On a beautiful day at the park and a Burghley side that had 5 changes from their previous outing at Bourne, stand in skipper Pete Foster won the toss and decided to have a bat first against a 10 man Grantham team.

An unusual opening pair of Hamish Bell and David Platt opened up for the home team looking to take advantage of the gaps in the field. Unfortunately Bell only lasted til the 3rd over when he nicked off to Hackney for 3. Platt was joined by Weller who added 18 at just under a run a ball before he followed in Bell’s footsteps, getting caught behind this time off the bowling of Kumar. Platt tried to dig in with a gritty 7 off 30 balls but was adjudged LBW. At 37 for 3, Foster was wondering if he had made the correct decision to bat first. That feeling was soon lifted as Oscar Jackson the U15 1st team debutant and Sam Potter started caressing the ball to the boundary and rotating the strike. The partnership soon passed 50, then 100 and by the time Jackson was dismissed for an outstanding 74 (including 12 fours) they amassed 151 together. 188 for 4 with 33 overs gone allowed a platform for the middle and lower order to accelerate from. Potter continued to punish the bad balls and find gaps with good balls which saw him go to his century at quicker than a run a ball until he was finally dismissed for 101 (15 fours and 1 six). Chris Logan’s stay was brief as he struggled to put away the always tricky full toss. Foster was able to add a quick 51 (9 fours) before being caught at mid-off. Hugo Bell and Matt Williams finished the innings with the later being run out off the final ball of the innings. Burghley ending on a formidable total of 291 from their 45 overs.

Chris Logan opened the bowling alongside centurion Potter, and similar to last week, Logan’s opening spell went unrewarded, no thanks to opportunities shelled in the cordon must to the frustration of the kiwi. Potter on the other hand bowled to the oppositions weakness, one opener cutting a ball onto his stumps, and the other cutting it straight to backward point. A final wicket for Potter was snaffled at 2nd slip by Hamish Bell, finishing with figures of 3 for 3 off 5 overs. Grantham’s middle order put up a fight with 50 being added before Hugo Bell took a wicket. The spinners then came on to finish the job, Mo Azhar bowling as economically as usual, claiming 1 for 18 off his 9 overs. Matt Williams, not quite as restrictive but getting 2 for 48 off 8 overs. Ahsan Azhar claimed the final two wickets of the innings, 2 for 16, should’ve been less had Potter not dropped a sitter, the only blemish on his record. Grantham all out for 148, contributions from all 11 players in a convincing 143 run victory.

The Saturday 1st’s next game is in 2 weeks time at home to Frieston where a win will secure the league title and make it a Saturday double for the club.

This match was sponsored by The Stamford Marquee Company