After skipper Alex Ashwin won the toss and chose to bat, Burghley rolled out their trusted 2025 blueprint: pile on the runs, then unleash chaos with the ball.

Ryan Gilmour and Mike Hobbiss opened the innings, though Hobbiss’s stay was shorter than a British heatwave, edging Aryan Pandita behind to Henry Murray for 3. In came Josh Weller — a man apparently fuelled entirely by discipline after completing 400 consecutive days of running 10K. Unfortunately, not much could protect his upper arm from a spicy Harsh Bhandari bumper and, after a gritty 19, Weller was trapped LBW by N. Abid.

At the other end, Gilmour purred along beautifully, with crisp timing and classy footwork. He and Pete Foster pushed Burghley to 82 before Gilmour agonisingly fell three short of a deserved fifty, bowled by Abid for 47.
Then came the stand that broke Grantham’s spirit.

Pete Foster and Olly Billington batted like two blokes with absolutely no plans for the rest of the afternoon. Calm, clinical and increasingly frustrating for the opposition, they added 125 in 30 overs. Foster compiled a classy 67, Billington a fluent 60, and by the time they were separated, Grantham’s shoulders had collectively slumped toward the outfield.

With the platform set, the lower order arrived swinging like men trying to clear both the boundary and the nearby postcodes. Burghley plundered another 53 in the final seven overs to finish on a formidable 262-9.

And then… Xavier Wildsmith happened.

The 17-year-old charged downhill from the Pavilion End as if fired from a cannon. First, Mohammed Saif feathered behind to Billington. Two balls later, Qundeel Haider nicked another — but this one belonged as much to Mike Hobbiss as the bowler. Launching himself full stretch at gully, Hobbiss grabbed a screamer that immediately entered club folklore. Somewhere, Ben Stokes nodded approvingly.
Wildsmith was not done.

Four overs later, he removed two Loughborough Uni first-class regulars in quick succession. Murray chipped tamely to Foster at mid-off, then Ndlela edged behind to Billington. Grantham were suddenly 31-4 and Wildsmith had all four wickets. Absolute carnage.
Things got even worse when a catastrophic mix-up between two batters who possibly had not even exchanged names yet gifted Ryan Gilmour the easiest run-out of his life. At 31-5, Grantham were in full “just get us back on the M6” territory.
Harsh Bhandari fought hard for 43, but Burghley smelled blood. Josh Weller and Gareth Hook picked up two wickets apiece as the visitors limped to 104-9.

Then, after serving his mandatory rest period, Wildsmith returned for the grand finale.

Pandita miscued high into the afternoon sky, where Pete Foster calmly settled under it to complete a superb over-the-shoulder catch. Cue celebrations, handshakes and a jug of business time in the process of being poured.

Grantham — a side featuring 11 paid players — were all out for 117.

Wildsmith finished with outstanding figures of 5-23 from 8.1 overs: his maiden 5fer in Burghley colours, and surely the first of many.
A crushing win. A statement performance. And with a trip to Woodhall Spa next week, Burghley suddenly have real momentum… and a teenage quick that nobody will fancy facing.

Thanks to Bishopsgate Corporate Finance for sponsoring this match.