Friskney (147) lost to Spalding 2nd (148-7) by 3 wickets
An awesome all-round display from Ansar Hussain helped Spalding 2nd secure their first South Lincs and Border League Division One win of the season on Saturday.
On a pitch offering a bit for both bat and ball with murky overhead conditions, skipper Steve Norris won his third toss in a row and promptly elected to bowl first.
Opening duo Jamie Juckes and Tom Dale and both got the ball to nip off the seam and put Friskney under real pressure.
It paid off, as Dale (3-31) got danger man Rob Grant – who scored over 250 runs against Town last year – for just one.
Undeterred, Mitch Griffiths (66) and Jack Ashton (27) set about increasing the tempo and took the score past 60 before Juckes got the latter with a ripping yorker. Juckes then did exactly the same to Damien Lawson (0) the very next ball.
Despite the wicket spree, the away side were still going at five an over. That changed when spin twins Hussain (2-31) and Jimmy Clarke (1-34) came on.
Hussain got the prized wicket of Griffiths, before Juckes (3-44) and Dale came back to help mop up the innings for 147, despite stubborn resistance from Nick Snell (20).
Mike Kearns (20) and Mick East (7) got Spalding off to a watchful start against some hostile bowling from Ashton before both fell to the pace ace.
The introduction of Hodgson (4-29) then plunged Town into disarray, with Simon Juckes (5), Clarke (2), David Thomas (0) and Jamie Juckes (2) all falling to leave them toiling at 73-6.
But with Hussain still there, Town always stood a chance. Captain Norris joined him and the duo dug in well as they set about racking up the runs and attacking the bad balls.
However, Norris went for 12 with the score on 99 to swing the pendulum back in Friskney’s favour.
However, Dale (19no) joined Hussain (59no) both batted well and just after the latter passed his half century, Town reached their target with three wickets to spare.
Satisfied skipper Norris said: “It was a tough game, Friskney battled very hard and really put us through the wringer.
“Ansar’s innings was a joy to watch. He was very watchful and picked out the bad balls.
“It’s a good feeling to get our first win under the belt and hope we can build on this at Woodlands on Saturday.”
