Compensation in Lincolnshire

After torrential rain in the lower Ure valley at lunchtime on Saturday seemed to wipe out all hope of seeing local cricket I was surprised to find that I need have travelled no further than Harrogate to see a match in the afternoon. With the available Saturdays beginning to run out I was annoyed that I had not looked further afield.
Yesterday brought compensation however, when a family celebration took me to my niece's home in Lincolnshire, where after a splendid lunch a family group were able to watch her two sons, my great nephews, playing for Fulbeck in The Lincoln and District League Division Three.Three of course really means four, there has to be a premirer division. With my brother and sister present it occurred to me that it would have been in the 1950s when the three of us last watched organised cricket together.
Yesterday Fulbeck were away to league leaders Aswarby and Sleaford Albion, who play at Aswarby Park which is just off the A17 south of Sleaford.It is a parkland ground which one reaches by driving across a rather bumpy field. We arrived for the closing overs of Aswarby's innings when some lusty hitting brought them to 121 for 8 off their forty overs. Not too difficult a target one might think but a stroll out to the middle in the tea interval showed a wicket of a sporty nature, one for which helmets were invented, and an outfield which would encourage the lofted shot and at the same time tempt fielders to wear gum shields.
Fulbeck's bright start lasted little more than two overs and the fall of the first wicket brought older g-nephew(known as Batesy) to the crease. He defended his first ball in a classical style ,the second singed his eyebrows and the third shot along the ground to have him lbw. Twelve for two became twelve for three in the same over and this brought in younger g-nephew (also known as Batesy) at number five.Batesey the younger demonstrated a sound defence but had still not got off the mark when it was time for us to leave with Fulbeck on 21 for 4. I was informed later in the evening that they had been all out for 70 with Nick (a rarely used alternative to Batesy) top scoring with 20, a creditable effort on such a wicket.
This week sees my wife and I in The Lake District for a few days, sadly Cumberland are away, but with the forecast continuing unsettled especially in the north I will probably come to regret even more my lack of enterprise on Saturday.