Bowlers on song as Seconds stay in touch

The win kept Rasen in second place in Division Three of the Lincolnshire County League, and only four points behind leaders Nettleham.

Rasen won the toss and decided to bowl first and the visitors couldn’t have made a better start when opening bowler Daniel Clark took a wicket with the very first ball of the match, Nick Crawford edging to wicketkeeper Tom Bradford.

The wicket set the tone for the rest of Broughton’s innings as Clark then took two more in his second over, including a stunning catch from Neil Davies to leave the home side struggling on 10-3.

Before the end of his spell, Clark took two more wickets to finish with figures of 5 for 24 off eight overs.

The two Bierleins were then introduced to the attack, and Gary and Karl kept the scoring down while picking up regular wickets.

Despite a well-played 43 from opener Philip Glentworth, only he and one other Broughton batsman managed to reach double figures as the hosts were bowled out for 78 in the 24th over.

Gary finished with figures of 3 for 25 from his eight overs and Karl Bierlein finished with 2 for 8 off five.

In reply, Rasen got off to a fast start with openers Jon Stephenson and Neil Davies making use of the fast outfield to score freely.

The pair smashed their way to the small total without losing a wicket, hitting the winning runs in only the 12th over, finishing on 80-0.

Stephenson scored 43 not out and Davies finished unbeaten on 35.

Market Rasen will look to heap further pressure on the leaders when they host Scothern Second XI on Saturday for a 1.30pm start.