Bradford's praise for the captaining skills of Burford
Lincolnshire and Sleaford skipper Burford oversaw a four-wicket victory for his club side on Saturday, and Bradford believes that his superior made the correct calls at the right points in the match.
"Burford handled the batting and the bowling brilliantly. He used his vast experience to change around the bowling attack when he needed to," stated Bradford.
"Just to top it off, he top-scored with 78. Burf and Alex Sears' partnership in the middle was crucial to our victory, they got runs on the board when the game was in the balance."
Bradford, a slow left-arm bowler, insists that had it not been for his captain's changes to the bowling attack, Nettleham would have more than likely hit a score better than their final total of 166.
"Nettleham started their innings well and were scoring freely early doors, but Burf's a pro-active captain and he decided to change things around after the 18th over.
"He wanted to slow the ball down, so I came into the attack and took five wickets. His decision had a big impact on the match, it allowed us to chase a manageable total," said Bradford.
Bradford was the stand out performer in the match with the ball having taken five wickets for 39 runs from 15 overs.
The 46-year-old caused a Nettleham middle order collapse when brought in to bowl, as he took the prized wickets of Rob Cook and James McKay.
The Sleaford man admitted it was nice to have executed his captain's plan for Nettleham's demise.
"It's nice to have a plan that comes off for the team. I was given a job to do with the slower ball and I did what I needed to.
"We felt the pitch was going to dust up and in the end we found it was more conducive to my bowling. It was a good deck and a true wicket which I was able to exploit," revealed Bradford.
The Sleaford bowler, who has taken 25 wickets this season, admitted that despite his individual bowling performance it was a close game that just tipped in his own side's favour.
"We were absolutely delighted to have gotten the win from such a close game that could've gone either way," explained Bradford.
However, Sleaford's joy was Nettleham's despair, with the away team suffering their sixth consecutive defeat in the league.
Sleaford's second highest wicket-taker, Bradford, believes Nettleham's form is down to low confidence.
"I spoke to a couple of their players after the match, and I just think it's a lack of confidence.
"They're a good team on paper, with great options but they're lacking some crucial momentum."
Sleaford's Stephen Bradford.
Comment on this story