Skipper Jonathan Miles has heaped praise on his Spalding Town side after they produced the perfect reaction to their first loss of the season.
Having won their first five games of the South Lincs and Border League Premier Division campaign, promotion-chasing Town were looking set to seize command of the title race.
A home defeat against Grantham 2nd stopped them in their tracks a little, but last Saturday’s dominant nine-wicket victory at Skegness was exactly the reaction Miles was looking for.
Town’s lead over Bourne 2nd at the top was cut to three points due to them picking up 19 of the 20 points on offer, but Miles had no complaints on the day.
He said: “It was a very good performance. I couldn’t fault any department; it was just a top team showing across the board.
“To chase the target down for the loss of just one wicket – and to do it with ten overs to spare – was very impressive.
“It was a good batting pitch, as our score would suggest, so the bowlers also did really well to keep the Skegness score down.
“Last week I asked of the team to bounce back – and this was a great response from everyone.
“Skegness, especially away, is a tough match for anyone. But we gave ourselves a nice platform and showed what the team is capable of.
“I’ve said it a few times, but we’ve got young side and that will inevitably lead to a bit of inconsistency. We need to try and cut the off days out and focus on performing like this again.”
Miles will be hoping for more of the same from his Spalding side when they visit Graves Park this Saturday (1pm).
Town beat Park by a healthy 121 runs on the first day of the season, but the skipper insists that the result was never a sure thing and reckons it’ll be another testing trip.
Spalding will have to do without key batsman Warren Nel – who made 65 last week – and Miles himself, meaning the top order will need re-jigging this week.
However, the captain has complete confidence in whoever comes into the side and hopes that the Skegness showing will be repeated.
“We’ve got about 15 or 16 players capable of stepping into the side at any time,” said Miles. “I’m relaxed about the changes, the team is still more than capable of getting a result.
“Hopefully we’ll keep the momentum going and get another victory. It’s a great opportunity for somebody to come into the team and stake their claim.
“Graves Park won’t be easy. We beat them on the opening day of the season, but it wasn’t anywhere near as convincing as the score suggests.
“They were in the game for long periods and we’ll need to be on our game.”
With Miles missing, Joe Broomfield will step up as captain on the day.
Fellow South Holland side Long Sutton are also on the road in the Premier Division on Saturday.
They visit Sleaford 2nd (1pm), bidding to end a run of three successive league defeats.
