Spalding Town Cricket Club’s under-13s beat rivals Long Sutton under-13s on Friday to complete a fifth successive league win – and go top of the table.
Town’s talented teens now top the Border County East League by 15 points after the seven-wicket success, although title rivals Bourne do have games in hand.
After losing the toss Spalding were made to bowl first at Paradise Field. However, captain Paddy Harrington (2-6) struck in the first over, bowling James Coote for a duck.
Nick Carter (1-13) took the second over and was immediately hit for four, but got his revenge four balls later – hitting the stumps of danger man Rajan Sangha (4).
Left arm pace bowler Brandon Andrews replaced Harrington and got amongst the home batsmen, taking three wickets in his second over (two bowled and one caught).
This left the home side reeling at 16-5. They recovered as Goodley (16) and Gittins (7) took the score to 34, before the former was bowled by Cameron McGeown. Calum John joined Gittins and the pair added a further 23 to take Sutton to 57 before Gittins was bowled by Jon Manton (1-8).
Harrington returned to take the ninth wicket, but the final two partnerships had taken the home score to 83.
That’s how they finished, as Andrews took the final wicket to complete his second four-wicket haul of the season (4-12).
Harrington opened the Spalding reply with a brutal knock of 30 retired – which including two enormous sixes. Remarkably the in-form batsman has now retired in all five of the under-13 league games he has played in this season.
Fellow opener Tom Wide (9) was looking solid until he slipped mid-run and was run out.
Although Jack Patrick (0) and the in-form Ed Lanning (0) both perished in quick succession, Matt Wilshire (9 not out) and Manton (27 not out) got Town over the line to go top.
They travel to Billingborough next week.
