Grantham 2nd travelled to Spalding knowing that this was a must-win game for both sides and, after losing the toss were asked to bat first after the covers had leaked in a couple of areas. Ady Wing and Stewart Mudie (39) opened and soon found that scoring was difficult on a slow wicket combined with a slow outfield but both grafted to put on 66 for the first wicket before Mudie was out. The top order all contributed after Wing (32) became the second of five victims for Answar Hussein. James Cameron-Clarke (21), Martin Parmley (27) and Danny Ashley(32) then pushed the total up to 172.

Recognising that pace off the ball was difficult to score off Grantham opened with Joe Farmer who bowled excellent lines producing figures of 10 overs, 5 maidens 0 for 7 but it was his partner, Danny Ashley who took the plaudits with 7 for 30 and took Spalding apart giving Grantham a well deserved victory.

Grantham hosted Market Rasen on Saturday and it was a welcome return to form for the home side as the picked up the full 20 points over a side battling to stay afloat in the league. After losing the toss, Grantham were astonished to be asked to bowl on a pitch that had more than a tinge of green and was soft from the previous week’s rain. The overcast conditions were bound to favour the Grantham seamers and it didn’t take long for the first breakthrough. A hooping away-swinger from opener Joe Peck started the Grantham account in the third over when the leading edge was caught by Jamie Brumby at point. Fellow opener Dan Freeman (5-19) was relishing the conditions and challenged the batsmen all day with aggressive bowling. There was not much resistance to the Grantham attack as the visitors struggled to a total of just 82.

Not satisfied with 5 wickets for the day, Dan Freeman then led the batters to victory scoring an unbeaten 51 from the top of the order. Market Rasen did manage to take away a solitary point from the match as they claimed 4 wickets in the day, but a comprehensive victory from Grantham sees them draw level with the visiting side. Grantham are at home again next week against Spalding and they will be looking to repeat the performance against the league’s backmarkers and start securing their place for the 2016 season.

Frank Woodhead Cup Final

As the captains tossed the green surface on the wicket looked perfect for Grantham’s seamers that caused Oakham grief last time the two sides met. Oakham won the first battle however and chose to have a go at Grantham’s batters first. This decision was justified after just two balls of the match when opener David Whapplington was undone by a perfect in-swinging Yorker. From that point however Grantham took hold of the game and piled on the runs as Oakham tried to subdue Rohan Nurse (82*) and Matt Wing (60*). Grantham set a formidable target of 163 for victory in just 18 overs.

Oakham weren’t going to go down without a fight and they were up with the run rate all the way until the 14th over. Despite the efforts of C Flowers (43) and someone else who got runs the pressure to maintain a 9-per-over run rate was too much for Oakham and they finished 20 runs short. 4 catches on the boundary from Matt Tavaré and Rahul Kumar dismissed the key men for Oakham and the bowling of Neil Stevenson (4-32) and Joe Peck (2-28) kept the Oakham middle order constrained.

Grantham 2nds made the trip down the A52 knowing they faced a stern test at league leaders Boston. Grantham batted first and lost Martin Parmley early but Stu Mudie dug in to put together a hard earned 46. Boston bowled tight lines forcing the Grantham batters into mistakes with one of their Australian Pros, Ben Vella picking up 5 wickets to leave Grantham below par in 111.

What should have been a routine chase suddenly intensified with the loss of 2 wickets with Jacob Unsworth (2-18) leading the way. When Skipper Ady Wing (2-18) then removed Dave Newman and Tom Baxter Boston were under the pump. Hood rode his luck and cobbled together 34 which finally saw Boston home with the loss of 5 wickets. Both teams observed a minute’s silence prior to the game to mark the loss of club stalwart Dennis Pridmore who sadly passed away this week.

Grantham hosted Grimsby at Gorse Lane on Saturday and it was a very important game in the context of the season with both sides hovering around the relegation zone. Although Grantham were 15 points ahead of Grimsby, a win would give them a bit of breathing room as the seasons builds to a climax. Grimsby won the toss and decided to bat. Grimsby came out firing, chancing their arms at any width offered by the Grantham bowlers. Connor Hawkins smashed 71 off as many balls and Michael Brown scored 69 at a canter. Grantham lacked discipline throughout the innings which was disappointing for a side that has been improving steadily since the start of the season. Joe Peck picked up his third 5-wicket haul of the season, finishing with figures of 5-49. The fielding errors would ultimately cost Grantham 30 runs in the first innings and this made the total score of 238 a big ask for the batters.

Grimsby were not so generous with their fielding throughout the innings and Grantham’s top order had to work hard for every run. Karanjit and Dan Webb were dismissed as the score passed 50, but a 65 run partnership between Josh Mihill (28) and newcomer Daniel Freeman (56) put Grantham back in the running. Captain Rohan Nurse scored 56 in 47 balls but was eventually run out by a smart piece of fielding from David Carr. From that point Grantham were always just off the run rate and eventually finished the innings 11 runs short having lost 8 wickets. The draw closed the gap between the two sides by 4 points but Grantham will be disappointed to have missed out at home. Especially as the travel to 2nd place in the league, Woodhall Spa next week.

Grantham travelled back in time on Saturday to face Woodhall Spa during the annual 1940’s festival. As the Big Bands played and the tanks thundered, Grantham buttoned up their shirts and buckled their pads ready to bat against a side placed second in the league.

Dan Freeman (46) and Dan Webb (15) took to the pitch and it was a promising start for the travellers as the opener pair played with freedom and put on 34 for the first wicket. Unfortunately wickets began to fell with more frequency as the innings progressed. It was a familiar face doing the damage too as Malinga Bandara took his second 6-fer of the season against Grantham and Grantham struggled to a total of 163. Rohan Nurse managed to accumulate runs throughout the innings and ended as Grantham’s highest scorer with 53.

All was not lost for Grantham however and they took to the field with defiance and determination. After failing to make any early inroads Joe Peck was replaced by all-rounder Dan Freeman who managed to claim four victims in the day. Neil Stevenson bowled with consistent accuracy and claimed a single victim. Unfortunately the damage was done by opener Sam Evison (71) and Grantham could never generate the pressure to force mistakes from the Woodhall batters. A disappointing day for Grantham sees them move back down to the relegation zone. Market Rasen visit Gorse Lane and wins will become more and more crucial as the season reaches its conclusion.