Lindum hung on to third place by a fraction of a percentage on the final day of the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League season by picking up six points against runners-up Grimsby while rivals Sleaford gained 15 at home to Bourne.

Boston and Market Deeping went out on a high note with victories over Nettleham and Woodhall Spa respectively while Caistor showed their improved second half form, holding champions Bracebridge Heath.

And Louth finished in sixth place in the table - one below fellow league newcomers Woodhall - after a winning draw against Messingham.

Top and bottom teams both topped the 300 mark, Bracebridge making 361 for five and Boston 306 for four and Mark Fell confirmed his place at the top of the individual runs table with 955, becoming the only player to top 900 runs for the season. Fell hit 128 and Vikram Atri an unbeaten 104 at Cross O’Cliff Court, while Caistor replied with 201 for seven, Marc Watkins and Peter Briggs making half centuries.

Daniel Milgate hit 138 and Conrad Louth 66 in Boston’s 306 for four and Milgate went on to take five for 35 as Nettleham were bowled out for 162. Warren Nel made the day’s only other century with 106 for Sleaford who reached 238 for five at home to Bourne. But the visitors regained some of their earlier batting form to run their opponents close with 228 for seven, David Christmas with 75.

Louth’s 214 for eight at home to Messingham came after Arran Brindle had hit 88 not out and Graeme Bell 51. Jacob Thorne then made 50 as the visitors reached 155 for seven. Market Deeping successfully chased Woodhall’s 207 for nine, of which Steve Scott made 50, with Nick Cowley contributing 63 not out as the home side won by four wickets.

And at Augusta Street, good bowling from Lindum restricted Grimsby to 183 for nine but the home side were on equally good form and took the final wicket with Lindum’s total on 152. Lindum’s Josh Brodie took one wicket in this match and Matt Rutherford three putting the New Zealander on 42 wickets which topped the individual wickets total with Rutherford just behind on 41.

For weekend of September 8 and 9

Bracebridge Heath made sure of their fifth championship in succession when, for the second week running, Bourne succumbed for just 68 runs. Stuart Airey took seven for 14 at Abbey Lawn before the leaders lost just two wickets overtaking the Bourne total.

And Grimsby claimed the runners-up spot despite losing out to Nettleham off the last ball of the match. After restricting their opponents to 180 for nine, Nettleham needed five for victory – and skipper Russ Binnington obliged with a six to claim a two wicket win for his side. This result left Grimsby in danger of being pipped at the post by Lindum for runners-up slot in a replay of last year but when the result came in from St Giles Avenue, Lindum had gone down to Louth and now cannot catch Grimsby. Nuwan Shiroman hit 71 as Louth chased Lindum’s 167 for nine to win by six wickets.

Boston finished bottom of the table after losing to Woodhall Spa, despite a battling 55 not out from Mick Troops that helped them to 189 for nine. Ricky Lovelace then hit 79 and Jack Luffman 69 as the home side claimed a seven-wicket win and moved up to fifth place above Bourne.

The only draw of the day was at Caistor who made 224 for six then restricted Market Deeping to 175 for eight, David Gillett hitting 69.

On Sunday at Sleaford, Bracebridge Heath did the double for the second year running, beating Nettleham in a high scoring Bews Brown Cup final. After a slow start which saw the champions on 104 for three at the half way stage, Rob Cook hit 116 off 93 balls – including 11 fours and three sixes – to help Bracebridge to 268 for eight at the close, Matt Smith taking four of the wickets. In reply, after 25 overs, Nettleham were on target with 102 for three but were unable to up the run rate and finished their 50 overs on 212 for eight, Matt Smith making 50 and Mark Fell taking three wickets. The umpires named Cook man of the match.

For weekend of September 1 and 2

With two more matches to play, Bracebridge Heath are on the verge of winning their fifth Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League championship while Boston now have only the slimmest chance of avoiding relegation.

The league leaders picked up 17 points after successfully chasing Sleaford’s total of 203 for eight while Boston lost out to Caistor by just 11 runs in a high scoring game at the Mayflower Ground. Stephen Bradford scored 50 for Sleaford and Vikram Atri 56 for the home side at Cross O’Cliff Court while at Boston Marc Watkins made 92 of Caistor’s 243 for three and Kris Adams was 61 not out. Kevin Evans then hit 66 and Conrad Louth 58 before Boston were bowled out for 232.

Second placed Grimsby kept up their challenge with a 20-pointer at Augusta Street where Scott Harneiss was the unluckiest batsman of the day, being out one short of his second century of the season. Grimsby hit 290 for three, Richard Antcliffe with 88 and Oliver Burford 78, then bowled Woodhall Spa out for 184.

Bourne’s trip to Market Deeping was over by tea, by which time the visitors had been bowled out for 68, with all 10 batsmen caught. Deeping then overtook this total for the loss of three wickets to collect 20 points and move up to seventh.

The only draw of the day was at Owmby where Louth made 195 for nine and restricted Nettleham 147 for seven leaving both sides on the same percentage in joint eighth place. Graham West made the only half century of this match with 69.

For weekend of August 25, 26 and 27

Market Deeping denied Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League leaders Bracebridge Heath an outright win in a high scoring match at Cross O’Cliff Court while second placed Grimsby added to Caistor’s woes and Lindum stayed in close contact with the runners-up spot with a 13 run victory over Sleaford.

Bracebridge made 293 for five, with Vikram Atri scoring 93 but Deeping were also on good batting form and reached had 203 for six at the close. However, at Caistor, the home side were all out for 116 chasing Grimsby’s 220 for seven.

On a glorious afternoon, the match at Sleaford was the only one where the team batting first failed to make 200 as Lindum were bowled out for 177. But yet again, the Lincoln side’s bowling attack was up to the challenge as Sleaford were all out for 164, Tom Lane taking six for 49.

This pushed Sleaford down to fifth after Bourne beat Boston by 118 runs to move into fourth, Will Clough hitting the day’s only century with an innings of 126 for Bourne.

But it was Nettleham who made the biggest jump up the table going from 10^th to seventh after registering the day’s top score of 300 for five then bowling Messingham out for 152.

And Woodhall Spa came out on top in the match at Jubilee Park against fellow league newcomers Louth who nevertheless took home 11 points after making 222 for seven in reply to Woodhall’s 248 for nine.

On bank holiday Monday, Lindum’s run of victories was halted in a high scoring match at Messingham which saw the home side score the winning runs in the final over of the match. The fixture was brought forward from September 1 following the award of an ECB grant to Messingham for the re-laying of the pitch on which work will begin this week. Josh Brodie made 83 and Alex Hornsby 55 of Lindum’s total of 227 for five while for Messingham Jacob Thorne hit 48 and Dave Dawson 45. This win widened the gap between Messingham and Caistor and the Scunthorpe side now the two teams above them well within their sights.

Nettleham won through to the Bews Brown Cup final at the expense of Skegness. The Lincoln side notched up their second 300 plus total of the weekend, making 325 for five with Phil Brown hitting 136 and David Manby 66. In reply, Skegness finished their innings on 180 for eight. Cleethorpes were forced to concede their semi-final to Bracebridge Heath after a mix-up over Yorkshire League fixtures. So September 9 will see Nettleham take on the league leaders in the final at Sleaford.

For weekend of August 11 and 12

Bracebridge Heath look set to claim their fifth Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League title in succession after defeating close rivals Grimsby in a low scoring match. Having bowled their opponents out for 115, the leaders then lost seven wickets – three of them with scores level – before claiming victory.

Lindum stay third after defending yet another modest score. This time it was at Jubilee Park where Woodhall Spa bowled them out for 165 only to fall 30 runs short after Josh Brodie claimed five wickets. But the closest match of the day was at Sleaford where Nettleham made 205 for eight — Rob Cook hitting 54 — and went on to win by just two runs as the home side were all out for 203 with two balls of the match to go.

At Abbey Lawn, Louth became the latest side to bowl Bourne out for a low score. The home team could manage only 138, a total Louth overtook for the loss of four wickets, Nuwan Shiroman contributing 56 and three wickets.

These victories for Louth and Nettleham meant there was no change at the bottom of the table, where Caistor and Boston still occupy the relegation places despite Caistor’s 20-point win over Messingham at Brigg Road.

Messingham were bowled out for 197 chasing the home side’s 226-4, despite a knock of 73 from Jason Scheepers. Caistor skipper Kris Adams put in a man of the match performance with 68 runs and five wickets while Peter Briggs missed out on a century by just eight runs.

Boston recovered from a disastrous start to hang on for a losing draw against Market Deeping who put recent poor batting performances behind them to hit the day’s top score of 235, John McDougall making 82. At the close, Boston had reached 175 for nine — having at one stage been 34 for five — and picked up nine points while Deeping claimed 18 to move them up two places to seventh.

For weekend of August 4 and 5

Louth provided the upset of the day in the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League when they held leaders Bracebridge Heath to a draw. Currently in ninth place, the league newcomers bowled the champions out for 177, Paul Morgan making 59 and Charles Baxter taking six of the wickets. Louth then hung on to make 136 for seven and take nine points from the encounter while restricting their opponents to 13.

Second placed Grimsby, meanwhile, were demolishing Market Deeping in a 20-point victory at Augusta Street which moved them within 1.5 per cent of top place. Richard Antcliffe hit the only century of the day with 128 while Neal Snell contributed an unbeaten 72 before Deeping were bowled out for 100.

Messingham claimed the weekend’s only other 20-pointer against Bourne at Northfield Road where bowlers from each side took six wickets. For the home side, 17-year-old Shaun Dalton took six for 17 off nine overs to help bowl Bourne out for 155 in less than just 37 overs. However, Messingham – who were left with 63 overs to bat - lost eight wickets overtaking this total as David Christmas bowled 21 overs with 10 maidens and took six for 35.

Lindum again defended a modest score after being bowled out for 185, then restricting Caistor to 163 for nine, Marc Watkins making 56. This bounced the Lincoln side back up to third place with Sleaford staying fourth after a winning draw at Boston. Warren Nel hit 70 of Sleaford’s total of 248 for eight but Boston picked up 10 valuable points after reaching 207 for seven off their 50 overs, Conrad Louth making 51.

Nettleham also held on to collect extra points at home to Woodhall Spa who were all out for 234 in the final over the innings, Ricky Lovelace adding another 50 to his rapidly growing total of runs. Nettleham then had 178 for seven on the board at the close, David Manby unbeaten on 48.

For weekend of July 28 and 29

Lindum re-claimed third place, Caistor slipped back down into the relegation zone and Louth skipper Arran Brindle hit her maiden half-century in an eventful weekend in the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League.

With all six scheduled matches played for the first time in six weeks, there was movement in all areas of the table apart from the top two, where Grimsby – the only unbeaten side in the league - inched closer to Bracebridge Heath after taking the full 20 point points at Boston while the leaders had to settle for a winning draw at home to Messingham.

The crucial bottom-of-the-table match between Caistor and Nettleham ended with Nettleham taking the lion’s share of the points after the home side failed by 61 runs to reach their opponents’ total of 212 for six. And with Louth scoring a convincing victory over Market Deeping, Caistor’s brief stay in ninth place ended. Brindle hit 68 of her side’s 193 for nine at Outgang Road where the home side then collapsed to 80 all out.

Kevin Evans’ return to the league saw him take five for 30 for Boston but this failed either to ease Boston’s relegations worries or to halt second placed Grimsby’s progress towards another 20 point win. Boston were all out for 142, a total Grimsby overtook for the loss of six wickets.

Bracebridge Heath once again failed to bowl out their opponents after Rob Cook hit the only century of the day to help his side to 287 for four. Messingham then batted their way to 187 for seven at the close.

Lindum scored a surprise victory at Bourne after being bowled out for a modest 137, Charlie Hopkins taking six wickets. The home side then slumped to 121 all out after Matt Rutherford had taken five wickets for only 13 runs.

And Sleaford slipped back to fifth, just one above opponents Woodhall Spa who made 238 for five, Jack Luffman and Ricky Lovelace both making half centuries. Steve Scott then took five for 42 as the home side were all out for 137.

The semi-finalists in the Premier League Bews Brown Cup were finally decided at the weekend when Nettleham beat Messingham by just four runs and Skegness got the better of Hartsholme. Nettleham were all out for 229 at Northfield Road, Matt Smith and David Manby each hitting 70, while Messingham were bowled out for 225, Ian Dawson scoring 80. At Skegness, where the teams agreed that the result of their league game would decide who went through following two rained off cup games, Hartsholme hit 133, a total Skegness overtook for the loss of five wickets. Nettleham now play Skegness and Bracebridge Heath take on Cleethorpes, both on Monday, August 27.

For weekend of July 21 and 22

Once again, the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League weekend was a total washout. This means that the league has now lost almost one-third of all fixtures – 54 out of a possible 168. The two top teams, Bracebridge Heath and Grimsby, have each lost six out of 14 while Sleaford has lost the least, missing only three games.

The weather has also disrupted the league’s cup competition, the Bews Brown Cup, with one match decided on the toss of a coin and two second round games still to be played. Skegness and Hartsholme, whose cup-tie was rained off on Saturday, will decide who goes through to the semi-finals when they meet in the league next weekend, while Messingham and Nettleham are due to play next Sunday (July 29).

For weekend of July 14 and 15

It was all change for most of the teams in the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League after a weekend that brought a mixture of tight matches and unexpected results.

Caistor moved out of the relegation zone for the first time this season after a winning draw over high-flying Sleaford who fell just 15 runs short of victory. This match brought a century in each innings, both from overseas players with Marc Watkins hitting 120 for Caistor and Warren Nel unbeaten on 114 for Sleaford.

Boston recorded their first victory of the year when they skittled out Messingham who made only 82 chasing their hosts’ total of 176. And Market Deeping moved into the top half of the table with a five wicket win over Lindum for whom Matt Rutherford hit the day’s third century, making 108.

But undoubtedly the most exciting match of the day was at Augusta Street where Louth regained some of their early season form. Grimsby reached 209 for six off their 50 overs, Richard Antcliffe falling one short of his 50, and at the half way stage with the score on 129 for three, Louth looked well in command. But the Grimsby bowlers stuck to their task and at the close, Louth were still six runs short of their target with only one wicket standing.

Bourne hit the highest total of the day with 248 but could not unseat Woodhall Spa’s final pair as once again the league newcomers hung on for a draw. The points gained from this match moved Bourne into third behind Grimsby, while Sleaford and Lindum were pushed down to fourth and fifth respectively.

For weekend of July 7 and 8

The second half of the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League season got under way with the first tie of the season, another ton for Mark Fell and a dramatic recovery by Caistor to beat Bourne.

The tie came at Lindum where the home side were all out for just 141, Alex Hornsby scoring 59 of these runs. And at the close Boston also had 141 on the board and only wicket standing. This gave the bottom side a useful 11 points, but fellow strugglers Caistor picked up 16 after an unbeaten fourth wicket stand of 152 between Scott Indian and James France. This took the home side from nine for three to their target of 161 and victory over the former second placed side.

Fell’s 104 came at Woodhall who will rue dropping the Bracebridge skipper three times before he reached 50. The visitors reached 222 for five but also dropped catches and Woodhall dug in to deny the leaders outright victory, finishing on 107 for nine. Grimsby hit the highest total of the day at Messingham and consolidated their second position, Scott Harneiss and Dammika Gunawardena both making half centuries. Andy Langford then hit 56 for Messingham who took a share of the points with 186 for seven.

Nettleham slipped deeper into trouble and now stand equal 10^th with Caistor after going to down in a low scoring match at home to Market Deeping. The visitors were left chasing 141 and won by seven wickets, David Gillett hitting an unbeaten 62. A waterlogged pitch at Owmby, where Louth were playing Sleaford, brought the only cancellation of the day but Sleaford nevertheless moved into third place while Bourne’s defeat pushed them to fifth and Lindum up into fourth.

For weekend of June 30 and July 1

No play was possible in five of the six Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier matches for the third week in succession as the rain moved northwards through the county during Saturday morning. Only the Messingham v Louth game got under way, only to be abandoned half way through the first innings with Messingham on 107 for one, Richard Dannatt hitting 65 of these runs.

For weekend of June 23 and 24

For the second week in succession, only one match was played in the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League – and again it was London Road that survived the weather. Sleaford are now the only team in the league to have completed all 10 scheduled matches and Saturday’s victory over Messingham moved them up to fourth place in the table. Tony Wood hit a half century in Messingham’s total of 187 for nine and Warren Nel made 68 for Sleaford who, having reached 154 for three, looked to be cruising to victory. However, the home side lost five more wickets – including two run outs – scoring the required 34 runs.

For weekend of June 16 and 17

In a weekend that saw five Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League matches called off without a ball being bowled, the only fixture that took place resulted in the first defeat of the season for leaders Bracebridge Heath.

Sleaford escaped the deluge that hit grounds to the north and south of the town and, having won the toss, Mark Fell elected to bat. However, the Bracebridge skipper had only added five to his season’s growing run tally when he was caught behind off Nick Goacher. Nick John and Vikram Atri (33) took the Bracebridge score to 50. But both were caught by Glen Robinson off Luke Hollingworth and when Stephen Bradford also claimed two wickets, the league champions were 109 for five.

Richard Dannatt chipped in with a wicket to make it 114 for six but Brett Houston and Stuart Airey dug in and put on 53 before Houston was bowled by Shaun Morris for 31. Airey went on to make an unbeaten 23 and at the close of their 50 overs, Bracebridge had reached what was for them a modest 189 for eight.

Houston then got his revenge by bowling Morris for four and in almost a carbon copy of the first innings, Warren Nel and John Riddell took Sleaford to 53 before the second wicket fell. However, where the visitors’ 50 came in the 14^th over, Sleaford were into the 20^th and Stewart Gunthorpe made it 55 for three in the 21st.

Nel and Bradford then shared a partnership of 62 which ended when Fell bowled Bradford for 22, leaving Sleaford requiring 73 to win off less than nine overs, a seemingly impossible target. However, Paul Roberts had other ideas, joining Nel in a partnership that started slowly. But with six overs to go, the batsmen began to hit out, taking 11 off one Jonathan Davies over and 16 off Fell, including a six from Roberts.

This still left 35 to win off four overs but despite a change of bowling, the onslaught continued, Airey going for 12 and Houston for 13. Going into the final over, Nel and Roberts had reduced the deficit to three and Sleaford got home with four balls to spare, Nel with 90 and Roberts hitting 52 off 31 balls. This result reduced Bracebridge Heath’s lead at the top, putting them within reach of Grimsby and Bourne who lie equal second and although Sleaford remain fifth, they are now only a fraction behind Lindum.

For weekend of June 2 and 3

Eleven half centuries were scored in the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League and though only one was converted into a ton, this century was instrumental in moving Caistor off the bottom of the table.

The Brigg Road team recorded their first win of the season overcoming Louth by six wickets thanks to an unbeaten 105 from Marc Watkins — the 18-year-old Australian’s second hundred in successive weeks — ably assisted by 63 from Peter Briggs.

This victory consigned Boston to bottom place following their comprehensive defeat at the hands of leaders Bracebridge Heath for whom skipper Mark Fell added another 90 to his growing tally of runs. Boston were bowled out for 84 after Bracebridge had declared on 297 for five.

Below the leaders, it was all change as Grimsby bowled out Bourne for a meagre 125 and went on to win by nine wickets to move up to second, changing places with their opponents who dropped to fourth.

Between these two are Lindum who stayed third after their youthful side scored yet another success, defeating Nettleham by 35 runs, the honours once again going to 19 year old Kiwi Josh Brodie who hit 49 and took seven for 46.

Sleaford stay fifth after a winning draw over Market Deeping who reached153 for eight chasing the home side’s total of 200.

And Messingham continued to climb the table, leapfrogging opponents Woodhall Spa to go from ninth to sixth as they won by four wickets after bowling Woodhall out for 197 with Shaun Dalton taking five for 28.

For weekend of May 26-27

Bracebridge Heath’s top table position remains unchanged in the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League after rain washed out their match at Grimsby with eight overs to play.

But lower down it was all change as, with the remaining five matches completed, Lindum took over in third place, Woodhall Spa slipped from equal third with Grimsby to fifth and Messingham and Market Deeping both moved up a place moved up a place to ninth and seventh respectively.

Lindum’s upward climb came at the expense of Woodhall Spa who were bowled out for 193 chasing the home side’s 236 for five, Josh Brodie once again recording the day’s highest total with an unbeaten 130. And Market Deeping ran down Boston’s total of 202 for eight for the loss of four wickets, thanks to a quickfire 69 not out from David Gillett.

A low scoring game at Todmoor saw Louth restrict Bourne to 151 for seven, only to be bowled out for 117, strengthening Bourne’s hold on second position.

Sleaford stay fifth but are now breathing down Grimsby’s neck following their four wicket win over Nettleham for whom Nathan Poundall made 74. This defeat for Nettleham helped Messingham move up a place after they beat bottom placed Caistor by three wickets.

Mark Fell hit 76 and Jonathan Miller took five wickets for Grimsby as the leaders made 222 for seven off their 50 overs, but with Grimsby 131 for six, conditions became to poor for play to continue.

Sunday’s (May 27) Bews Brown Cup programme was wrecked by rain with all matches called off now due to be re-arranged.

For weekend of May 19-20

Louth and Boston found themselves on the receiving end of some of this devastating bowling which saw both teams struggling to avoid the league’s most unwanted record of lowest team total.

The weekend saw five Readers Lincs ECB Premier League bowlers claiming five-wicket hauls but none could match 19-year-old Bela Xipu of Bourne, who took seven for 57 in his side’s victory over Messingham.

At Bracebridge Heath, Louth won the toss and asked their opponents, the innings closing on 266 for five – Stuart Airey top scoring with an unbeaten 77 – and giving no hint of things to come. Then five wickets for 28 runs from Jonathan Davies and an even better performance of five for 18 from Brett Houston saw Louth all out for 46.

And just down the road at Sleaford, a similar picture was unfolding as Shaun Morris hit the highest score of the day with 116 as the home side finished on 247 for seven. Boston quickly found themselves 10 for four, then 32 for nine before Colin Cheer and Jonathan Morris took them to their final total of 56, Nick Goacher with five for 28 and Richard Dannatt (5-26) doing the damage.

John McDougall was the day’s other century maker as Market Deeping took on Grimsby, both sides rapidly becoming this season’s drawn game experts. Grimsby made 249 for eight, Suneth Gunawardena hitting 91 but McDougall ensured his side picked up 10 points from the match with an innings of 107 as Deeping reached 203 for four at the close.

Nettleham continue to struggle to find last year’s form, suffering yet another big defeat at the hands of Woodhall Spa. The league’s new boys moved back up the table to equal third after Rob Bee had hit 95 to help his team’s total to 222 for nine, Paul Cook claiming another “fifer” for Nettleham who were still 60 runs short when their final wicket fell.

And Caistor’s woes worsened after losing to Lindum, who continue to rack up the points despite losing eight first team players before the start of the season. Caistor were all out for 152 before Josh Brodie’s unbeaten 78 saw Lindum to a seven wicket win.

Xipu’s seven wickets helped bowl Messingham out for 170, of which Ian Dawson hit 59. Opponents Bourne then lost six wickets overtaking the total.

For weekend of May 12-13

Two Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League matches fell victim to the weather, meaning that positions in the league table will now be calculated on percentages rather than points.

At Grimsby, the fixture against Boston was called off after only two overs had been bowled, while at Messingham, after several interruptions for rain, that match too was abandoned. This left the position of Messingham’s opponents Bracebridge Heath’s unchanged at the top of the table while Bourne were involved in another tight match which saw them beat Lindum by 14 runs to remain second.

Sleaford continued their improvement in form with victory off the penultimate ball of the match over Woodhall Spa who slipped to fifth while Louth moved up to fourth after taking the large share of the points in a draw with Market Deeping.

But for bottom placed Caistor, it was another disappointing day as they went down to Nettleham by five wickets. This gave Nettleham the only maximum 20-point haul of the day, which moved them up two places in the table.

Damp weather restricted the flow of runs in all completed matches, Louth’s Graham West top scoring with 79 against Deeping while West’s team-mate Nuwan Shiroman and Bourne’s Charlie Hopkin both claimed five wickets, Hopkins also hitting a half century in a man of the match performance at Lindum.

For weekend of May 5-6

Bracebridge Heath blasted their way to the top of the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League table with a massive total of 332 for seven at home to Lindum with skipper Mark Fell hitting 168 and Vikram Atri contributing 67. The visitors then slumped to 124 all out despite the efforts of Matt Rutherford who was unbeaten on 63.

Runs also flowed once again at Market Deeping where Messingham were the visitors and the two sides continued their tradition of close, high scoring matches. Jacob Thorne was the unluckiest batsman of the day, finishing 99 not out as Messingham made 242 for six, only to see Deeping overtake this for the loss of six wickets. John McDougall and David Gillett were the main contributors with 76 and 70 not out respectively.

Sleaford again fought out a close match at home to Grimsby, but this time were on the winning side, ending 19 runs ahead to pick up the larger share of the points.

Bourne scored an unexpectedly easy win over Nettleham who were bowled out for 109, a total the home side overtook for the loss of two wickets in just 17 overs.

This saw the Lincoln side plummet down the table to lie 11th, just above Caistor who went down to Woodhall Spa by three wickets, a win that pushed the newcomers up to equal second place with Bourne.

And Louth kept up their momentum, winning a close match at Boston, thanks largely to an unbeaten 66 from Graham West. Louth now lie equal fifth with Lindum.

The quarter-finals of the Bews Brown Cup, the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Knock Out competition, will feature two non-ECB league sides after Hartsholme defeated Louth in the last of the first round matches. Hartsholme will now visit fellow Lincs League side Skegness while the remaining three matches see Boston at home to Bracebridge Heath, Messingham entertaining Nettleham and Cleethorpes playing Bourne at Chichester Road.

The first round of the competition was completed at the weekend with Nettleham, Boston, Hartsholme and Cleethorpes winning through to the last eight.

A high scoring match at Alkborough saw Boston make 251 for nine after losing their first two wickets for 25 runs. Richard Tomlin and Daniel Milgate (23) added 49 and from 90 for four, Tomlin and Tom Baxter (28) put on a further 82. Tomlin fell to Steve Clay for 79 to make it 188 for six but the lower order continued to push the score along, number nine Ian Morris hitting 18 off 14 balls. Alkborough skipper Steve Clay took four of the wickets but was first out with the score on 22, bowled by Milgate who took the second on 24. Clive Coulthurst and Nigel Brown added 52 before three wickets for Colin Cheer reduced the home side to 99 for five. Coulthurst and Lee Brocklebank then added 85 off 15 overs and while this partnership stayed together, Alkborough had a good chance of victory. But when Morris dismissed Brocklebank for 44, which came off 38 balls, and Coulthurst followed, caught off Nic Stone for 79 with only three runs added, the home side’s hopes faded and despite the efforts of the lower order, the final wicket fell on 225, Cheer with three for 33 off 10 overs and Morris three for 21 off seven.

Caistor were left chasing 234 after Rob Cook hit 119 for Nettleham. Caistor set off well, taking two wickets for 26 runs and the third on 61 but Cook and David Manby (48) set about the bowling to push the score along. At the close Nettleham had nine wickets down, with James France adding four to his previous day’s six. Caistor also got off to a bad start, losing three wickets for 31 runs. France (45) and Mark Gowshall shared a partnership of 60 but from here only Paul Dimbleby got into double figures as Paul Cook took five for 22 off his 10 overs to help reduce the visitors to 130 all out.

At Cleethorpes, Grimsby were bowled out for 168 then took seven of the home side’s wickets before Cleethorpes claimed victory. And Hartsholme became the second non-ECB League side to win through to the next round when they convincingly defeated Louth, Brad Portlock hitting 63 and Stuart Bell making an unbeaten 62 in the home side’s total of 214 for eight. Nuwan Shiroman took five for 24 for Louth then Paul Shepherd claimed four for 27 as the visitors were bowled out for 89.

For weekend of April 28-29

Newly promoted Woodhall Spa recorded their first victory in the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League with an unexpected success over Bourne. Robert Voss set Woodhall on the road to success with a five-wicket haul to help bowl Bourne out for 146. And in a nail-biting finish, the home side’s final pair held on to take their side to a one-wicket victory.

It was a day of close finishes as Grimsby hit their winning runs off the final ball of the match against Louth who were playing for the first time on their adopted pitch at Owmby.

And Boston and Sleaford picked up points in winning draws where only a handful of runs separated the teams.

Caistor came within 11 runs of Sleaford, for whom Luke Hollingworth made a half-century, while Messingham were 16 behind Boston. Conrad Louth once again starred for Boston while Messingham’s Ian Dawson followed up last week’s half century with a score of 83.

Two weeks into the season, Lindum top the table, two points ahead of Bracebridge Heath who hit the weekend’s highest score of 321 for three at Nettleham, Vikram Atri making 100. But despite Stuart Airey’s five for 37, the four times champions were unable to bowl their opponents out as the home side hung on to make 162 for seven.

Lindum’s Josh Brodie hit the day’s other century after Lea Peacock’s 91 had helped Market Deeping to 209–9, denying Lindum maximum points. Brodie was unbeaten on the day’s top individual score of 101 as Lindum claimed a four-wicket victory.

On Sunday, Bourne and Messingham won through to the second round of the Bews Brown Cup. David Christmas amassed 117 runs to take Bourne to 251 before the final wicket feel at Market Deeping, Gary Yeeles claiming five wickets. In reply, Deeping were all out for 154.

And at Messingham, Brodie added 78 to his previous day’s century as Lindum finished their innings on 230 for seven. But 62 from Jacob Thorne and a fine unbeaten 56 from skipper Dave Dawson saw Messingham home by two wickets with six overs to spare.

For weekend of April 21-22

The Saturday of the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League 2007 season saw newcomers Louth and Woodhall Spa show the type of form that won them promotion to the county’s top flight. But while Louth went on to take 20 points from their opening match, Woodhall were eventually overwhelmed by four-times league champions Bracebridge Heath.

Arran Brindle’s side (Louth) were soon among the runs at Sleaford, making 229 for six, with Nuwan Shiroman celebrating his move to a new club with an innings of 74 then going on to take five wickets as Sleaford slumped to 137 all out, Charles Baxter also contributing five.

Woodhall’s bowlers, meanwhile, were causing Bracebridge major problems at Cross O’ Cliff Court, reducing their hosts to 38 for four, then 70 for five. But Jared Van Deventer and Stuart Airey doubled the score and Airey went on to make an unbeaten 86 as Bracebridge reached 219 before the final wicket fell in the last over, Australian Robert Voss claiming four victims. Woodhall’s batsmen got off to a flyer, reaching 50 for one in just 11 overs but the introduction of Brett Houston to the attack set the wickets tumbling and the visitors were bowled out for 120, Houston with five for 31 off 10 overs.

Elsewhere, New Zealander Josh Brodie proved a good signing for Lindum, taking five Boston wickets for 52 runs while late substitute Mark Evans also took five to leave the home side 152 all out. Brodie then hit 58 and Matt Rutherford 65 not out as Lindum claimed a seven-wicket victory.

Grimsby’s overseas player, Sri Lankan Suneth Gunawardena, also got off to a good start, making 54 which, along with Richard Antcliffe’s 73, helped the home side to 265 for seven against Messingham who hung on for a winning draw with 156 for eight, Ian Dawson hitting 57.

And at Bourne, Caistor’s Australian import Marc Watkins began his season with an innings of 79 but this could not save the visitors from a six-wicket defeat as Bourne overtook their total of 186 with the help of an unbeaten 85 from 19-year-old Ben Stroud.

Nettleham recorded the highest score of the day at Market Deeping, making 278 for four, Matt Smith and Matt O’Halloran hitting 88 and 70 not out respectively. Tom Andrews then scored 86 for Deeping whose innings ended on 212 for nine.

On the Sunday, Lincolnshire County Cricket League side Skegness blasted their way through to the second round of the Lincs ECB Premier League’s Bews Brown Cup competition, overcoming ECB League newcomers Woodhall Spa with eight overs to spare. Woodhall’s 50 overs yielded a respectable 260 for seven but the seasider’s Australian import Robinson followed Saturday’s league half-century with an innings of 149 and aided by an unbeaten 55 from Paul Butler – who retired from Premier League cricket with Lindum at the end of least season – saw his side a seven wicket victory.

Cross O’Cliff Court also witnessed a century as Mark Fell’s unbeaten 108 took Bracebridge Heath to a nine wicket win over Sleaford.