Wretched start to season continues for Spalding 1st with heavy Grantham defeat

Spalding Town 1st (69) lost to Grantham (326-6) by 257 runs: Spalding 1st were cut adrift by 19 points at the foot of Lincs ECB Premier League following this heavy defeat on Saturday.

The gap grew from six points after they were skittled out at Spalding Grammar School by Grantham for just 69 runs in little more than 25 overs.

The visitors were asked to bat first and went on to record the day’s highest team total with 326-6.
Karanjit Bansal hit 148 off 130 balls, sharing an opening partnership of 179 with Dan Webb (92), then adding 113 with Rohan Nurse (46).
Joe Peck and Neil Stevenson then took five wickets each to dismantle Town – one of only two teams without a win this season.

Skipper Rob Ambrose, who is concerned but not panicked by their form, lamented a poor time in the field which laid the foundations for the loss.
“Grantham batted well and we didn’t bowl well,” he said.
“Karanjit is a class player. “Anything loose they hit for four. It wasn’t as if their scoring came in clumps, it was a comfortable six an over throughout.”

Ambrose gave praise to Warren Nel, who took 3-55 off 11 overs after coming on late.

Opening bowler Charlie Kearns (2-63) reckons margins for Town to turn things around are fine.
He said: “It’s the edge that’s going through third slip when we only have two slips in or the inside edge that misses the stumps by a millimetre and then goes for four.
“Little things like that make a big difference and at the moment it seems that a number of half-chances are going against us early on in every game.
“On Saturday the openers then went on to punish us. I have played against Karanjit for a number of years and he has always been a batsman who can punish you if he gets in – after the first five overs I can’t remember him giving a single chance.”

Town number five Ben Smith made 22, with Tim Norris and Luke Hollingworth (both 11) the only others to get into double figures.

Meanwhile, It was a derby to forget for Kiwi all-rounder Mark Joyce, who got to face just eight deliveries before being unluckily given LBW.
He had had no better luck with the ball, being hit for 15 off his single over.
Ambrose says his former Sleaford team-mate will come good with match fitness.