Both Saturday teams faced Grantham with the 1st XI at home in front of a large crowd. Shorthouse’s woes with the toss continued as the 1’s were asked to bat on what looked a tricky pitch. An interesting opening over saw 11 on the board before a legal delivery was bowled, but when the ball was bowled in the right areas there was certainly plenty in the pitch for the bowlers. Sleaford were in some trouble at 51/3, but that brought Shorthouse to the crease to join Smith as they looked to rebuild the innings. The critical moment of the innings saw a regulation chance dropped off Smith’s bat, but otherwise the pair batted with purpose and determination in adding 105 for the 4th wicket before the skipper fell for 39. Meanwhile, Smith had worked his way to a watchful 50 off 59 balls. Stephan added some impetus hitting a couple out of the ground in a quickfire 26. Tite batted sensibly to aid Smith to make his way to his century off 99 balls and from then on the innings exploded, Smith hitting the boundary at will as he amassed a further 87 runs in just another 35 deliveries. The innings ended on a scarcely believable 345/6 aided by some very ill disciplined Grantham bowling and fielding as they conceded 59 extras. With the ball it seemed a simple task for the Sleaford bowlers, but the wicket had flattened out and Grantham certainly have plenty of quality in their line-up. 96 was added for the 1st wicket before K Harbron broke the partnership in the 16th over. This brought the dangerous Haider to the crease but with the required rate increasing he was forced to take chances and as a result he became Kieran’s second victim with the score on 145. From this point onwards the result was never really in doubt.as wickets tumbled regularly with a couple of run outs thrown into the mix. Grantham eventually being bowled out for 248 in the 46th over giving Sleaford the win by 97 runs. Wickets were shared with 2 each for K Harbron and Mansfield and 1 apiece for Tite, Shorthouse, D Harbron and Hall. Sleaford consolidating their 6th place position in the table, closing the gap on the top teams in the process.
The 2nd XI were at a miserable Gorse Lane. Electing to bowl first Goddard and Makwana took out an opener each before the stage was set for Oliver Sneath to run through the rest of the line-up taking career best figures of 7/33 including a hat-trick as Grantham were dismissed for 167 in their 45 overs. With the bat, Sleaford were in total control of the run chase as they reached 155 for 3 in the 31st over before the rain came. Some loose interpretations of the league rules meant the game was abandoned in controversial circumstances with Sleaford requiring just another 15 runs for victory. Sleaford stay 3rd in the table but with a game in hand on the teams above them.
On Sunday the 1st XI hosted Nettleham at Fulbeck CC. Nettleham will surely be sick of the sight of Daniel Smith as he continued his great form notching his 3rd century of the week as he smashed 144 from 94 balls. He has now scored 377 runs against them in 3 innings. Backed up by 43 from Drew Harbron and 32 from Sanders in a total of 265/7 in 40 overs. There was an early wicket for Drew, but Nettleham chased purposefully. They eventually fell 50 short of their target K Harbron the pick of the bowlers with 4/35. Dylan Chessum collected 2 victims with a wicket each for Sanders and Sneath.
The Sunday 2’s travelled to Billingborough and asked to bat could only muster 141/8. However, Billingborough were made to fight for the win as they crept over the line for the loss of 8 wickets.
Results from the past week.
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | Result | |
| 8 July | Woodhall Spa CC Under 13…. | Sleaford CC Under 13…. | WinLost by runswickets | Scorecard |
| 13 July | Sleaford CC 1st XI…. | Grantham CC 1st XI…. | WinLost by runswickets | Scorecard |
| Grantham CC 2nd XI…. | Sleaford CC 2nd XI…. | WinLost by runswickets | Scorecard | |
| 14 July | Sleaford CC Sunday 1st XI…. | Nettleham CC Sunday 1st XI…. | WinLost by runswickets | Scorecard |
| Billingborough CC Sunday 1st XI…. | Sleaford CC Sunday 2nd XI…. | WinLost by runswickets | Scorecard | |
| Kirkby Portland CC Women’s Super 8s…. | Sleaford CC Women’s Super 8’s…. | WinLost by runswickets | Scorecard |
Fixtures for the week ahead
| Date | Start Time | Home Team | Away Team |
| Monday 15 July | 18:00 | Caythorpe CC Under 13 | Sleaford CC Under 13 |
| Tuesday 16 July | 18:00 | Sleaford CC Under 15 | Woodhall Spa CC Under 15 |
| Wednesday 17 July | 18:00 | Sleaford CC Under 11 | Caythorpe CC Under 11 |
| Saturday 20 July | 11:30 | Sleaford CC 1st XI | Grimsby Town CC 1st XI |
| Sunday 21 July | 13:00 | Market Rasen CC Sunday 1st XI | Sleaford CC Sunday 1st XI |
| 13:00 | Sleaford CC Womens 1st XI | Gedling Colliery CC Womens 2nd XI | |
League Tables can be located via these links
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