SHRUGGING off the disappointment of another defeat in the ECB Premier the day before, Sleaford Cricket Club 1st X1 edged to an encouraging win in the Newark Alliance League on Sunday.
Balderton were the visitors to London Road and were asked to bat after Sleaford won the toss.
Early breakthroughs by Burrows and Goacher gave Sleaford the perfect start before Balderton mounted a comeback through Black (34), Ratnayake (31) and Wif
fin, who top scored with 56.
Nick Goacher was the pick of the attack, with figures of four for 26 off 10 overs, as the visitors made 160 all out.
Needing four-an-over to win, the home side suffered a quick setback when opener Nel was dismissed for two.
But a good 50 from Coetzee steadied the ship and an excellent 49 not out by Godby helped take the game to a nail-biting finish.
The game was decided by a misfield off Travers to give Sleaford a two-wicket victory.
Overall it was a good game of cricket by both teams, despite losing an hour and half of play to rain.
l Richard Flaver claimed five wickets and Martyn Miles hit an excellent 76 for Sleaford seconds but still ended up on the losing side.
Playing Bourne in the South Lincs and Border League, Sleaford went down by just six runs.
A tremendous spell of bowling by Flaver, who took 5-34, kept Sleaford well in the hunt, and only a few wayward overs by the attack allowed Bourne to reach 175-8 off their 45 overs.
But, with opener Miles striking the ball well and fellow opener Tom Shorthouse also looking very solid on his way to 33, Sleaford made a great start. Miles went on to make 76 but with a complete collapse by the middle order, Sleaford ended on 169-9, six short of the Bourne total.
The full article contains 315 words and appears in Sleaford Standard newspaper.
