CRACKING FINAL GREAT ADVERT FOR LINCS LEAGUE

By Glen Sands

Outcasts 2nds held their nerve to lift the Bob Welton Cup at Alborough against a valiant Broughton 2nds side who fought every step of the way in what was a terrific if at times very tense Final.
Outcasts batted first and made a cautious start in the face of some tight bowling from Tom Brock and Shaun Clark. Charlie Mason eventually began to press the accelorator , hitting four boundaries in his score of 21 before he was firs to go , caught by Nick Crawford at mid on off Clark with the total on 30 which saw the in form Scott Buttrick join Anthony Fitzgerald in the middle. They took the total to 56 then Fitzgerald , who was just beginning to pick up the pace , was bowled by Jack Suiddall for 20. Buttrick was certainly considered a prized scalp by Broughton and they celebrated joyously when he was bowled by Siddall for just eight with the total on 65 , then youngster Josh Bramhill was run out by a direct throw at the stumps for three and the Isle side were reeling at 68 for 4. Skipper Ian Fletcher and his son Mark then steadied the ship , taking the score up to 93 despite the continued excellent bowling of Siddall , Clark , Brock and Andy Hillyard , then Ian was bowled by Jake Parker who kept up the tight bowling as Broughton picked up their fifth wicket. Brett Smith failed to trouble the scorers , bowled by Shaun Clark to make it 95 for 6 then Alex Fletcher joined his brother Mark to take the Outcasts total past the hundred as the overs began to dwindle away. Mark was eventually out for a valuable 18 , caught in the dep by Clark off the slow bowling of Joe Wiley and he picked up a second when trapping Alex LBW with the scoreon 111. Jonathan Wroot made a quickfire six then was the ninth man out , bowled by Wiley and it was left to wicket keeper Andy Colebrook ( 8 not out ) and Graeme Fletcher ( 2 not out ) to take Outcasts to a final total of 132 for 9 , a target that they were happy to reach in the end given the impressive bowling they were up against and the slow nature of the pitch. All of the Broughton bowlers played their part but Joe Wiley finished with the most wickets , 3 for 16 whilst Shaun Clark took 2 for 13 from nine overs and Jack Siddall 2 for 15 , also from nine.

If Outcasts were to lift the trophy they knew they needed to make early in roads into the Broughton top order and they could'nt have wished for a better start as they quickly reduced their opponents to 11 for 4 with some accurate deliveries. Skipper David Jones was first to go , trapped LBW by Jonathan Wroot without scoring then Graeme Fletcher took centre stage as he picked up three wikets in his third over ! He bowled Craig Hall before Hall had got off the mark then pinned the danger man Joe Wiley LBW having been hit for a boundary and he followed that by trapping Nick Crawford LBW with the very next delivery , leaving the Broughton innings in tatters at 11 for 4 and putting him on a hat trick ! Sadly for him it was'nt to be and much to their credit Broughton's Jake Parker and Oliver Reid really dug deep to battle back into contention with some dogged and determined batting. As the sun came out and the Broughton pair grew in confidence thegame swung back in favour of Broughton and at 86 for 4 there was little signs of what was to come but Ian Fletcher pulled off a master stroke when bringing 15 year old spinner Josh Bramhill and it was he who made the important break through when he had Red caught by Alex Fletcher for 36 and suddenly Outcasts were back in the hunt again. Shaun Clark came and went quickly , bowled by Bramhill with a beauty with the score on 94 then Alex Fletcher was brought back on by his dad and he proved to have nerves of steel as he produced a terrific spell that ultimately won his team the match. He bowled Jack Siddall for five when Broughton had reached 107 but Jake Parker was still at the crease and it appeared that he would see them home but young Alex was by now in full flow and he bowled man of the match Parker for 43 when the total stood at 111 with overs slipping away. Tom Brock hit a couple of boudaries to keep the match on a knife edge , then he attempted one hit too many and hoisted a catch to Brett Smith off master Alex and old head Ian Fletcher then brought the pacey Scott Buttrick on and he bowled number eleven Andy Hillyard when Broughton were still six short of the Outcasts total , sparking wild scenes from the Isle players who had looked out of it before fighting back in what was a topsy turvy innings.
So skipper Ian Fletcher lifted the Bob Welton Cup for the first time in eleven years , thanking Alkborough for the use of their excellent facilities , umpires Clff Girling and Pete Hill for their steadfast umpiring and Broughton for a tremendous game. It was a thriller with both teams giving their all in what was a great advert for Lincolnshire League cricket.