Burghley had been asked to bat on a wicket that looked like it would offer some early assistance to the seamers. After a 10-minute delay to proceedings due to the Model Fish Bar fire and the Stamford traffic, delaying 3 of the Grimsby team, Mike Hobbiss and Josh Gallimore set out to open proceedings. With both Grimsby opening bowlers having just arrived, some loose deliveries were offered up in the opening overs, which the pair duly dispatched to the boundary. However, Ayub and Qadiri soon found their rhythm and started to trouble the batters. Josh Gallimore was the first man to depart, when Qadiri found a way though his defences for 6. Ryan Gilmour joined Hobbiss but could not trouble the scorers before Ayub found the edge of the Kiwi’s bat, taking his Phall tally to 3 pieces for the season. Hobbiss and Gareth Hook then both fell in the space of 6 deliveries, with both Grimsby openers claiming another wicket a piece to leave Burghley 58-4 and staring into another batting collapse, similar to what they had faced last weekend. However, Captain and Vice-Captain Alex Ashwin and Pete Foster had other ideas. The pair were able to see out the opening spells, despite a fair share of play and misses from the skipper, before Foster started to kick in to gear. With Liam Clarke introduced into the attack, Foster hit his first over for 14, helped by a free hit that was duly deposited over the mid-wicket boundary. His second over was only marginally better, with the Burghley pair taking 13 from it and suddenly the momentum had swung towards the park side. Ashwin and Foster were able to keep the score ticking over, picking off anything loose. Foster was the main aggressor of the partnership and passed his 50 from 51 deliveries. With the partnership nearing 100, disaster struck. A big mix up following a fumble in the outfield left Burghley’s keeper stranded, and he had to depart for an excellent 70 from 67 deliveries. With the disappointment of running out his team’s in-form batsmen, Ashwin knew he had to ensure the innings didn't collapse. Chris Logan joined his skipper and after some lusty blows, moving to 23 from just 14 balls, he got his bat stuck behind his pad, and for the 3rd time this season, had to leave LBW. Hugo Bell, playing his first game since August of last season, then picked up where Logan left off. He and Ashwin moved the score beyond 200 before Zazai struck for the visitors, Bell bowled trying to hit it to the moon (whilst also looking at the moon). Skipper Alex Ashwin then bought up a patient 50 from 79 deliveries before falling LBW to his very next delivery. Ahsan Azhar added 7 to the tally before Start Biggs and Mohammed Azhar came together and their 11th wicket partnership really took the game away from Grimsby. From 243-9 the pair added 49 for the final wicket, including Biggs smashing the last over for 29 runs, but falling agonisingly short of his half century. He finished 49* from 36 deliveries, Azhar 6* from 13 deliveries and Burghley had posted 292-9 from their 50 overs.

With a daunting looking chase looming, and Ashwin and Logan with ball in hand, the early exchanges were never going to be easy for the visiting team. However, the opening pair were able to see off the first 10 overs before the introduction of Gareth Hook bought immediate reward. He found the edge of Danny Foxcroft's (14) bat and Foster did the rest behind the stumps before Hugo Bell joined in on the act, having Snell (24) well caught at 2nd slip by Hobbiss.

After a brief counterattack by Qadiri and Gorbutt, the former was calamitously run out for 25 by Ashwin. Mohammed Azhar was then able to find a way through Gorbutt before Biggs followed up being pumped deep into the Lady Diana memorial garden, by bowling Kris Hall the very next ball and Grimsby were now 110-5. Away captain Steve Crossley rode his luck, with a couple of simple catches put down by the home side, before the spin duo of Gilmour and Hook combined to get Burghley just 1 wicket from victory. Gilmour claimed the wickets of Crossley (45), Tice (17) and Ayub (9) and Hook bowled Maxwell (9) before Burghley’s captain returned to finish the innings, taking just 2 deliveries to find the edge of Clarke's bat and Grimsby had been bowled out for 194.

The wickets very much shared around the Burghley attack, Gilmour with 3-37, Hook 2-23 and 1 a piece for Ashwin, Biggs, Azhar and Bell.

Attention now turns to next week's away trip to Nettleham who finds themselves winless after their opening 3 games.

This match was sponsored by Bishopsgate Corporate Finance