Sutton are champions

Long Sutton look set to play in the top flight of Lincolnshire cricket for the first time in 17 years after being crowned South Lincs and Border League Championship champions on Saturday.

They needed three points to seal the title on Saturday.
But any hopes of being able to seal it with maximum batting points went out the window after Freiston put them in on a difficult pitch.
They threatened not to pick up any after slipping to 59 for 6 and then 90 for 7 early on.
But a fine 60 from Tim Norris helped them get over 100 for the first point and up to 125 for the second before he was the last man out the very next ball in the 40th over.
That meant Freiston had an extra nine overs to chase down 126 while Sutton needed to pick up two wickets for another point to claim the title.
Sutton’s opening Paul Edgeller and Barry Stanway kept things tight but neither were able to pick up a wicket as Freiston progressed to 28.
But then skipper Jake Burton brought himself on and the spinner claimed the two wickets needed in the first three balls of his spell to ensure the title was won.
He went on to take 5 for 22 as the visitors slipped to 76 for 7.
A late cameo from Ashok Kumar (24) put Freiston to within seven runs but Norris ensured it was even more of a day to remember for him and the club as he picked up the last three wickets for one run to earn a five-run victory.
Burton admitted there was an audible sigh of relief when they got the first batting point but he always backed his side to get the job done.
“No-one’s stopped us from taking two wickets this season,” he said. “The Frieiston openers looked in control but I knew if we kept being patient it would come.
“We all said it was about winning the game as well so it was great to get in and do it and celebrate that as much as the league title.”
Long Sutton were founder members of the Lincolnshire Premier League in 2000.
They last played in it in 2005, while this is the first time they’ve won the South Lincs and Border League since 2007 when the club elected not to be promoted due to the travelling involved.
However Burton says the club have decided to go for promotion and have provisionally been accepted for it.
“I said at the start of the season I wanted us to get top four and pick up 10 wins for the season, so to win it with 14 wins is excellent,” he said. “Winning the league and promotion was part of a five-year plan after I became captain, but not for another few years so we’re ahead of expectation.
“We always knew we had a squad that was capable of competing.
“One of the major pluses is we’ve benefitted from consistency of selection. We’ve maybe used 12 players who have played 10 plus games and many of those played 14 which is fantastic.
“We’re a team who are of a similar age that has played for each other and a really good level of cricket.”
Long Sutton 2nd XI will also be promoted from Division Two, though they missed out on the title after Royal Boston won their final game of the season at Ketton on Saturday with Sutton having already completed their fixtures.