REPORT OF LINCS LEAGUE TWENTY20 AT LOUTH - 50th ANNIVERSARY TOURNAMENT

BY GLEN SANDS

The Lincolnshire League's  celebration of their  50th Anniversary saw 44 players from clubs across all five divisions come together for a  T20 competition at the excellent location of London Road Louth who were the perfect hosts as everyone enjoyed a fantastic day which saw £140 raised for charity.Chairman Bob Welton had worked tirelessly to put together four teams with temporary secretary Glen Sands and the players gathered at the ground to find out which of the four sponsored teams they were selected for.  Steve King from Haxey CC had sponsored the Royal Kings whilst the Scunthorpe & Lincoln Umpires Association sponsored another , aptly named the Triggers. Free Solars were the third sponsors and finally the Chairman himself had sponsored the fourth team , calling them the Chairman's Cavaliers.
The first game saw The Triggers taking on Royal Kings who batted first , scoring 103 all out thanks chiefly to Owmby's Sam Atkin who hit 24 while Matt Baxter from Alkborough and Jon Stephenson from Market Rasen both hit 18 , Paul Mitchell taking incredible figures of 5 for 9 from just 3.1 overs with Haxey's Andy Steeper picking up 3 for 18 and Normanby Park's Alan Dawson 2 for 18. The Triggers gave a good account of themselves before falling eight runs short of the Royal Kings total , Lewis Gash of Holton le Clay hitting 23 and that man Mitchell 18 with Luke Ford , again from Holton le Clay , taking 2 for 9 and there were three run outs as panic set in.
The second game brought together Bob Welton's Chairmans Cavaliers and Free Solars with the Cavaliers taking first knock , posting a score of 114 for 7 from their 20 overs , Market rasen's Matt Rutherford hitting an impressive 45 aided by Alkborough's Dave Kilgallon ( 16 ) and 12 from both Declan Dunning of Normanby Park and skipper Jeremy Evans of Haxey, Mick Barton from Laportes and Danny Bullock of Haxey both taking  2 for 17. Owmby's Dan Hill was the hero for Free Solars , resplendant in their green shirts , hitting 30 not out as his team reached 115 for 6 in the final over , Dave Papworth of Market Rasen hitting 26 and Outcasts Graham Clark 14 as they squeezed home despite agood spell from Declan Dunning of 2 for 20 from four overs.
The biggest score of the day was scored by the Chairman's Cavaliers in the third game when Appleby Frodingham's Simon Taylor smashed 68 and Matt Rutherford 67in a huge total of 206 for 4 but a sudden deluge meant there was an hour's delay which led to the decision to abandon the Triggers innings so that the morming winners could play the Final to a conclusion.
That Final saw Royal Kings set a target of 151 for 9 thanks in the main to Jon Stephenson who scored 50 and Sam Marshall of Holton le Clay ( 26 ) although 13 year old Market Rasen all rounder Nick Keast produced a splendid cameo with 16 late in the innings , Graham Clark taking 3 for 15 for the Free Solars along with Dan Hill who picked up 2 for 15 and Mick Barton 2 for 29. The Solars reply never really gained momentum as they fell behind the required run rate under tight bowling from Tom White of Alford who took 3 for 15and youngster Keast who claimed 2 for 21 to further enhance his reputation. Skipper Raki Chander Nair from Owmby and Danny Bullock of Haxey top scored with 16 each but it was the Royal Kings who finished comfortable winners before everyone retired to the bar for the raffle and to continue the friendly banter that had made the day such an entertaining affafir.
The Chairman thanked Louth CC for their excellent hospitality throughout the day , and also praised the four umpires , Ralph Gray and Richard Knapton from Scunthorpe Ass and Steve Massingham and Ian Hopkins from Lincoln Ass. The event had taken some organising following the original cancellation due to inclement weather but it was all worth it in the end , a sentiment echoed by everyone that had taken part.

ROYAL KINGS ( dark blue shirts ) :  Sam Atkin ( Owmby ) , Patrick Hughes ( Barton ) , Matt Baxter ( Alkborouh ) , Jon Stephenson ( Market Rasen ) , Sam Marshall ( HLC ) , Nick Keast ( Market Rasen ) , Richard Woodward ( Cleethorpes ) , Tom White ( Alford ) , Gill Singh Palli ( Laportes ) , Luke Ford ( H L C ) , Joe Taylor ( Hibaldstow )

FREE SOLARS ( green shirts )  :  Raki Chander Nair ( Owmby ) , Dave Papworth ( Market Rasen ) , Dan Hill ( Owmby ) , Graham Clark ( Outcasts ) , Mark Nicholson ( Hibaldstow ) , Danny Bullock ( Haxey ) , James Smith ( Alford ) , Andy McDaid ( Normanby Park ) , Kev White ( Alford ) , Steve Skipworth ( Keelby ) , Mick Barton ( Laportes )

CHAIRMAN'S CAVALIERS ( red shirts ) :  Paul Bassingthwaite ( Hartsholme ) , Simon Taylor ( App Frodingham ) , Ben Marris ( Cleethorpes ) , Matt Rutherford ( Market Rasen ) , Clive Coulthurst ( Alkborough ) , Dave Kilgallon ( Alkborough ) , Declan Dunning ( Normanby Park ) , Tom Lattimer ( H L C ) , Jeremy Evans ( Haxey ) , Cameron Farr ( Haxey ) , Andy Severn ( Cleethorpes )

THE TRIGGERS ( sky blue shirts ) : Martin Noble ( Old Lincolnians ) , Dan Tolson ( Barton ) , Luke Allen ( Haxey ) , Paul Mitchell ( Alkborough ) , Lewis Gash ( H L C ) , Alex Czbaniuk ( Normanby Park ) , Tom Taylor ( Hibaldstow ) , Andrew Steeper ( Haxey ) , Liam Hebblewhite ( Alkborough ) , Alan Dawson ( Normanby Park ) , Andy Fisher ( South Kelsey ).