Spalding Town eased to an eight-wicket derby victory at Long Sutton on Saturday to clinch the South Lincs and Border League Premier Division title.
Jon Miles’ 5-27 skittled Sutton out for 109 at Paradise Field, before unbeaten knocks from Jon Manton (32no) and that man Miles (54no) eased Town to 111-2 in less than 20 overs.
The 20-point haul surpassed the 14 Spalding needed to seal top spot with a game to spare – and ensures that they will be playing Lincs ECB Premier Division cricket again next season.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Sutton were unable to post a defendable total.
A host of players got starts with the bat, with Dan Oldfield (21), Raj Sangha (16) and Jake Burton (16) top scoring.
But they lost wickets at regular intervals, thanks to Miles’ five-fer, 3-43 from Brandon Andrews and 2-21 from Joe Broomfield.
In reply, Town never really looked like messing up their run chase despite a rough start. Warren Nel was bowled for just two by Oldfield (2-28), before the same player had Spalding skipper Josh Newton (8) caught by Luke Barnes.
Manton and Miles weren’t in the mood for getting out, though, as both carried their bat for the rest of the innings.
Star man Miles followed up his heroics with the ball by passing 50, while Manton kept him company until the close.
Champions Spalding conclude their campaign at Grantham 2nd this Saturday (1pm), while Sutton finish with a home date against Skegness (also 1pm).
- Amazing figures of 8-6 from Martin Hodgson helped sentence ten-man Moulton Harrox to a heavy 107-run defeat at SLBL Division One champions Graves Park on Saturday.
A 66 from Jack Ashton helped hosts Park reach 165 in their first innings, with Alex Baker (4-31) and John Barnett (4-20) starring for Moulton.
Mike Kearns Snr (20) and Steven Rushworth (10) were the only Harrox men to reach double figures as they were knocked over for 58 in reply, with Hodgson taking all but one of the wickets.
- Chris Dring’s 62 wasn’t enough to stop Spalding Town 2nd (190-9) losing against Market Deeping 2nd (192-4) as Richard Witt starred with a super 72 not out for the hosts.
Jamie Juckes (30) and Harry Decamps (29) also did well with the bat for Town in their season finale, while Matt Sharpe (3-39) impressed with the ball.
- Claypole were crowned this year’s South Lincs and Border League Cup winners after outgunning Long Sutton 2nd in the final on Sunday.
Joe Attewell (67) and Matt Lyon got them off to a flying start with a stand of 201 for the first wicket – and Lyon went on to make a man-of-the-match score of 149 (92 balls) in their mammoth 333-6 in just 40 overs.
Also scoring well down the order for Claypole was Dan Sullivan (32 not out), while Josh Baker (3-67) performed admirably with the ball for Sutton 2nd.
There were wickets for Ed Munson (1-41), Beth Milnes (1-42) and Dan Olfield (1-64).
In reply, Sutton 2nd did manage to bat out all of their 40 overs.
There were solid scores from Andrew Wright (25), Jeremy Smith (27) and Baker (27), while number nine Charlie Crisp also chipped in with 14 as Sutton closed on 165-9 – some 168 runs shy of their target.
The Claypole wicket-takers were Graham Revill (3-41), Matt Revill (3-30), Kevin Jacques (2-31) and Kristian Lennon (1-36).
