Spalding Town’s difficult Lincolnshire Premier Division campaign ended in relegation after a final-day defeat at Woodhall Spa, despite a spectacular century from overseas batter Walter Kinlock.
Kinlock struck 107 from only 79 balls as Spalding posted 244 after being put into bat. He shared a 118-run partnership with Divyeah Vaseeharan, who made 32, while Josh Lawrence added a valuable 43 from number nine. Spalding were eventually dismissed in the 48th over.
The result left Spalding Town 22 points from safety at the end of the season.
Kinlock century not enough for Spalding
Spalding made an encouraging start with the ball after Woodhall Spa began its reply. Barnaby Dring took two wickets for 56 runs and Nilantha Atapattu claimed one for 46 as the hosts were reduced to 36 for three.
However, the match changed when Tayyab Tahir joined Harry Hollingsworth. The pair added 190 for the fourth wicket, taking control of the chase. Tahir scored 134 from 105 balls before Joshua White had him caught behind, while Hollingsworth finished unbeaten on 75.
Woodhall Spa completed the win with nine overs remaining.
Long Sutton win title with game to spare
Long Sutton secured the Lincolnshire Division One South championship by beating second-placed Freiston by 42 runs away from home in a title decider.
Sutton lost Rajan Sangha during a wicket-maiden opening over from Freiston’s Manish Kumar, who finished with two wickets for five runs. Calvin Bird and Daniel Oldfield then rebuilt the innings with a partnership worth 109. Bird made 64 and Oldfield 47 before Sutton lost wickets regularly and were bowled out for 173 in the 43rd over.
Barry Stanway contributed 21 and Daniel Plant remained unbeaten on 20, giving Sutton a total they needed to defend to prevent Freiston moving into first place before the final match of the season.
Sutton’s bowlers quickly reduced Freiston to 55 for six. Rob Simpson took three wickets for 17 and Joshua Baker two for 32, while Stanway conceded only 23 runs from his spell. Hssan Raza Sadiq, with 39, and Rajeshwar Guddatti, with 25, added 50 before Jake Burton and Daniel Oldfield removed them.
Uddyan Hansana then took two wickets for three runs to dismiss the tail and seal the title with one match still to play. Long Sutton will play Moulton Harrox and Spalding Town in Championship South next season after Spalding’s relegation.
Moulton Harrox finish seventh
Moulton Harrox ended a disappointing campaign with defeat by Orton Park. Last season’s Championship South champions had chosen not to take promotion and will finish this season in seventh place.
Orton Park scored 287 for six after choosing to bat. Kieran Judd made 115 and Samuel Tyler added 50, while Ruari Drumm took four wickets for 37. Moulton were then bowled out for 110 in just over 26 overs.
Drumm top-scored with 31. Harry Shersby made 24 and Paul Edgeller 21 as Moulton attempted to recover from 34 for six, but the remaining batters failed to reach double figures.
Second teams also beaten
Long Sutton and Spalding’s second teams both lost in Division Two.
Long Sutton II were bowled out for 79 in fewer than 25 overs against Boston. Callum John took three wickets for 18, supported by loan players Sanka Sumanapala and Erander Kumara, who each took one for 15, but Boston reached the target in the 17th over.
Spalding were dismissed for 130 while chasing Royal Boston’s 180. John Healy, Lewis White and James Frascella each took two wickets, with Raj Hardy, Max Cooper and Dan Mulley also claiming one apiece. Mulley scored 39 in the reply and Frascella finished unbeaten on 30.
