One Day Trophy defeat for Lincolnshire by Northumberland

Lincolnshire welcomed Northumberland to Heslam Park, home to Scunthorpe Town CC for the 50 over contest in the first of four group stage games that will take place over the next five weeks.

After losing the toss, Lincolnshire were asked to bat first and despite a bright start, led by the returning Sam Evans (current Leicestershire CCC professional) and home town boy Karanjit Bansall, they lost wickets at regular intervals to find themselves in a precarious position at the mid innings drinks break.

At this stage current Cleethorpes CC player, Jordan Cook joined the unmoved Sam Evans at the crease and the pair began to rebuild as they looked to drag Lincolnshire toward a total that would be competitive.

The two mixed defence with attack and rotated the strike well, Sam Evans in particular demonstrating his talent to put Lincolnshire in a position to mount a final charge.

Both batters passed 50 before Jordan Cook fell for 56.

The dismissal of Cook saw the Lincolnshire innings stagnate somewhat as the lower order found it difficult to get the Northumberland attack away.

Evans was left to shepherd the tail as the lower order fell away, attacking where he could Evans reached a fine century, eventually finishing on 113 not out.

The Lincolnshire innings closed on 236 all out which, despite Evan’s heroics, had the feeling of being a little light on what had been a good surface to that point.

Unfortunately, that prediction proved to be the case as, despite an early breakthrough, Northumberland were able to establish a dominant position.

Lincolnshire’s attack found wickets hard to come by as the wicket became more batter friendly as the day progressed. Woodhall Spa’s, Alex King claimed 2-58 but was to be the only real highlight from the second innings as Northumberland eased past the Lincs total with 10 overs to spare.

Elsewhere in the county there were some standout performances in the Lincolnshire Premier League as Lindum’s Will Wright scored 109 and Scunthorpe Town's Karanjit Bansall made a magnificent 167.

This Saturday sees the first game for the Lincolnshire Development XI as Bourne CC host a game against the MCC.

The game should be a good opportunity for aspiring Lincolnshire players to stake a claim for selection in the full Lincolnshire county men’s side against what is expected to be a strong MCC XI. Play starts at 11am and everyone is welcome to come along and watch.