Following the success against Spalding last week, Grantham were in high spirits as they prepared to play only their second home game of the league campaign against Market Deeping.  An injury in the warm up to wicketkeeper Josh Mihill was a setback but, after numerous phone calls, Rory Johnson stepped in and the team were ready to go again once more.  Captain Rohan Nurse won the toss and inserted the opposition on a green seamer; a decision vindicated when opening bowler, Joe Peck struck in just the third over.  However, wickets were hard to come by and the patience and experience of Deeping’s batters meant they were soon scoring freely.  Grantham’s bowler showed a characteristic lack of discipline and extras mounted up: something that they must address.  However, Grantham did take a flurry of wickets late on thanks to Karanjit Bansal (5-61) and they had some momentum as they began to bat.

Unfortunately the aggressive line of Deeping’s openers, Thomas Andrews and Patrick Brown, caused Grantham problems early on and wickets began to tumble.  Captain Nurse top scored for Grantham with 40 but no one else troubled the scorers much beyond double figures.  A difficult day was brought to a farcical conclusion when the final batsman was run out following a dropped catch.  Grantham have some issues to address before they start a run of demanding games away against Bourne next Saturday.

Grantham 2nd visited Belton Park in confident mood after three wins and started steadily with Ollie Clawson and James Cameron-Clarke taking Grantham along to 25 without loss but it was at this point that the wheels came off. Grantham then lost wickets in quick succession, these were attributed to three run-outs, some poor shot selection and some indifferent umpiring leaving Grantham all out for 54. Belton Park bowled well, particular Tom Ward, and were supported well in the field.

Grantham had a go at the Belton top order but without much joy, again any luck went Belton’s way and they lost 3 wickets chasing down the small target. It was a freakishly bad day at the office leaving Grantham looking forward to their next game at home to Sleaford.

Stamford 2nds visited Gorse Lane on a bright and breezy afternoon and bowled first with some success, picking up the wicket of James Cameron-Clarke thus bringing Gaz Bennett to the wicket. Martin Parmley punished anything short while Bennet (16) rotated the strike until falling LBW. This brought Matthew Wing to the wicket and the pair then put on 200 for the third wicket with Wing finishing on 83 not out, but it was Parmley who again showed his class carrying his bat for a magnificent 150 not out with Grantham posting 273.

The chase was always going to be a mountain to climb especially after Adam Parker (2/29) made it tough going for the top order, supported by the unlucky Rahul Kumar. It was the introduction of the change bowlers that then put the brakes on Stamford with Simon Oakes picking up 3 for 21 and Adrian Wing (4 for 25) finally bowling Stamford out for 112. Grantham supported the bowlers well with some good catching and ground fielding helping the seconds to their third win in three weeks.

It was a “must-win” game for Grantham, away at Spalding to get their season back on track and start making a mark on the league.  Grantham were asked to bat on a green wicket and, after two weeks of disappointing totals, the pressure was on the opening batsman to put a good start together and build the much needed momentum.  They set about this with measured aggression, playing their natural game and scoring quickly although barely offering a chance in the first 20 overs.  As drinks were taken Grantham were aiming for a big total sitting comfortably 146-0.  The run rate continued to increase as balls disappeared to the boundary.  It took until the 30^th over when Spalding got their first breakthrough when Dan Webb was dismissed for 92.  From then on it was Karanjit Bansal who did the damage smashing the ball to all parts on his way to 148 off just 130 balls.  A flurry of wickets was little consolation to Spalding who finished the innings needing a massive 327 for victory.

This total quickly became a near impossibility when Joe Peck took two wickets in two balls to start the Grantham account with the score on just 20.  From then on the opening bowler and Neil Stevenson consistently took wickets with aggressive bowling and some sharp fielding.  By the halfway mark, all was lost for the home side; one wicket remained and it took just 4 balls after the break for the away team to secure full points for the victory.  Joe Peck (5-39) and Neil Stevenson (5-30) bowled throughout the innings and shared the wickets between them.  A well-deserved victory for Grantham should see them take some momentum in to their home fixture against Market Deeping.

The damp and windy conditions gave Baston an early advantage after winning the toss and putting Grantham into bat. Progress was slow as the in form Dave Langford (30) again showed his talents, whilst wickets continued to fall. Jaden Fell was the pick of the youngsters with 17. Donnellan came in for a late flurry finishing 15 not out. Grantham had lasted out the overs with 1 wicket remaining.
In reply Baston also struggled in the conditions with Harry Robinson removing the opener with an unplayable swerver. Ian Robinson then kept up the pressure with 2-23 off 12. Grantham youngsters again showed promise with Jaden fell picking up 1-17 and Mason Hildreth limiting Baston to 22 runs off 7 overs. Newcomer Nick Hildreth gave Baston some real problems as he took 2-25. However as the conditions improved Baston powered home to claim the winning points.

Grantham 3rd XI got back to winning ways at the weekend against Heckington. On losing the toss Grantham were put into bat, with two early wickets Grantham looked to have another batting collapse however Fergus Myles(39) and Chris hall(22) steadied the ship for Grantham. This enabled the tail to wag with runs coming in the final 10 overs, contributions included Jake Unsworth(22) and Will Abbot(21*) gave Grantham a shout of winning an important fixture.

Grantham didn’t get the best of the starts, and soon the ball was flying to the boundary in all directions. However at 89-2, an entire Middle order collapse which left Heckington being bowled out for 94. Fergus Myles (5-22) had an outstanding game causing the batsman problems, Phil Abbot (2-15) kept it tight at his end and Will Abbot (1-25) bowled well at the start and also caused a run out. Grantham 3rds welcome Billingbrough to Gorse Lane, hoping to make it 2 in 2.