Skipper Rob Ambrose has praised his Spalding Town side after a gutting last-over run out saw them miss out on key bonus points against Lincs ECB Premier League leaders Bracebridge Heath on Saturday.
Chasing an improbable 276 to win at Spalding Grammar School, Town looked set for a losing draw as they entered the final over on 201-7.
With 204 the target for additional batting points, Town began to wobble when Charlie Kearns (23) and David Thomas (0) were both dismissed by Matt Bradley – before Ben Smith (64) was unfortunately run out with just one ball left to face.
That saw bottom-of-the-table Spalding pick up just six bonus points and they are now 18 points behind nearest rivals Grimsby Town.
Despite the late heartache, Town Ambrose was full of praise for his side against a Bracebridge side he rates as “the best in the league”.
“The pitch was incredible at the Grammar School,” said the Spalding captain. “It was like a road – a dream for batsmen.
“They won the toss and took full advantage. At one stage, I was worried how many they’d get. We did well to limit them to 275 really.
“We were well shy of the 204 we needed for a few more bonus points in our reply, but Charlie and Ben had a few big overs and got us within sight.
“We decided to gamble and go for the extra points, but unfortunately there was a bit of a mix-up between Ben and Roy Tilley.
“These things happen – I’m not about to knock the side, I thought we played really well. I can’t ask any more from the team and if we play like that more often, we’ll pick up plenty more points.
“Credit to Bracebridge, though. They are the best side we’ve played this season. They have one top quality fast bowler and a couple of fine spinners. They bat all of the way down, too. For me, they’re the team to beat.”
Having won the toss, table-topping Bracebridge were in fine form with the bat.
Top four Nick John (26), Andrew McDowall (44), Vikram Atri (52) and the impressive Kit Spence (109 not out) all fired, while there was also a solid 30 (from 20 balls) down the order from Carl Stubbs as they made 275-6.
There was no stand-out bowling display from Town this week, with Nuwan Jayasena (2-94), Dan Milgate (2-55), Kearns (1-75) and Warren Nel (1-17) the wicket-takers.
In reply, Spalding lost their top trio relatively cheaply as Nel (11), Jayasena (14) and Chris Dring (14) all fell to leave them in a tough spot at 53-3.
Milgate (45) and Smith steadied the ship with a 55-run partnership and took Town to 108-4 before the Aussie was bowled by Bradley (4-48). More wickets followed as Tim Norris (7), Jimmy Hook (6) and skipper Rob Ambrose (6) all went without really troubling the scorers.
Smith, meanwhile, passed his half-century in partnership with Kearns as a losing draw and key bonus points looked increasingly likely.
But, despite the pair smashing 13 runs off the 49th over, Bradley’s last-over heroics and Smith’s untimely run out did for the hosts – giving Bracebridge an important 20-point haul.
