Explosive opener Josh Newton admits that he’s in the form of his life for Spalding Town at the moment.
Averaging an incredible 343 from his five innings so far this season in South Lincs and Border League Premier Division, Newton has also scored 343 runs and has only been out once.
His scores of 9 not out, 60 not out, 98, 93 not out and 83 not out have helped propel Town to the top of the table – and they already boast a 14-point advantage.
Newton has formed a formidable opening partnership with Warren Nel, who himself has 324 runs – including two centuries – at an average of 162 this term.
However, the pair – the league’s leading run scorers – may not have got the chance to bat together but for an injury picked up by skipper Rob Ambrose before the derby win at Long Sutton back on May 7.
Newton was bumped up from three and the pair went on to share an unbeaten 170-run partnership.
They improved on that effort with a club record stand of 219 against Belton Park the following week – and Newton feels that batting with South African maestro Nel has helped his game reach new heights.
He said: “I’ve only been out once so far in five games – it’s fair to say this is my best ever run of form with the bat.
“I spent a lot of time in the nets over the close season and tried to iron out a few technical deficiencies in my game. So far, it seems to have paid off.
“A lot of my runs have come alongside Warren Nel, he’s brilliant to bat with. He sort of drops anchor at one end and allows me to play my natural game at the other – which is going for a few shots.
“It’s funny, as I was initially going to bat at three this season. Rob (Ambrose) picked up a bit of a knock away at Long Sutton, so I stepped up and we haven’t really looked back.
“I wouldn’t say there’s an official competition between Warren and I to see who scores the most runs, but I think we’d both be lying if we said we didn’t want to out-score each other.
“Personally, I’d liked to have got a few more 100s. The situation hasn’t allowed for that at times – but getting out for 98 against Belton Park still rankles a bit.
“But I am enjoying opening. Batting at three is no problem, but I’ve been able to play with a lot more freedom as an opener and I’m happy to continue.”
Newton’s heroics have played a huge part in Town’s rise to the top of the table.
Having suffered relegation from the Lincs ECB Premier Division last season, Spalding are well-placed to bounce back at the first time of asking.
That was highlighted by last Saturday’s eight-wicket victory over fellow high-fliers Boston 2nd (see page 46), but Newton isn’t interested in talking about a title bid just yet.
He added: “It’s early days as far as winning the title or promotion is concerned.
“Obviously it’s nice to be top. I think we almost forgot how to win after the last few years in the Lincs ECB Premier Division, but things seemed to have clicked now.
“Now we’ve got that winning habit going, we’ve been winning very well.
“There is obviously a worry that the lower order hasn’t had much batting time recently, but I’m sure they’ll deliver when we need them to.”
Next up for Town is a home date with old foes Billingborough at Spalding Grammar School on Saturday (1.30pm).
There’s plenty of needle between the two camps after years of battling for similar goals, but Spalding are currently 38 points better off than their South Lincolnshire opponents, albeit having played a game more.
Newton is urging his team-mates to treat the derby like any other game, but does feel Town may have caught them at a good time.
“Billingborough are old foes,” added Newton. “We need to make sure we don’t make it an emotional game.
“There’s a long-standing rivalry between the two sides, even more so now we have Roy Tilley in our side.
“We need to play with our heads more than our hearts. They’ve lost a few games recently, so perhaps it’s a good time to face them.
“It’s very early days for both sides and I’m not sure if you could say either side was in the promotion race, but the rivalry is certainly there regardless.”
