Caistor still believe after league record

CAISTOR skipper Pete Briggs believes the club can still defy the odds and stay in the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League after setting a new batting record against leaders Bracebridge Heath.

Sahan Wijerathne and Nick Warmoth's 10th-wicket partnership of 84 has given the Brigg Road side new hope.

Defeat has left Caistor still anchored to the foot of the table but Briggs still harbours hopes that his side can escape the drop.

He said: "We are not that far behind. If we could manage two wins we still have a chance.

"We have been competitive lately. Earlier in the season we bowled one or two sides out cheaply but could not knock the runs off when we batted. We still have hope with two games left.

Caistor play at Nettleham on Saturday and then are at home to Lindum the following week.

Wijerathne and Warmoth added seven runs to the previous record – set by another Caistor pair Dave Holness and Paul Dimbleby, which has stood since the league's first season in 2000 – and more than doubled their team's final total.

Having been invited to bat on their home turf, Caistor were soon in trouble when Aaron Keverne-Onyon took their first wicket on eight.

Briggs and Wijerathne took the score to 42 but, when Onyon also dismissed Briggs, the batting collapsed, Onyon and Brett Houston taking the next seven wickets for 22.

This brought Warmoth out to join the Sri Lankan and, by the time Wijerathne was caught by Onyon off Tom Khoza, the score had gone from 64 for nine to 148 all out and the innings was in its 47th over.

Onyon took four for 31 off 15 and Houston four for 19 off 11.

Lewis Jefferson stopped Bracebridge's reply in its tracks with the wicket of George Neal with only six on the board and, when the total had reached 39, Dimbleby and Wijerathne claimed the wickets of Nick John and Houston respectively.

However, Khoza and Onyon joined forces to take their side within sight of victory, Onyon falling to a catch behind off Jefferson for 55 with the score on 146 and Khoza finishing unbeaten on 49 as the league champions claimed victory in the 40th over.

A scrambled single off the final ball of the match saw Market Deeping triumph over Grimsby with just one wicket in hand in a thrilling battle at Augusta Street.

Deeping skipper David Gillett, with an unbeaten 79 to his name, was the player heading for the danger end, where Michael Brown's throw just missed the stumps for a run out that would have tied the game.

Earlier, Gillett had won the toss and invited Grimsby to bat, no doubt hoping to take advantage of the drying pitch.

The gamble appeared to pay off when Michael Kearns dismissed Richard Antcliffe with the first ball of the day, Gillett taking a catch at slip.

The Durham University all-rounder bowled an impressive opening 12-over spell in which he conceded only 23 runs while claiming the valuable wickets of Neal Snell and Gihan Perera.

Scott Harneiss, however, looked in good form, batting well in difficult conditions until, on 37, he failed to clear a Tom Anderson ball over Charlie Kearns at mid-off.

Anderson's next over brought another wicket, leaving Grimsby in trouble on 63 for five but again Brown came to the rescue, joining Matthew Cocks in a stand of 93.

Cocks eventually fell to Nick Cowley for 24 and in same over he dismissed the new batsmen. His next saw Brown bowled for 59 – having been dropped on eight – and it was left to Harry Warwick and Tom Lehman to bat out the remaining three overs and earn their side an extra batting point by taking the score to 175 for nine.

Cocks and Lee Charlton opened the attack for Grimsby, giving away only four runs off the first seven overs, with Cocks bowling four consecutive maidens.

However, Deeping gradually picked up the pace and, when Jamie Morgan fell to Charlton in the 12th over, the total had reached 24.

Good fielding by Jamie Watkinson ran out Jonathan Wright to make it 31 for two but Gillett and Charlie Kearns added 68.

When Kearns was lbw to Brown, Tom Andrews joined Gillett and took the score to 131 for three and with eight overs still to go, Deeping looked in a comfortable position.

However, Grimsby were not going down without a fight and Cocks and Brown combined to reduce their opponents to 157 for six, Antcliffe taking three good catches.

Ten runs had been added when Cocks dismissed Michael Kearns jnr and, with the score on 169, and with Gillett stranded at the non-strikers' end, Cocks bowled Josh Bowers and Michael Kearns snr in successive balls.

Anderson kept out the hat-trick ball but, going into the final over, he and Gillett were faced with making seven runs off six balls with Brown the bowler in the firing line.

The first was a dot ball, the second a two and the third a single. Another single put Gillett back on strike and the Deeping skipper responded with another two to tie the scores, before that scrambled single won the match.

Cocks finished with four wickets and Brown with three while for Deeping the victory meant a move up the table to sixth, one above their opponents.

It was also a close-run thing at third-placed Louth, where the home side made a meagre 128, a total most teams in the league would expect to overtake with ease.

But Nettleham also lost wickets steadily, five of them to Stewart West, and were eventually all out for 117.

At Abbey Lawn, Bourne were left chasing 200 as Lindum were all out with three balls of their innings remaining. Alex Hornsby was the visitors' anchorman, hitting a well-crafted 71 and sharing partnerships of 43 with Harry Dunn (24) for the second wicket, 31 with Richard Cross for the third and 61 with Qasim Memon for the fourth. This took Lindum to 140 but after Hornsby was caught off Mark Dixon, the next three wickets fell for 16 runs.

The lower order pushed the score to 178 for nine and Ahmer Kamal and Stuart Turner added 22 before Turner was last man out to give Dixon five wickets.

Bourne had 34 on the board when Oliver Guilliat took the first wicket and Matt Rutherford took the second on 50 but opener Craig Williams was still there and he and Chris Dring saw Bourne to 118 for three before Williams also fell to a catch behind off Rutherford for 47.

From here, the Lindum captain raced through the wickets and, in partnership with Turner, who bowled Dring for 24, reduced the home side to 142 all out. Rutherford took seven for 21 to take his season's total of wickets to 55.