APP-FROD 2NDS v OUTCASTS - LINCS LEAGUE DIV ONE

MATCH REPORT BY GLEN SANDS

Having lost the toss at Brumby Hall to Appleby Frodingham skipper Vinny Grimes on a cool and cloudy afternoon , then finding themselves struggling at 56 for 6 , Outcasts first eleven could'nt have thought in their wildest dreams that they would post a total of 202 for 9 in their 45 overs allocation which enabled them to go on to win by over 100 runs !It was looking grim as David Hobson ( 5 ) , John Stokoe ( 9 ) , Andrew Lawson ( 5 ) and Peter Tait ( 0 ) had all failed to reach double figures , Mohamed Ayub doing the bulk of the damage when taking three of those wickets , then promising opener Darren Clark picked out Paul Taylor in the deep off New Zealand youngster Chris Groenink having scored 22 and the Isle side were staring down the barrel of a second straight defeat. Captain Richard Wroot , in at number seven , became Groenink's second wicket when lifting a catch straight to Simon Leek which left the total on 56 for 6 but as the " woeful Outcasts " headlines were being prepared Matthew Teal strode to the crease to join his former Garthorpe buddy Scott Buttrick and steadily the tide began to turn as initially they consolidated the innings then began to play more freely. Both began to find the gaps in the field as the weather also became a little brighter , although there was still a chilly breeze cutting across the ground , then as the home attack tired they both took advantage with an array of outstanding shots. Teal in particular was timing the ball sweetly and he brought up a 44 ball half century as the visitors total stretched toward 150. Having reached 55 and on the brink of breaking a 46 year seventh wicket stand record of 97 with Buttrick Teal was surprisingly out , caught by Simon Leek off Jack Harrison , leaving the Garthorpe boys three short of said record. Buttrick continued to bat superbly , setting his sights on a half century of his own and a 200 plus total and along with Tom Sharpe they continued to press on. Buttrick's deseved half century duely arrived , then Sharpe was bowled for 12 by Harrison which brought vice captain Liam McAnaney to the crease. He had reached six when he was yorked by Simon Leek but Graeme Fletcher went out to join the increasingly dominant Buttrick to take the final total to 202 for 9 , Buttrick ending on a superb 66 not out and Fletcher on three. Mohamed Ayub picked up the most wickets for the Steelmen , taking 3 for 56 whilst there were two wickets each for Simon Leek , Chris Groenink and Jack Harrison.
For them to have any hope of chasing down such a formidable target Frod needed to get off to a good start but sadly for them it was the complete opposite as Graeme Fletcher had Simon Taylor caught by that man Buttrick without troubling the scorers and Jack Harrison was bowled by Matthew Teal first ball in the second over leaving their innings in tatters on 4 for 2 from just eight deliveries ! Chris Groenink hit a boundary then succumbed to the deadly accurate Teal as the third wicket fell at eight which meant home skipper Vinny Grimes then joined opener Mohamed Ayub to try and repair their innings. The score had reached 35 when Liam McAnaney bowled Ayub for 23 which brought Vinny's son Alex to the crease to join his dad. However the total remained on 35 when dad Vinny drove to mid off and called for a run only to find himself stranded half way down the pitch as Alex turned the run down leaving Darren Clark to throw to Richard Wroot who whipped off the bails to send poor Vinny back to the pavilion having scored just six and making for a likely awkward silence in the car journey home later in the evening !  Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals from then on , particularly when Tom Sharpe was introduced to bowl his spin. Matthew Teal had young Alex caught behind by Richard Wroot for four then Paul and John Taylor put together a stand of sixteen before Paul was superbly caught by a diving Graeme Fletcher in the deep off Sharpe for ten. Liam Grimes was next to go as finally the sun began to shine , then Richard Wroot stumped Aiden Boucher to pick up his third victim of the innings , Boucher who was later  deservedly judged to be Frods fielder of the match.  Sharpe then wrapped things up when the defient Paul Taylor was caught by that man Buttrick again , leaving the final total on 99 , a deficit of 103 runs !  Matthew Teal finished with figures of 3 for 20 from eleven overs to add to his half century  and Tom Sharpe picked up 4 for 15 from 5.3 overs as the Isle side wrapped up a full 20 points haul that looked no more than a pipe dream when they stood at 56 for 6 in their innings !!  Next up is a trip to take on Holton le Clay whilst Frod will look to bounce back when they entertain Messingham 2nds at Brumby Hall on May 18th.
It turned out to be a splendid day for Outcasts as their second eleven picked up their first win of the 2013 season.by beating South Kelsey at Hirst Priory. In a game kindly sponsored by Tobi Potato Merchants Kelsey were bowled out for 105 as skipper Jason Whiteley took 3 for 21 whilst Matthew Mellers picked up 2 for 17 , Craig McAnaney 2 for 11 and Josh Bramhill 2 for 22, Ben Brown top scoring for the visitors with 22 , aided in the middle order by Rob Denniss who hit 18 but it was'nt plain sailing for the Priorymen who lost six wickets in reaching their target despite an excellent opening stand of 47 from Anthony Fitzgerald ( 22 ) and James Glew who went on to score 37 valuable runs. Matt Burgess was doing his best to scupper the Outcasts innings as he took 5 for 26 but old hand Andy Torr , in his first game of the season , guided his team home to a four wicket victory , ending on 32 not out. Next up for the seconds is a potentially tough home game with Old Lincolnians whilst South Kelsey make the short trip to Caistor where they will be hoping to pick up their first win of the campaign.