The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Spalding Town slumped to their heaviest defeat of the Lincs ECB Premier League season so far on Saturday as Sleaford handed them a ten-wicket reverse.
On a day when rain caused a host of games in the division to be abandoned, Spalding were skittled out for just 93 at London Road – before the dominant hosts knocked off the required runs in just 13.4 overs.
Tom Shorthouse was chief destroyer with bat and ball for Sleaford, taking 5-14 in Town’s 44-over innings and then blasting 59 not out off just 39 balls in the run chase.
Having been put into bat by a Sleaford side that must have been expecting rain, Town skipper Rob Ambrose opened up with Faisal Javed in the absence of Josh Newton, while Warren Nel was also missing.
Town lost Javed early on for just five as Shaun Morris (2-18) trapped him LBW.
The score then moved on to 29-1 before Luke Hollingworth (5) was caught by Cephas Zhuwao off the bowling of Nick Goacher (1-19).
Ambrose, who hit two fours en-route to 17, followed one run later as Morris clean bowled him.
Jon Manton (12) and Jonathan Miles (13) attempted to steady the ship with dogged knocks and moved the visitors onto 59, but Miles eventually became Shorthouse’s first victim.
Three balls later Tim Norris also fell to Shorthouse for a duck, leaving Spalding wobbling on 59-5.
The wickets continued to tumble with Jordan Butcher (3) run out by Cameron Hall and Josh Lawrence caught LBW by Adi Sreedharan (1-17).
From then on it was the Shorthouse show, as he got rid of the stubborn Manton, Jack Barratt (3) and Roy Tilley (0) to leave Spalding all out seven runs shy of 100.
There was some lower order resistance from number nine Shoib Chaudhry, who cracked 21 not out from 23 balls to boost the score.
However, Sleaford were in no mood to hang around in their reply and made incredibly light work of their target.
Shorthouse, fresh off his bowling heroics, clubbed eight fours en-route to his decisive half-cenury.
At the other end, fellow opener Jack Wilson hit three fours as he chipped in with an unbeaten 33 in an unbroken partnership of 94.
The defeat saw Spalding claim no points at all and they remain bottom – but are now 12 points from safety.
They host Lindum at Spalding Grammar this Saturday (noon).
