More than 450 runs scored in Lea & Roses trip to Thoresby

Lea & Roses won the toss and elected to bat on a wicket that was suited towards the batsmen. Stand in skipper Lee Mardle opened with Chris Needham.

Looking solid, the 100 partnership came up in 24 overs and the pair both moved on to their half centuries.

It was Needham who pushed on from here, bringing up his century and moving the score on to 194 before the wicket of Mardle fell after making 69. Only two more were added to the board before Needham’s own wicket fell, after a nice knock of 120.

James Cooper and Tom Lane were the new men at the crease. The pair added 37 runs to the board before Lane was bowled for 14. Keightley was next in and joined Cooper who was accelerating the score on. Cooper made 50 from only 31 balls and Keightley finished on 11 not out to round off a great batting display from Lea & Roses who made 276-3 from their 46 overs.

With such a massive score on the board it was always going to be a big ask for Thoresby to chase the total, however it was not going to be easy for the Lea & Roses bowling attack on a wicket such as Throsebys.

Brad Wilson made an early inroad with a caught and bowled but this was to be the only early breakthrough as Martin Cheshire and Matthew Skinner settled in for the day.

Lea & Roses were left a little frustrated in the field as a wicket would not come their way and Thoresby moved their total along nicely looking for the maximum batting points.

The only other wicket to fall in the Thoresby innings was that of Cheshire, who was run out by his runner.

Thoresby finished with a total of 191-2 earning seven points from the day, whilst Lea & Roses took home 14 and consolidated their position at the top of the league.

The Lea & Roses second team faced Bawtry at Roses this weekend. They won the toss and placed Bawtry into bat on a damp wicket.

Daniel Clay and Zac Metcalfe opened up, and got the home side off to a good start. Clay was rewarded with the first wicket of the day when the Bawtry opener tickled one round his legs to be caught by Michael Overson behind the stumps.Bawtry struggled to get the board going early doors and their problems got worse when Matt Housham replaced Metcalfe. After string of consecutive tight overs from Clay and Housham, Housham took his first wicket of the day bowling the remaining opener leg stump. A second followed with another catch behind from Overson, and a third was added via a catch by Clay.

At drinks Bawtry only had 40 on the board. Clay finished his spell of 13 overs with one wicket for 12 runs, and was replaced by Mickey Newton at one end, and Housham finished his first spell to be replaced by Jake Hutchinson at the other.

Newton and Hutchinson bowled well as Bawtry still didn’t find runs easy to come by. Hutchinson was the man that inflicted the damage, taking two wickets for 11 runs from his seven overs and a Zac Metcalfe added further woes with a run out to leave Bawtry seven down.

Lea & Roses looked to finish things off now. Housham came back to finish his spell and bagged his fourth wicket of the day with a caught and bowled, but despite Lea & Roses’ best efforts in the closing overs, the last two wickets did not fall. Housham finished the day with four wickets for ten runs from his 11 overs and Bawtry closed on 93-8.

After tea Jake Hutchinson and Shaun Metcalfe opened up for Lea & Roses who looked to knock off the Bawtry total. However, things didn’t prove to be easy going as Metcalfe was caught behind in the first over. Clay was next in but wasn’t to last long as he pulled one to mid wicket after only adding four runs, and then Zac Metcalfe lost his wicket without troubling the scorer to leave Lea & Roses 3 down after only a handful of overs.

Opener Hutchinson and next man Housham got going well though, dealing in boundaries and quick singles, which got the scoreboard ticking. However, just as it looked as though Lea & Roses were making progress Hutchinson was given out LBW for 22, Housham followed shortly after for 18, caught behind down leg side, and then Gregory was bowled for two.

With plenty of overs to go, skipper Overson and Toby Roberts were now at the crease, and sensibly slowed things down. The total crept closer but Roberts went for six, which sparked the beginning of the end as they lost three wickets without adding a run. Lea & Roses finished 18 short on the end, all out for 76.