With the 2nd XI yet again having a gap week, the 1st XI hosted Grimsby at London Road. The day started with a rare Shorthouse toss win, who then confused the onlookers by opting to bowl first on a flat track in sweltering conditions. A sloppy start with the ball and in the field, saw Grimsby reach 87 before Shorthouse had a catch taken in the deep to remove one of the openers. It was steady progression throughout with Sleaford improving as the innings went on, but they were unable to bowl their opponents out as they reached 242/7 in their 50 overs. The watching crowd were of the opinion it was a competitive total, but in reality it felt about 50 short of a par score on a very good batting deck. Tite collected 2 wickets, with a victim for K Harbon but the pick of the bowlers was Mansfield, capturing 3/40 in 10 accurate overs. In the batting innings, Mansfield (30) and Moorby added 72 for the 2nd wicket, which set the stage for Smith to take the run chase deep. Moorby was out soon after completing a well crafted 50 with the score on 146 at the halfway point. From here it was one-way traffic with both Smith (75) and Shorthouse (48*) hitting the boundary with ease. The total was passed for the loss of 5 wickets in the 42nd over, giving Sleaford a comfortable win.
On Sunday, the 1st XI travelled to Market Rasen. Batting first after winning the toss, Sleaford posted a creditable total of 235/7 in their 40 overs. Smith again top scoring with 87, ably supported by Godby (39), Moorby (36) & Bailey (20). The 20 points were somewhat gifted to Sleaford as they ran through the Rasen batting with ease, dismissing them for just 72 in the 30th over. Hibberd again amongst the wickets with 4/21, backed up by Smith with 3 wickets, a brace for Philips and 1 for Hinton.
The Women’s 1st XI faced a 9 player Gedling 2nd XI at home. Generously allowing Sleaford to bat 1st, the Sleaford line-up tucked into the bowling with glee. Well assisted by some very wayward bowling and with lots of gaps in the field, Sleaford amassed 314/3 at nearly 9 per over. Evie Jarvis with 55, Anna Cooper 22 and Tamsin Henry 30*, but the standout star with the bat was Alexia Page-Graves, walloping an incredible 155* including 30 boundaries off just 105 balls. The knock is the highest individual score, for the club, by a Sleaford home-grown player this season. Gedling had no answer with the bat, as they were dismissed for a painstaking 66 in the 31st over. 3 wickets for Jarvis, 2 each for Larter and Henry and 1 for Naylor as Sleaford completed the victory by an incredible 248 runs.
Results from the past week.
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | Result | |
| 20 July | Sleaford CC 1st XI….243/5 | Grimsby Town CC 1st XI….242/7 | Win by 5 wickets | Scorecard |
| 21 July | Market Rasen CC Sunday 1st XI….72 | Sleaford CC Sunday 1st XI….235/7 | Win by 163 runs | Scorecard |
| Sleaford CC Womens 1st XI….314/3 | Gedling Colliery CC Womens 2nd XI….66 | Win by 248 runs | Scorecard |
Fixtures for the week ahead
| Date | Start Time | Home Team | Away Team |
| Wednesday 24 July | 18:30 | Market Deeping CC Women’s Super 8’s | Sleaford CC Women’s Super 8’s |
| Saturday 27 July | 11:30 | Scunthorpe Town CC 1st XI | Sleaford CC 1st XI |
| 13:00 | Sleaford CC 2nd XI | Moulton Harrox CC 1st XI | |
| Sunday 28 July | 13:00 | Sleaford CC Sunday 2nd XI | Horncastle CC Sunday 1st XI |
| 15:00 | Cutthorpe CC Women’s Super 8’s | Sleaford CC Women’s Super 8’s | |
| 17:00 | Eastwood Town CC Women’s Super 8’s | Sleaford CC Women’s Super 8’s |
League Tables can be located via these links
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