Both Lindow 1sts and 2nds are 3 games away from a double promotion which will be the first time in the club's history that both sides would be competing in the top level leagues next season.
The 1st team welcomed Bunbury to Upcast Lane and home skipper Walker won the toss and elected to bat on what looked a challenging wicket. The visitors bowled very well and if it wasn't for Matty Mitchell's class shining through yet again with a classy 56, it could have been a different story. Tight bowling in the middle order saw a collapse and Lindow managed a below par 154 off the 45 over's.
Walker took two early wickets to give the home side the early second innings advantage, but things were looking bleak when Lindow were unable to break the 3rd wicket partnership leaving the visitors only needing 40 runs to win with 8 wickets in hand. What followed showed the true belief and grit in the Lindow team this year. Tyler managed to make the break through and picked up 4 quick wickets, supported by Bosshardt at the other end who's accurate spin bowling allowed him to take 2 wickets also.
Bunbury required 11 runs with 2 wickets remaining and skipper Walker returned to the attack to clean these up and lead Lindow to another 25 point victory. This see's the gap over rivals Woodford extended to 33 points with 3 games remaining.
The 2nds travelled to Bunbury and skipper Kendrick lost the toss and the home side elected to bat. Ahmed and Barratt bowled tightly to start with, picking off the Bunbury opener early. Youngster Stephenson then came to the crease and started to pick off the Lindow attack, on his way to a stylish 64, which put the home side firmly in the driving seat. Stubbs and Day were introduced to the attack, but it was Kendrick who finally picked up his wicket. The home side pushed on and finished the innings 211 for 5 off the 45 overs.
Lindow's innings didn't get off to the best start when James Venables was bowled by a pacey yorker from Lewis. Ben Rose went to the crease and batted with a lot of maturity and grafted for 25 over's for his 38, supported at the other end by Rob Venables who was very unlucky to be run out for 24.
A mid order collapse against Lewis' fast accurate bowling put the pressure on, with the unbeaten record at risk. Ahmed batted very maturely and managed to avoid losing his wicket in the 20 over's he was at the crease, to ensure that the visitors didn't lose the game, finishing on 107 for 9.
The 2nds are now 38 points clear with the final 3 games to go and remain unbeaten all season in the league which is a phenomenal achievement.
Match report by David Kendrick.
Photo: Ben Tyler.
