The 1st XI hosted Lindum on Saturday, who have been a bit of a bogey team in recent times. Asked to field first, Sleaford got off to the perfect start with the ball, dismissing both openers without a run on the board. Wickets fell regularly throughout the innings to see Lindum all out for a below par 163 in the 45th over. The Harbron brothers, Drew and Kieran both collecting 3 scalps, with a brace each for Peck and Shorthouse. In reply it’s fair to say the run chase was not going to plan as Sleaford were reduced to 40/4 including the prized scalp of prolific overseas batter Smith for just 7. That brought Hibberd to the crease to join skipper Shorthouse, knowing that a 5th wicket would make the run chase unlikely. Both batted with extreme patience, barely playing a shot in anger, but rotating the strike and putting away the rare bad balls. In a match winning partnership of 125, that could be termed ‘old-fashioned’, the pair knocked off the runs in 42 overs with Hibberd smashing the last ball out of the ground to record a 6 wicket win against the reigning champions. Shorthouse finishing on 67* and Hibberd 47*. The team stay in 6th spot, but have put a dent in Lindum’s title aspirations. Just a note on Daniel Smith, who returns to South Africa this week. He has played 16 ECB Premier League matches this season accumulating 916 runs at an average of 83.2 including 7 fifties and 2 brutal hundreds. Well played Dan and safe travels.
The 2nd XI travelled to the seaside to take on Skegness 1st XI. Opting to bowl first, wickets were hard to come by, but generally the scoring rate was kept in check by Goddard and Sanders, conceding just 5 boundaries in the opening 15 overs as Skegness limped to 66/2 in the 23rd over. They scored more freely towards the back end of the innings, posting a manageable 207/5. Sneath picked up 2 wickets with 1 each for Sanders, Nel and Godby. With the bat a 122 run partnership between Nel (87) and Sanders (48) for the 2nd wicket broke the back of the chase. However, a collapse ensued as Nel was dismissed and 5 wickets fell for just 7 runs. This brought Collings and Hutson together who rebuilt the innings with some skill avoiding any further dismissals and putting on 51 to see Sleaford over the line in a 4 wicket victory.
On Sunday, the 10 man 1’s visited Woodhall Spa. Batting first they recorded a paltry 167 all out in 35 overs. Sanders top scoring with 81, but only Drew offered much else with 31. This was nowhere near enough as Woodhall competed a 10 wicket win with 15 overs to spare.
The Sunday 2’s were also away at Bassingham. Electing to bowl, Sleaford dismissed Bassingham for 179 in 32 overs. Charlie Foran ripped through the middle order with excellent figures of 5/41. Phillips captured 2 wickets and 1 for Sneath. With the bat, the runs were knocked off with relative ease inside 34 overs for the loss of just 3 wickets. Veteran Phil Sneath topscoring with 84*, ably assisted by Roberts with 40*.
The Women’s 1st XI hosted Collingham & Newark. Batting first, Sleaford amassed a huge 262/1 from their 35 overs. Evie Jarvis hitting 55 before retiring, Anna Cooper whacking 58 in quick time, but the real star of the show was Holly Vaughan who completed her 100 off the last ball of the innings, her 1st century for the club. The Bassingham innings never really got underway as they were dismissed for just 88 as Sleaford used 10 different bowlers, the pick of whom was Millie Townend with 3/7. Tamsin took 2 and 1 each for Libby, Evie, Mel and Anna as they completed a rout by 174 runs.
Results from the past week.
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | Result | |
| 17 August | Sleaford CC 1st XI…. | Lindum CC 1st XI…. | Win by 5 wickets | Scorecard |
| Skegness CC 1st XI…. | Sleaford CC 2nd XI…. | Win by 4 wickets | Scorecard | |
| 18 August | Woodhall Spa CC Sunday 1st XI…. | Sleaford CC Sunday 1st XI…. | Lost by 10 wickets | Scorecard |
| Bassingham CC 1st XI…. | Sleaford CC Sunday 2nd XI…. | Win by 7wickets | Scorecard | |
| Sleaford CC Womens 1st XI…. | Collingham & Newark CC Womens 1st XI…. | Win by 174 runs | Scorecard |
Fixtures for the week ahead
| Date | Start Time | Home Team | Away Team |
| Wednesday 21 August | 18:30 | Bourne CC Women’s Super 8s | Sleaford CC Women’s Super 8’s |
| Saturday 24 August | 11:30 | Long Sutton CC 1st XI | Sleaford CC 1st XI |
| 13:00 | Sleaford CC 2nd XI | Billingborough CC 1st XI | |
| Sunday 25 August | 13:00 | Sleaford CC Sunday 2nd XI | Heighington CC 1st XI |
| Monday 26 August | 13:00 | Sleaford CC Sunday 1st XI | Grantham CC Sunday 1st XI |
League Tables can be located via these links
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