase Park, at 7.30pm. All clubs need to be represented.

BUZZ LIGHT YEARS FROM RETIREMENT?

MATCH REPORT
By Glen Sands

Luddington were denied the opportunity to close the gap on Misterton 2nds at the top of the North Lindsey League Division Three by the weather after their bowlers had given them a great chance bwhen bowling Upton cum Kexby out for 84.
On winning the toss Gareth Parkin invited Upton cum Kexby to bat first on a damp wicket and runs were at a premium as the first seven overs were maidens ! During that time opener Nick Ward-Lowery was run out when trying to take a single to the electric fielding of Martin Fletcher whose excellent throw was right over the stumps for Steve Proctor to whip off the bails then Shaun Metcalfe and Jack Senerscall batted well to take the total to 25 before the latter had a rush of blood and swiped across a straight delivery from Graham Clark having made 13. Will Birkett joined Metcalfe and they added a dozen only for the opener to hoist a simple catch to Fletcher off Barry (Buzz) O'Brien for 12 leaving Kexby on 37 for 3. Birkett was looking good and had just begun to take the game to Luddington when he absolutely hammered the ball back at O'Brien who stuck out his right hand to take the most incredible caught and bowled , stunning the young Kexby batsman who had made 14 then Clark picked up a second wicket when bowling M Green with a beauty that moved off the seam. Will Cawte had played some majestic straight drives and was on 12 when he feathered a catch to wicket keeper Steve Proctor off Danny Taylor , exposing the home sides tail although home skipper Ben Alsop was playing well. Arron Curry had Marriott caught by Taylor without troubling the scorers ,then Taylor bowled debutant Brightman with the total on 79 as the clouds became darker and ever more threatening. Alsop was bowled by a beauty from Taylor with the score on 84 then Curry finished things off when having Tom Lovely caught by fielder of the match Martin Fletcher as the rain began to fall.
After the teams had partaken of tea they returned to discover the rain falling ever increasingly heavier and it took a further half an hour for the umpires to determine that conditions had deteriorated enough to abandon the match meaning that the teams share one point each. Five of the Upton cum Kexby batsmen got off to a start only to fall in the teens whilst Luddington's bowlers shared the wickets around with Graham Clark , Barry O'Brien and Arron Curry picking up two each and Danny Taylor 3 for 11 from his four overs but in the end the weather was the winner, leaving Kexby to look forward to a home match against Normanby Park and Luddington a top of the table clash at Misterton 2nds on Sunday.

ISLEONIANS WITHDRAW

By Glen Sands

DIVISION ONE
None of the three scheduled fixtures produced a positive result in the North Lindsey League Division One on July 17th as the inclement weather saw three abandonments across the county. Leaders Caistor Cougars inserted Appleby Frodingham 3rds at Brumby Hall with the Steelmen making 155 for 5 thanks to Kieren Watson's 32 , Jack Dixon's 31 and Mick Bramley's 27 not out then the Cougars reached 20 for 1 when the rain forced the players off and it was a similar story at Barton where second placed Grimsby made 168 due in the most part to Steve Crossley who hit 63 before the Vikings replied with 109 for 4 , then came the rain. Cleethorpes 5ths v Scunthorpe 4ths was postponed without a ball being bowled.

DIVISION TWO
Just one game in Division Two and it brought a 23 runs victory for Barton 4ths at Haxey 3rds , Nathan Jones scoring 25 as Barton made 120 , Oliver Tonks picking up three wickets for the Isle side who were then bowled out for 97 Lucas Waller taking 5 for 22 for the visitors.

DIVISION THREE
With the record of Isleonians being expunged following their withdrawal from the league Misterton 2nds have benefited as their rivals were deducted the points gained against them and they benefited again as the weather interupted two of the three remaining Third Division matches. Everton 3rds did manage to pick up three points when beating Bottesford by 132 runs , posting a total of 163 all out thanks to 65 from Chambers and 32 not out from Rehman who then took an incredible 9 for 6 as Bottesford were bowled out for just 31 , Rehman missing out on the fabled 10 wicket haul by just one wicket. Luddington bowled Upton cum Kexby out for 84 thanks chiefly to Danny Taylor who took 3 for 11 although the innings was memorable for a quite stunning one handed catch by veteran Ludd stalwart Barry O'Brien , then the rain fell to prevent any further action and finally Broughton 4ths were thwarted by the weather at Normanby Park where Matt Hammond hit 63 as they set a target of 148 for 8 and they were going well having reduced Normanby to 25 for 4 when the wet stuff ended their hopes.

DIVISION ONE
APP FROD 3RDS v CAISTOR COUGARS - Abandoned due to rain
App Frod : 155 for 5 ( K Watson 32 ; J Dixon 31 ; M Bramley 27 no )
Cougars : 20 for 1
RESULT : App Frod 3rds 1 pt Caistor Cougars 1 pt

BARTON ACADAMY VIKINGS v GRIMSBY TOWN 3RDS - Abandoned due to rain
Grimsby : 168 all out ( S Crossley 63 )
Vikings : 109 for 4
RESULT : Barton Acadamy Vikings 1 pt Grimsby Town 3rds 1 pt

CLEETHORPES 5THS v SCUNTHORPE 4THS - Postponed due to rain

RESULT : Cleethorpes 5ths 1 pt Scunthorpe 4ths 1 pt

DIVISION TWO
HAXEY 3RDS v BARTON TOWN 4THS
Barton : 120 all out ( N Jones 25 )
Haxey : 97 all out L Waller 5 for 22
RESULT : Barton Town 4ths win by 23 runs

DIVISION THREE
BOTTESFORD v EVERTON 3RDS
Everton : 163 all out ( R Chambers 65 ; G Rehman 32 no ) J Danson 5 for 59
Bottesford : 31 all out G Rehman 9 for 6
RESULT : Everton 3rds win by 132 runs

NORMANBY PARK v BROUGHTON 4THS - Abandoned due to rain
Broughton : 148 for 8 ( M Hammond 63 )
N Park : 25 for 4
RESULT : Normanby Park 1 pt Broughton 4ths 1 pt

UPTON cum KEXBY v LUDDINGTON - Abandoned due to rain
U + Kexby : 84 all out D Taylor 3 for 11

RESULT : Upton cum Kexby 1 pt Luddington 1 pt

Fixtures
Sun July 24th
Division One
App Frodingham 3rds v Scunthorpe 4ths
Messingham 3rds v Cleethorpes 5ths

Division Two
Haxey 3rds v Alkborough 3rds
Outcasts 3rds v Barton Town 4ths
Wheatley & Leverton v Hibaldtow 2nds

Division Three
Broughton 4ths v Everton 3rds
Misterton 2nds v Luddington
Upton cum Kexby v Normanby Park


DIVISION ONE
PLAYED WON LOST NO RES TIED TOTAL
1. CAISTOR COUGARS 8 5 1 2 0 17
2. GRIMSBY TOWN 3RDS 7 4 1 2 0 14
3. APP FRODINGHAM 3RDS 7 3 1 3 0 12
4. MESSINGHAM 3RDS 7 4 3 0 0 11
5. CLEETHORPES 5THS 8 2 5 1 0 6
6. BARTON ACADAMY VIKINGS 8 2 5 1 0 5
7. SCUNTHORPE 4THS 7 1 5 1 0 4

DIVISION TWO
1. OUTCASTS 3RDS 8 6 1 1 0 19
2. ALKBOROUGH 3RDS 7 4 2 1 0 13
3. BROUGHTON 3RDS 8 4 3 1 0 13
4. HAXEY 3RDS 8 3 4 1 0 10
5. HIBALDSTOW 2NDS 8 3 5 0 0 9
6. WHEATLEY & LEVERTON 6 2 3 1 0 7
7. BARTON TOWN 4THS 9 2 6 1 0 6

DIVISION THREE
1. MISTERTON 2NDS 8 5 1 2 0 17
2. EVERTON 3RDS 7 4 3 0 0 12
3. LUDDINGTON 8 3 2 3 0 12
4. BROUGHTON 4THS 8 3 3 2 0 11
5. UPTON cum KEXBY 7 3 3 1 0 10
6. NORMANBY PARK 6 1 3 2 0 5
7. BOTTESFORD 8 1 5 2 0 5


DIVISION ONE
CLEETHORPES 5THS DEDUCTED 1 PT FOR NON FULFILLMENT OF FIXTURE
BARTON ACADAMY VIKINGS DEDUCTED TWO POINTS FOR NON FILFILLMENT OF FIXTURES ON TWO OCCASIONS
MESSINGHAM 3RDS DEDUCTED 1 PT FOR NON FULFILLMENT OF FIXTURE

DIVISION TWO
BARTON TOWN 4THS DEDUCTED 1 PT FOR NON FULFILLMENT OF FIXTURE

DIVISION THREE
ISLEONIANS RECORD EXPUNGED AS THEY WITHDREW FROM LEAGUE

NEW LEADERS

With every Saturday match washed out, the sole South Lincolnshire & Border League match to be completed was played on the following day when Moulton Harrox Sunday beat Claypole by eight wickets after bowling the Newark side out for 105.
Jack Barnett hit an unbeaten 72 for Moulton to give them the lead in Division Three, three points ahead of North Luffenham.

WASHOUT FOR E.C.B. BOYS

For the first time this season, every game in the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League was cancelled without a ball being bowled.
Woodhall Spa was the only ground where at one stage the fixture looked likely to get underway but a downpour just as play was due to begin put paid to the match.
There was no play in the Lincolnshire County Cricket League, where 20 games were scheduled.

DISMAL DAY IN PROSPECT

The Lincolnshire County Cricket League programme is expected to be hit hard by today's bad weather.
First to be called off was the division one clash at London Road between Louth 2nds and Messingham 2nds.
We will add other cancellations on Lincs Cricket Latest, as they become known.
For the benefit of those readers unfamiliar with the Lincs League, no re-arrangement of cancelled games is permitted, five points being awarded to each side.

CALLED OFF (IN ORDER OF NOTIFICATION TO THE LEAGUE)
Louth 2nds v Messingham 2nds, division one.
Morton v Scunthorpe Town 3rds, division four.
Keelby v Owmby, division two.
Cherry Willingham 2nds v Old Lincolnians (at Christ Hospital School) division three.
Holton-le-Clay v Grimsby Town 2nds division one.
Horncastle v Haxey, premier division.
Cleethorpes 2nds v Caistor, premier division.
Cleethorpes 4ths v South Kelsey 2nds, division three.
Haxey 2nds v Nettleham 2nds, division two.
Outcasts 2nds v Barton Town 2nds, division three.
Alford v Scunthorpe Town, premier division.
Alford v Scunthorpe Town, division two.
Caistor 2nds v Market Rasen, divisiont two.
Scunthorpe Town 2nds v Immingham Blossom Way, division three.
Hartsholme 2nds v Stamford Homes, division two.

LUDD SHOW BETTER FORM

By Glen Sands

Luddington produced a much better performance than their showing at Hensall a week earlier resulting in a well earned victory over an under strength Goole Town who had lifted the Snaith League Shield earlier in the week.
Skipper Andy Lawson won the toss and chose to bat first with the in form Clark brothers taking to the field but their partnership did'nt last long as Darren was run out for eight in only the second over. Lawson joined Graham Clark and they took the total to fifty in no time , aided by some lax Goole fielding that saw three catches go down. Clark had reached 13 when he was bowled by Mark Graves which meant Scott Buttrick joined his skipper and they went on to move the total to 96 with some excellent shots , Lawson as ever using his great timing and power to devastating effect. He had reached 46 when he was bowled by the lively Mark Spetch and Oliver Coulman went in the same over , trapped LBW to leave the Isle side on 96 for 4. Danny Taylor and Buttrick then took centre stage , taking the Luddington total to 146 for 4 from their allotted overs , Buttrick finishing with a well constructed 35 not out and Taylor 19 against their championship chasing rivals.
Youngsters Ben Earl and Mark Spetch opened for Goole with some urgency , testing the Ludd fielders with some sharpe running between the wickets but Ludd had two in form bowlers and they both played their part as Goole began to fall behind the required run rate. Jonathan Wroot and Graeme Fletcher both bowled tightly early in the innings and it was Wroot who took the first wicket when bowling Earl for seven. Ashton Nottingham was next to the crease but he had only reached five when Wroot bowled him too leaving Goole on 31 for 2 but opener Spetch was still at the crease and once joined by Ben Lewis things looked back on track until Spetch was out to a terrific delivery from Graham Clark who along with Wroot is in fearsome form with the ball. Oscar Sugden was then caught by wicket keeper Oliver Coulman off Clark for four and Louis Sugden was quickly back in the hutch , caught by Lawson again off Clark and the writing was by now very much on the wall. Clark went on to pick up an impressive 4 for 13 from his four overs whilst Liam McAnaney took a wicket in his first over and when Ray Coates was run out the Goole reply was extiguished at 69 all out and with it any hopes of reaching the top of the Snaith League Division One table.
So Luddington found some better form to see off a very good young Goole team but they will now have to wait until July 28th before they take to the field again when they travel to Sykehouse , then they will bring their season to a close on August 4th with an away game at Fishlake.

The First Division has been adjusted following withdrawal of Drax Village.

DIVISION ONE
PLAYED WON LOST NO RES TIED TOTAL
1. ASKERN WELFARE 8 6 0 2 0 20
2. FISHLAKE 8 5 2 1 0 16
3. GOOLE TOWN 9 5 3 1 0 16
4. LUDDINGTON 8 2 3 3 0 9
5. HENSALL 9 2 7 0 0 6
6. SYKEHOUSE 8 1 6 1 0 6


DIVISION TWO
1. HIRST COURTNEY 12 7 5 0 0 21
2. POLLINGTON 12 6 6 0 0 18
3. AIRMYN 12 5 5 2 0 17
4. BURN 12 5 6 1 0 16
5. CARLTON TOWERS 11 5 4 2 0 15
6. GOOLE FIREMEN 11 4 6 1 0 13

DIVISION THREE
1. HOWDEN 9 7 0 2 0 23
2. OUTCASTS 10 7 1 2 0 23
3. EGGBOROUGH 10 4 6 0 0 12
4. THORNE COLLIERY 10 2 7 1 0 7
5. DRAX VILLAGE 2NDS 9 1 7 1 0 4

COUNTY GAME AT ALKBOROUGH

Lincolnshire Over-60s meet their opposite numbers from Yorkshire at West Halton Lane, Alkborough, on Tuesday, starting at 1.30pm. Spectators welcome.
As we are umpiring there on Saturday we hope to come back with a bit more detail. The Lincolnshire line-up, etc.

LINCS MINOR COUNTIES GAME AT CLEETHORPES

By Chris Keywood

Lincolnshire’s third Championship match of the season took them to March to play Cambridgeshire. With Vikram Atri and Conrad Louth unavailable due to work commitments and Carl Taylor still injured, Jim Morgan, Liam Andrews and Aaron Onyon took their place. On a warm sunny day Lincolnshire won the toss and elected to bat. Dan Birch and Jim Morgan opened the innings. Birch fell early and Morgan and Bansal took the score to 73 before Bansal was stumped for 23. Matt Dowman followed soon after and at 92 for 3 Lincolnshire needed to consolidate. After reaching lunch at 108 for 3 Morgan and Cook pressed ahead with Morgan reaching his maiden county century in the 66th over. By tea Lincolnshire were 275 for 3 and in a dominant position. After tea Lincolnshire suffered a disastrous collapse losing their last 7 wickets for only 31 runs, being all out for 307 in the 87th over, Morgan making 120 and Cook 100. Lincolnshire took 3 batting points and Cambridgeshire 4 bowling points. Cambridgeshire were soon in trouble being 5 for 2, 33 for 4 and closing on 50 for 7, Adam Shepherd taking 6 for 13, giving Lincolnshire 3 precious bowling points.
From their overnight 50 for 7 Cambridgeshire progressed steadily to 89 without further loss whereupon two further wickets fell. Still requiring 69 to save the follow-on, this looked beyond them. This was not to be as Lewis Bruce with 53 not out and James Smith with 39 added 101 thereby establishing a new tenth wicket record for Cambridgeshire. The hosts’ final total of 190 was however still 117 short of Lincolnshire’s first innings total.
Lincolnshire scored steadily in their second innings and reached 28 for 0 by lunch. Birch was dismissed immediately after lunch and thereupon wickets fell at regular intervals. Only first innings centurions Jim Morgan and Paul Cook mastered the bowling, making 68 and 48 respectively. The innings finally folded for 188 in the 62nd over. Cambridgeshire therefore needed 306 to win and by close had reached 58 for 0 in the 18 overs to close of play.
Cambridgeshire started day three needing a further 248 for victory with a minimum of 102 overs to play. Barring weather delays a clear result was a certainty. Cambridgeshire gradually built up their score whilst periodically Lincolnshire took a wicket. At lunch the game was finely balanced and at 212 for 6 Lincolnshire looked favourites. However a captain’s innings of 55 not out by Paul McMahon well supported by Nick Ferraby with 46 and with three other players making 30 or more Cambridgeshire reached their target shortly after tea for the loss of seven wickets. For Lincolnshire Alex Osmond and Liam Andrews both bowled lengthy spells each returning figures of three for 64
Lincolnshire took 7 points and Cambridgeshire 21. Lincolnshire were dominant at the end of day 1 and at that time it was inconceivable that they could lose. That they did so was a severe blow to their title aspirations.
Their next three-day match is at Cleethorpes against Hertfordshire starting on Sunday, 24 July, when they need to make a swift return to winning ways.

PRIOR TO THAT...
Reigning Minor Counties Eastern Division champions, Lincolnshire, visited Northumberland for their second Championship match of the season. The match was played at the picturesque ground of Swalwell Cricket Club near Newcastle, the first ever Minor Counties match to be played there.
Northumberland won the toss and asked Lincolnshire to bat first. Dan Birch and Vikram Atri made a steady start and just prior to lunch had advanced the score to 115 when Birch was adjudged LBW for 66. This prompted a minor collapse to 118 for 4 by the lunch break. Further wickets continued to fall after lunch once Atri had departed for 47 and Lincolnshire subsided to 160 all out in the fifty first over. Richard Waite with 5 for 38 was the home side’s most successful bowler.
Like Lincolnshire, Northumberland made a steady start and reached 88 before their first wicket fell. They continued to progress and passed the Lincolnshire total with only 4 wickets down. However on approaching 200 they suffered a similar collapse to Lincs and lost their last 5 wickets for 16 runs being all out for 215. Adam Shepherd with 4 for 45, including 3 wickets in 4 balls, was Lincolnshire’s most successful bowler.
Facing a first innings deficit of 55, Lincolnshire began their second innings on the back foot and at 57 for 4 were only two runs ahead. It was at this stage that captain Paul Cook played the innings of the match making 90 out of a final total of 209. Michael Craigs for Northumberland took 6 for 54 to be their most successful bowler.
Set 155 to win and plenty of time to do it in, Northumberland made a disastrous start as the Lincs bowlers tore into their upper order. By the close of play on day 2 they were 51 for 5, Adam Shepherd having taken 4 for 23.
The third day dawned with Northumberland requiring a further 104 runs to win with 5 wickets in hand. Once Brett Houston had made the initial breakthrough the game was over in less than an hour and half, Northumberland being bowled out for 122, leaving Lincolnshire winners by 32 runs. Adam Shepherd finished with 7 for 45 to give him match analysis of 11 for 90.
This was a fine bowling and fielding performance by Lincs and the 20 points they secured took them to top spot in the Eastern Division.

IN-FORM DUO GO HEAD TO HEAD

By Ann Boulton

The league’s top run-scorer faces the leading wicket-taker as Hartsholme visit Grimsby in the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League on Saturday. And at the Mayflower Ground, second plays fourth as Boston take on Market Deeping.
Grimsby are on equal points with Deeping while their Lincoln opponents are steadily climbing the table and know that one win could propel them into the top six. Batsman Warren Nel, with more than 600 runs to his name, could be the key to victory but spinner George Linde, who has taken 45 wickets so far, is proving a handful for the league’s batsmen.
Boston and Deeping should produce a high scoring game, with both sides having big hitting openers and it could be a similar story at Skegness where the visitors are Bracebridge Heath, both having rattled up some big totals this season.
Sleaford, also making progress up the league after a shaky start, travel to near neighbours Bourne who are two places but only 11 points ahead while at Jubilee Park, fifth placed Louth face Woodhall Spa, now with overseas player Fawad Alam in the side.
Back in Lincoln, Nettleham will be fighting hard for their first win of the season when they entertain 10th placed Lindum whose batting form has been erratic in recent weeks.

SATURDAY
(12.30 start)
Boston v Market Deeping
Bourne v Sleaford
Grimsby v Hartsholme
Nettleham v Lindum
Skegness v Bracebridge Heath
Woodhall Spa v Louth

UNDEFEATED AT HALFWAY STAGE

By Phil Burrell, Chairman

At the halfway stage of the season Skegness CC remain undefeated in the Cojos East Lindsey Cricket League Division 1. They have won all 7 of the games they have played. Captain Sean Chamberlain leads the bowling in Division 1 with 21 wickets. Chris King of Graves Park CC currently tops the batting with 289 runs.
In Division 2 Freiston Leake and Leverton CC have only lost once to top the table with Holton le Clay CC and Brocklesby Park CC neck and neck for 2nd place. Leading run scorer in Division 2 is Sunil Panjwani of Freiston with 233 and top of the wickets is Hainton CC skipper Dean Richards with 17. As we enter into the second half of the season all is to play for a 2 teams will be relegated and 2 promoted which should lead to very few dead rubber matches.
Full results and table can be found at www.elcl.co.uk

BAT-BREAKING EFFORT PAYS OFF IN FINAL

From Phil Burrell, ELCL Chairman

The East Lindsey Cricket League held their first ever T20 Finals Day on Sunday at Woodhall Spa CC.
The first semi final got under way at 10.45 am with hosts and Northern Group winners Woodhall Spa CC taking on Southern runners up Alford CC. Woodhall won the toss and chose to bat first, having reached 86 for no loss in the 8th over a large total loomed, however Sam Evison was first to go for 28, wickets then fell at regular intervals and when Jack Luffman was dismissed for 57 Woodhall were 110 for 4, having reached 124 for 4 they then collapsed to 130 all out with Tom White taking 4 for 21 off his 4 overs and Ross Dixon 3 for 2 off 1.1. Alford began their chase in positive fashion as Glyn James and Andrew White played some aggressive shots, wickets fell regularly but at 97 for 5 with 10 overs remaining Alford appeared to have it in the bag, but when Ross Dixon fell for 27 off the bowling of Rob Bee (4-0-30-3) Alford too collapsed. They went into the final over needing only 5 runs for victory, however they managed to grab defeat from the jaws of victory as Sam Evison bowled his solitary over for only 2 runs and picking up 1 wicket as Woodhall won by 2 runs.
The second semi final was not so close, as Southern winners Skegness CC and Northern runners up Tetford CC did battle, a very strong Skegness side batted first and after losing both openers with only 32 on the board proceeded to smash 253 for 5 off their 20 overs, Wade Mcall (83) and Tony Santini (87) adding 123 for the 3rd wicket in rapid time as Santini cleared the ropes 9 times, Australian Lochlan Christian added a quickfire 38 at the end of the innings, Tom Baxter (4-0-37-2) being Tetford most successful bowler. Tetford began positively in their approach and their run rate was good all the way through at 7.5 runs per over, a rate on any other day would have seen them succeed. Despite 43 from Richard Dixon and 34 from Joe Smith they finished on 148 for 9 but credit must be given for the spirited way they went about their chase and not once did any heads drop. Tony Santini backed up his batting display with 3 for 9 off 2 overs.
During the second game we also had the pleasure of several fly pasts from a Lancaster bomber, Spitfire, Hurricane and a Dakota – umpire John Tuck assured me he had secured their services for his wife’s birthday which was that day!
So to the final, a game which at the start promised so much, as Skegness scored at a much subdued rate, this time opening batsman Pete Houghton plays some excellent shots to make 42, backed up again by Wade Mcall (33) and Tony Santini (21) but the game changed when Lochlan Christian hit a rapid 68 including 7 maximums and also breaking his bat in two during the process! Skegness posted 213 for 6, a score which at one stage looked like would only reach 160-ish, Jack Luffman (4-0-31-3) was the pick of Woodhall’s bowlers. In true Woodhall were never in the hunt, and the final was a bit of an anticlimax as they lost regular wickets and couldn’t get no way near the required run rate, they eventually crept to 101 for 8 off their 20 overs with Tom Cushen (19 not out) top scoring, 16 year old Dan Nuttal claimed 4 for 16 off his 3 overs as Skegness triumphed by 112 runs and were crowned T20 champions 2011.
A massive thanks to Ivor Bee who despite worrying that the track might not be up to Woodhall standards produced a fantastic wicket which yielded 976 runs and 47 wickets from 119.1 overs of cricket.
The umpires for the day were excellent, so a big thanks to Gary Dawson, John Tuck and Paul Maidment.
Vice President Wilf Petit presented the trophies to the winner team and the runner’s up. A great day was had by all and the spirit shown by all the teams was fantastic.

NF adds: Chairman Phil plans to send us a league update later in the week, for which many thanks, sir!

MEGGIES WIN IN SCUNTHORPE

Omesh destroys Jack Forrester's stumps.

REPORT AND PICTURES FROM GRAHAM HACKNEY

Cleethorpes 1st X1's fine Yorkshire League campaign continued with a hard fought 30-run win away at Appleby-Frodingham on Saturday.
Unlike the week previous when they had completed an easy cup win at Frodingham, Cleethorpes were pushed all the way by a young Scunthorpe outfit with the result always in doubt until Sri Lankan’s Omesh Wijesiriwardana’s late burst. It came as no surprise that after winning the toss Frod Skipper Matt Morland chose to insert Cleethorpes on a dry wicket expected to play low. Cleethorpes openers Bill Kirby and Rory Osmond made a methodical start helped by Hilton’s first delivery going for five wides. Eventually Kirby upped the tempo with successive boundaries off Watson and the pair eased to 50 in the 17th over. A half an hour rain break did not help the momentum with both batsmen having to start afresh. Osmond had been given two lives after being put down at slip and more easily by the keeper. They had taken the score to 80 in the 30th over when Kirby, attempting to clear mid off only succeeded in finding him to depart for a patient 39 in 104 balls. Osmond followed with the score on 103 when he failed to beat Handley’s direct throw went sent back by Alex Osmond. His 42-run effort had taken 90 balls and had included six boundaries. Cleethorpes appeared in trouble when Alex Osmond fell to a superb diving catch by Day at mid on having made only nine. With overs slipping away, James Windeatt joined skipper Charlie Tomlinson in what would be a decisive stand. Both players immediately went on the counter attack with some massive shots. Windeatt added 32 in 31 balls smashing two giant sixes while Tomlinson hit 34 in just 29 balls with two maximum’s. The pair added 64 in just 50 balls as the balance swung back Cleethorpes’ way. Pickersgill was taken for 31 runs in just four overs forcing a change in the attack. With the score on 182 though Cleethorpes were to lose both big hitters to successive balls. Windeatt departed attempting to run the ball down to third man and edged behind before the first ball of the following over brought Tomlinson’s demise. Leg spinner Fowler found both bounce and turn to induce an edge which keeper Powell gobbled up. Callum Robinson and Paul Sunley then 27 before Robinson (14) was run out going for a suicidal second while Omesh’s poor run of form with the bat continued as he tamely mishit to cover off his first ball. Sunley (19) and Clewett (5) both departed to Hilton in the final over as Cleethorpes closed on a modest 224-9 in their 55 overs.
Frodingham’s reply got off to a blistering start as Morland punished some wayward bowling by Omesh. Driving repeatedly through the covers Morland and Duncan Heath raced to fifty in just nine overs forcing Tomlinson to turn to spin as both Alex Osmond and Harry Clewett were quickly introduced. The move worked immediately with Heath (18) holing Osmond out to the safe hands of Clewett mid off as the breakthrough came with the score on 61. Morland continued to play his shots despite losing Handley (9) as Osmond benefitted from a dubious leg before decision. With Pickersgill eating up the strike Cleethorpes were at last able to apply some pressure as the rate finally began to rise. Morland passed his half century in 52 balls but fell tamely to Clewett having reached 62 when clipping the spinner to Kirby who pounced at midwicket to take a sharp catch. Pickersgill (18) soon followed as his desperate charge at Osmond presented Windeatt with a routine stumping. Day chipped Osmond to Kirby and when Watson (11) and Powell (0) both fell to Osmond in quick succession Frod had slipped to 163-7. Osmond had taken six wickets for the second successive Saturday to underline his importance within the Cleethorpes attack. Tomlinson opted to bring back Omesh to wrap up the tail and despite some lusty blows from Fowler and Hilton the innings soon subsided. He knocked over Hilton and Forrestor’s stumps with back to back deliveries and trapped Fowler lbw to complete the win. Fowler’s brave innings of 44 completed a fine all round display to go with his four wicket haul. Omesh finished with 3/58 in 12 overs while Osmond recorded superb figures of 6/67 in 19 overs. Clewett’s 1/20 in nine overs had put the brake on the innings. Cleethorpes win keeps them in third place in the league tucked in behind second placed Rotherham and leaders York.


Alex Osmond produced a fine spell of leg spin.

Rory Osmond drives through the covers on the way to 42 at App-Frod.

KEELBY FIRST TEAMERS - LINCS LEAGUE DIV 2

Keelby pictured before their game at Market Rasen on Saturday. From the left(rear) Matt Bevis, Andy Bagnall, Danny Bevis, Jamie Charlton, Chris Charlton, and Paul Fytche. Front- Sanjay Chauhan, Stephen Skipworth, Graham Avison (capt), Gary Spencer and Richard McLellen.
PICTURE BY PETER THOMPSON, RURAL NEWS, CAISTOR.

KELSEY'S CUP BATTLERS

By Peter Thompson - Rural News

After an easy win over Normanby Park in the opening round South Kelsey Cricket Club entertained Shipston-on-Stour in the area final of the National Knockout Village Competition at the Nettleton Mines ground, Holton-le-Moor.
The Stratford on Avon area side hit 248-8. Pick of the home bowlers was Marcus Meadows with 4-33, closely followed by Connor Hawkins with 2-41. Hawkins top scored for Kelsey with 51 as the hosts were all out for a respectable 174. The visitors won the tie to progress to the area final in a game which was played in an good spirit.
On their web site Shipston reported: "The home side were fine hosts and provided an excellent bbq and a beer or two, for which Shipston players and supporters alike were most appreciative."

BRACEBRIDGE WIN AGAIN

Report and photos from the Winkworth Cup final by Ann Boulton

The victorious Bracebridge Heath team.


Paul Cook receives the trophy from Martin Thompson, of Winkworth.

Tim Norris collects his Man of the Match award from Martin Thompson, of Winkworth.


Just one run separated the contestants at the end of the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League Winkworth Cup final, but it was Bracebridge Heath who carried off the trophy for the second successive year.
In a repeat of last year’s final, the current league leaders played Boston, who are also well in the hunt for honours and the teams produced one of the best finals seen since the league introduced the 20/20 format.
Bracebridge had a bye in the semi-final following the withdrawal of Grimsby, while Boston won through at the expense of Lindum who were out for 117, chasing a total of 150.
Going into the final, Bracebridge won the toss and elected to bat but faced some tight bowling and fielding from the Boston side which brought the wicket of Vikram Atri in Colin Cheer’s first over.
When Paul Cook was caught off Paul Deans’ first ball, the score was 40 for two but Karanjit Bansal and Nick John (26) added 80 and when Bansal fell to Tom Baxter for a well-crafted 53, the total had reached 126 for four.
Jason Scheepers and James Wright also contributed as Bracebridge finished on 163 for seven, Scott Elleray and Baxter each taking two wickets.
Boston looked favourites from the start as Jonathan Cheer and Tim Norris put on 26 for the first wicket and Norris and David Sargeant added a further 70. Norris made an excellent 61, taking Boston to 116 for three and Elleray and Josh Newton saw the total to 149 for five.
With four overs to go, Boston needed just 22 runs for victory with wickets in hand but Bracebridge kept up the pressure and going into the final over, nine were needed. But Jonathan Darke kept his head, restricting the batsmen and taking a wicket on his fifth ball.
This left new batsman Luke Gilding with the unenviable task of hitting a four to win off the last ball but the batsmen could only run two and the trophy was Bracebridge’s.
Norris’s innings and his fielding earned him the man of the match award, presented by Martin Thompson, Director of cup sponsors Winkworth.
Full scorecard can be found on http://lcbpl.play-cricket.com/scoreboard/scorecard.asp?id=11334615