Spalding kept their heads above water with a crucial Lincolnshire Board Premier League victory over fellow relegation battlers Market Deeping.
With two of the other four teams in the drop zone also going head-to-head, a victory was crucial and Spalding responded in style, easing to a six-wicket win.
Spalding captain Ollie Dring won the toss and inserted the visitors. That looked an important call to win as Deeping lost both openers with only five runs on the board. Nilantha Atapattu (2-27) took both wickets and when Barnaby Dring (3-19) sent Sam Jarvis and Aashar Mehmood back to the pavilion, the visitors had only mustered 29 for the loss of four wickets.
The arrival of Sam Malton at the crease raised the visitors’ hopes but, despite his unbeaten 100, a lack of partners able to stick around saw the Deeping innings close on 210/9.
Spalding lost their first three wickets for 62 but Josh Lawrence (52) and captain Dring (95no) steadied things with a fourth-wicket partnership of 66 and then Dring combined with Jamie Coles (21no) to see his team over the line with an unbroken 86 stand.
Dring hit three sixes and 16 fours but his team reached their target inside 33 overs to leave him stranded five short of a deserved ton in their 214/4.
In Division Two of the South Lincs Border League, Spalding Seconds went down to a five-wicket defeat at their Skegness counterparts.
The hosts’ opening partnership proved to be the match-winning one with Lily Spridgen eventually parting Shaun Dawson (85no) and Yasir Dogar (77) after they had put together a treble-figure stand.
James Frascella (2-25) and Thomas Decamps (2-31) then took a pair apiece to leave the hosts on 234/5 from their 45 overs.
Spalding made a solid start with openers Neo Timothy (62) and Andrew Sorrell (22) scoring well before George Hix joined the fray with 36.
Captain Chris Dring weighed in with a middle-order 42 but the tail failed to wag and Spalding fell short of their target by 33 runs, running out of overs on 201/9.
