Lincs ECB Premier: Louth see off Boston challenge

On a bright and sunny morning, the Wolves headed down to Boston knowing a victory was crucial on the back of two frustrating abandoned games.

Veteran skipper Andy Carrington lost the toss, and Boston decided to have a bat.

On the first Saturday of the season where sun cream was needed, Carrington and Keaton Critchell opened on a low bouncing wicket, bowling very accurately.

The first breakthrough arrived when Carrington found the edge of the opener’s bat, and 18-1 turned into 18-2 two balls later when Carrington trapped Boston number three plum in front of his stumps.

With the pressure building, the third wicket fell at 28-3 as the Boston’s batsmen tried to steal a quick single to mid-wicket. A scrambling Seb Darke found keeper West’s gloves for a simple run-out.

Into the fray came Corden as Critchell’s fine spell ended. Settling into his afternoon’s work, he took his first wicket with a caught behind.

The visitors looked to pile on the pressure as Carrington (3 for 28) claimed his third wicket thanks to a smart piece of keeping from West.

Taking drinks with Boston at 70-5, Carrington and co wanted to hammer home the impressive start, and after the break Corden continued to challenge the Boston lower order.

Several chances flew through the slips, and with the Boston lower order struggling to score off Corden and Keast, Carrington turned to extravagant fielding positions to gain the last five wickets.

Keast (1 for 9) claimed a wicket, and Corden (5 for 47) ran through the other four, leaving Boston all out for 107 in 38.4 overs.

As openers Laurence Scott and Seb Darke strolled out to the crease they knew a solid start was important in a small chase.

After one over the umpire decided to call them off for rain, and after a 45-minute delay, Scott and Darke were dismissed in consecutive overs to leave Louth 21-2.

The score moved on to 38 when Critchell was caught behind off spinner Tom Baxter, and the West duo were the next to go as Louth slipped to a worrying position at 50-5.

Corden batted through to drinks with Richard Bell, taking the score to 59-5.

Corden and Bell batted with maturity and experience beyond their years and waited patiently for the bad balls, and Louth secured the remaining runs without losing a further wicket.

Corden (35 not out) capped his man-of-the-match performance, while Bell (31 not out) batted the situation perfectly to earn Louth maximum points for the day.

Louth will aim to build on this encouraging result when they head to Bourne CC on Saturday, knowing another positive result will see them move further away from the relegation zone.

Thanks go to club sponsors Kenwick Park and matchball sponsor Tetney Golf Club.