Lincoln Sunday League: Elliott ton consigns Middle Rasen to defeat

On a hot Sunday afternoon, Middle Rasen won the toss and elected to bat first on a hard dry pitch at Ashby Avenue.

The opening pair of Darren Salmon and Will Bradford attacked from the start and raced to 32 off four overs.

When the home side introduced the spin pair of Tom Fahy and Steven Wilkinson they were able to slow down the run rate and also picked up the wicket of Bradford for 31 with the score on 43.

Captain Salmon soon followed after being caught off the bowling of Fahy which brought Ivan Nash and debutant James Favill to the crease.

The pair batted brilliantly as they shared a third-wicket stand of 95, and in the 31st over Nash brought up his 50 with a clever reverse-sweep as the visitors looked to post a big score.

Fahy returned to the attack and once more kept the run rate down as Middle Rasen lost four wickets in the last three overs to finish on 185-7.

Nash top scored with 59 and was well supported by James Favill (40), while for Hartsholme, Fahy finished with figures of 5 for 33.

In reply, Hartsholme made use of the batsmen-friendly surface and attacked the Middle Rasen bowlers from the outset.

The opening pair of Matthew Wooldridge and Craig Elliot took Hartsholme to 67-0 after 10 overs, and in the 14th over, Elliot brought up his half-century.

The home openers gradually took the game away from the visitors, but just after the drinks break, with the score on 120, Wooldridge was caught off the bowling of Salmon.

This was the only wicket to fall in Hartsholme’s innings as Elliot upped his scoring rate to reach his century.

He finished the innings on 109 not out as Hartsholme reached 188 in the 34th over.

* Middle Rasen travel to Cherry Willingham on Sunday for a 2pm start.