Sleaford’s 1st XI faced Grantham at London Road on Saturday. Asked to bowl first, an early wicket for Hall and Tite kept the run rate in check. At the halfway point of the innings, Grantham had reached 88/3 with Kieran Harbron picking up the 3rd wicket. At this stage Sleaford were on top and looking to keep the chase down to a manageable total and although runs started to flow in the latter part of the innings, a target of 225 looked to be well within the capabilities of this strong batting line-up. Both Cooper and Tite finished with 3 wickets in Grantham’s 224/9. With the bat Sleaford’s openers Harbron and Patel attacked the bowling with gusto, racing to 74 without loss from the first 12 overs. The introduction of Abid stemmed the flow with runs becoming hard to come by as Conor fell for an enterprising 41 with the score on 81. However, Cooper and Shorthouse were dismissed in consecutive deliveries, leaving Sleaford at 107/3, but with 30 overs remaining, the run rate was not an issue. Patel got to 64 before he was dismissed and at the 40 over mark the score had reached 161/6 as Mansfield and Wing were also dismissed, but Hibberd playing sensibly to help avoid a collapse, found scoring opportunities hard to come by. Some urgent running between the wickets and with the odd bad ball put away, Sleaford reached 195/6 after 46 overs. 30 to win from 24 balls was still on, but disaster struck as Hibberd (39) and Hall were back in the pavilion 2 balls later. The innings petered out as the home team were dismissed for 211, agonizingly 14 runs short of victory. At the halfway point in the season, Sleaford find themselves 4th in the table and can ill-afford any further losses if they are to build a credible title challenge.
Highlights from this game will be uploaded to the clubs YouTube channel later in the week. Click here to subscribe and turn on notifications.
The 2nd XI travelled to Gorse Lane and on losing the toss found themselves in the field. From the off Sleaford were on the backfoot as runs flowed with only the ever miserly Goddard going for less than 3 runs per over in his 9 over spell of 1/24. Captain Hutson used the services of 7 different bowlers in his efforts to stem the tide with Rhys Collings being the pick with 3/47. As wickets were taken throughout, the total to chase of 212/8 was perhaps a good few less than Grantham would have wanted. On to the chase, Collings and Hutson opening up, with Hutson having to retire hurt early in his innings. The top order mainly got starts but no one managed a large individual score, with Ollie Bean leading the way with 40, well supported by Hix (26), Roberts (28) and Lambert (36). At 9 down the valiant skipper miraculously returned from injury to join the wily Goddard at the crease. Still a good ways short of the winning post the pair managed to crawl over the line with Goddard hitting the winning runs in his 15 not out. Another hard fought victory and the team now find themselves second in the SLB Championship.
There were mixed fortunes for the Sunday teams. The 1st XI took on Nettleham at London Road and opting to bowl, made short work of their batting line-up. All out for 134 in 33.4 overs with all the bowlers getting amongst the wickets. Fan favourite, Conor Harbron, made sure the run chase got off to a flyer with a well struck 63 from just 28 balls. Well supported by Roberts with 34 not out, the runs were knocked off in 11.2 overs to give Sleaford the 20 points.
Highlights from this game will be uploaded to the clubs YouTube channel later in the week. Click here to subscribe and turn on notifications.
To say the least, the 2nd XI did not fare as well. Bowling first, Sleaford struggled to keep the run rate in check despite taking regular wickets. Ben Glendinning (2/19) and Tom Sanders (2/29) apart the rest of the attack were knocked around the park to the tune of 207/8 not helped by 39 extras. A chaseable target, but the batting line-up never got to grips with the task in hand. Dismissed for a paltry 101 in 29 overs, to lose by 106 runs, with only the skipper putting up much resistance with a top score of 37.
And finally, the Women’s 1st XI visited Spondon. A solid performance with the ball saw the hosts restricted to 128, although a total of 29 extras shows this could have been better with a little more discipline. An early wicket in the run chase saw Evie Jarvis join Rebecca Hudson and the pair put on 44 for the 2nd wicket, before Evie was dismissed for 29 with the score on 45 from 17.1 overs. At the end of the 18th over the middle order had been ripped apart, as Spondon’s Kari Gill, took 4 wickets in the over including a hattrick to leave Sleaford reeling at 45/5. With 3 of those wickets being clean bowled and the other LBW she must bowl very straight! No other batter offered much support to Hudson who was 9th out for a watchful 22 as the innings ended on just 76, losing by 52 runs.
Junior Cricket
A much changed Sleaford U15s side got back to winning ways at London Road vs Boston on Monday evening. The game being the first U15s game to be live streamed on the Sleaford CC You Tube channel with viewers watching as far afield as South Africa. Having won the toss, Sleaford elected to bowl first. Opening bowlers Dylan Chessum (0-9) and Dan Adams (1-10) bowled tidily, with Dan picking up an early wicket. Boston scored steadily throughout their innings, however, Sleaford’s bowlers kept the run rate in check whilst taking regular wickets. Boston’s innings closed on 93-6 from 18 overs, with Ryan Twells (1-13), Harry Bailey (1-6), Olivia Cepelak (1-8) and Oliver Sneath (2-10) all wicket takers along with Dan Adams. New opening pair of Freddie Foran (10) and Josh Nel (6) play some nice shots before both were bowled in quick succession. The league’s leading run scorer, Dylan Chessum (9) showed his intent by hitting a boundary first ball, however he was bowled soon afterwards trying to launch a full toss over the pavilion. Aaron Cepelak (1) fell quickly to leave Sleaford reeling at 37-4. Dan Adams joined Oliver Sneath at the crease and the pair set about rebuilding the innings. Dan played in his usual swashbuckling style whilst Oliver steadily accumulated runs. Their 44 run partnership ended when Dan edged behind for a valuable 17. Oliver continued to play sensibly before retiring with just 4 runs required for victory having scored an excellent match winning innings of 31. Charlie Hall (2 not out) and Ryan Twells (0 not out) ensured there were no further alarms as Sleaford reach the required total with 3.4 overs to spare. With just 2 league games remaining, Sleaford U15s sit 2nd in the table, needing results to go their way to have an outside chance of winning the title. The next game is away to table toppers Nettleham Spitfires on Monday 15th July. Phil Sneath
Summary of all Sleaford CC results from the past week
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | Result |
| 26 June | Sleaford CC Under 15 94/5 | Boston CC Under 15 93/6 | Won by 5 wickets Scorecard |
| 29 June | Boston CC Under 13 100 | Sleaford CC Under 13 62/7 | Won by 38 runs Scorecard |
| 1 July | Sleaford CC 1st XI 211 | Grantham CC 1st XI 224/9 | Lost by 13 runs Scorecard |
| Grantham CC 2nd XI 212/8 | Sleaford CC 2nd XI 216/9 | Won by 1 wicket Scorecard | |
| 2 July | Sleaford CC Sunday 1st XI 135/3 | Nettleham CC Sunday 1st XI 134 | Won by 7 wickets Scorecard |
| Heighington CC 1st XI 207/8 | Sleaford CC Sunday 2nd XI 101 | Lost by 106 runs Scorecard | |
| Spondon CC Women’s Academy 128 | Sleaford CC Women’s 1st XI 76 | Lost by 52 runs Scorecard | |
| Broughton CC Women’s Softball 108/5 (Net score 283) | Sleaford CC Women’s Soft Ball 118/5 (Net score 293) | Won by 10 runs Scorecard |
This week’s fixtures
| Date | Start Time | Home Team | Away Team |
| Monday 3 July | 18:00 | Sleaford CC Under 13 | Collingham & District CC, Notts Under 13 |
| Tuesday 4 July | 18:00 | Caythorpe CC, Lincs Under 13 | Sleaford CC Under 13 |
| Wednesday 5 July | 18:00 | Sleaford CC Under 11 | Caythorpe CC, Lincs Under 11 |
| Saturday 8 July | 11:30 | Sleaford CC 1st XI | Woodhall Spa CC 1st XI |
| Sunday 9 July | 10:15 | Sleaford CC Under 10 | Grantham CC Under 10 |
| 13:00 | Ancaster CC Sunday 1st XI | Sleaford CC Sunday 1st XI | |
| 13:00 | Sleaford CC Sunday 2nd XI | Nettleham CC Academy XI |
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