Spalding Town have been told to scrap for every point available as they bid to stave off relegation from the Lincs ECB Premier League.
Skipper Rob Ambrose has revealed that winning matches is no longer the only goal for Town ahead of each fixture, with maximising batting and bowling points now the chief aim.
That approach was exemplified perfectly by Spalding’s resolute losing draw at second-placed Woodhall Spa last weekend (see page 38), with the ten points they picked up seeing them close to within nine points of nearest rivals Grimsby Town.
Ambrose is hoping for more of the same on Saturday, with table-toppers Bracebridge Heath the visitors to Spalding Grammar School (noon) – and he’ll make no apologies for the brand of cricket his side will be playing.
The skipper said: “We’ve got to the stage now where we need to just accumulate points. It may sound strange, but we’ll not go into every game with a win on our mind.
“Saturday’s result at Woodhall shows how you can make inroads without winning a match and it’s something we’ll need to do if we want to stay up. If we can get as many points as possible from every game and pick up the odd win, we’ll probably be OK.
“It may not be pretty at times, but we don’t care. We’ll dig in and get the points any way we can. Fingers crossed, this approach will keep us in the league.”
Town will aim to make life difficult for Bracebridge this weekend. The 2011 winners, who picked up seven back-to-back titles between 2003 and 2009, come into the clash with a seven-point advantage over Woodhall at the summit.
Ambrose reckons that the Lincoln-based outfit will probably be crowned champions at the end of the season, dubbing them a “very strong side”.
But he’s backed his charges to give them a tough game, even though they’ll likely be missing a number of key players. Henry Charlton (groin) and Josh Newton (finger) are sidelined through injury, while fast bowler Charlie Kearns is a doubt.
Chris Dring is expected to retain his place after stepping up from the second side last week, while Ambrose is likely to rely on spinners Nuwan Jayasena, Dan Milgate and Warren Nel to take wickets.
“I think it’ll be close between Bracebridge and Woodhall,” added the Spalding skipper. “I imagine it’ll come down to the game between them.
“I’d back Bracebridge to have a little too much for them, should they have their strongest side out. When they’re at 100 per cent, they are very strong indeed.
“We’ll not make life easy for them, even if player availability is proving a massive problem again.
“The aim is to get as many bonus points as we can, with anything else a bonus.”
Bracebridge clubbed 350-3 declared in the first meeting between the sides this season, before bowling Town out for 233 to seal a 117-run success.
