Grantham slide to defeat against Grimsby Town in Lincolnshire Cricket Board Premier League

Grantham suffered a narrow defeat in the Lincolnshire Cricket Board Premier League despite a brilliant batting display from Sakhumuzi Ndlela.

Ndlela smashed a scintillating 134 off just 106 balls in a valiant chase against Grimsby Town.

Chasing 299, Grantham were eventually bowled out for 264, falling 35 runs short in a tense contest.

The innings started poorly, with Mohammed Saif and Qundeel Haider falling cheaply.

Nauman Abid and Aqib Afzaal offered some resistance, contributing 17 and 36 respectively, but it was Ndlela who stole the show. His explosive knock included 22 boundaries and a six, keeping Grantham in the hunt throughout.

Support came in small bursts from Madhava Yvas (20) and Vasanth Rajagopalan (18), but a late collapse, including three ducks, sealed Grantham’s fate.

Earlier, Grantham’s bowlers toiled as the opposition posted 299 from their 50 overs.

Aryan Pandita was the pick of the bowlers, taking 4 for 40 in his nine overs.

Ndlela backed up his batting performance with two wickets, although his seven wides proved costly.

Nauman Abid delivered a tight spell (10-0-40-1), while Aqib Afzaal also chipped in with a wicket.

Billingborough secured a thrilling five-wicket win over Freiston in Division One of the South Lincs Border League, thanks to a superb unbeaten century from Dylan Garfoot.

Chasing a testing target of 226, Billingborough were anchored by Garfoot’s commanding 129 not out off 120 balls.

His innings contained 17 boundaries and he shared a crucial unbeaten 103-run stand with Aaron Pullum (43 not out), to guide the hosts home with just over four overs to spare.

Earlier, Freiston posted a competitive 225 before being bowled out in the 45th over.

A late collapse saw Freiston lose their final five wickets for just 37 runs, as Billingborough’s bowlers fought back strongly.

Aaron Green was the pick of the attack, claiming 3 for 42, while Robert Arnold (2-50) and Shane George (2-51) offered valuable support.

Grantham 3rds saw their Division Two promotion push suffer a blow with a 22-run reverse at Orton Park 2nds in a high-scoring affair.

Rysz Page (2-27) was the pick of the Grantham attack as Orton Park amassed a huge total of 276-5 from their 45 overs.

In reply, Jared Jno-Baptiste hit 84 not out and was well supported by Sean Nel (56), Ben Kennedy Short (45) and Archie Hitchcock (30 not out) before the overs ran out with six wickets down.

Belvoir recorded a seven-wicket success over Plumtree in Division A of the South Nottinghamshire League.

Daniel Gibson returned figures of 9-3-24-5 as Plumtree were bowled out for 175 in the 34th over.

The Belvoir reply was in some trouble at 15-2 and 71-3, but it was rescued by an unbeaten fourth-wicket stand between Tom Neville, who made 64 not out, and Sam Foster’s 68 not out.

In Division G, Belvoir 2nds suffered an eight-wicket loss at home to Poplars.

Nitesh Shyam (39) and Amila Mendis (21) were the main contributors as Belvoir were bowled out for 99.

Shyam then picked up two wickets with the ball, but the visitors raced to their target in the 12th over.