A perfect summer evening - at last

Posted by Tony Hutton

Monday was a sunny day, with little wind, but no cricket to speak of during the day unless prepared to travel long distances for county second XI T20 games - something I was not prepared to do.

However my website researches came up with three evening games in the Wetherby vicinity and with the weather remaining fine, with clear blue skies, I set off for my first cricket of the day about six p.m.

Little Ribston, just north of Wetherby, was my first port of call. A ground I had not visited for over twenty years I suspect. Nothing seemed to have changed at all.
The pavilion a modest wooden hut,the circular fenced ground and the sheep looking very woolly indeed grazing around the outside.

Ribston were playing near neighbours Spofforth in the C.B. Atkinson trophy, one of several cup competions run by the Harrogate evening league. The home side batted first and lost wickets at regular intervals before finishing their twenty overs with the modest total of 84-7. All good humoured and friendly stuff although I suspect the vicitors will have knocked off the runs after I left at the interval.

Result still awaited, but the Harrogate evening league website is very efficient indeed and usually provides full scorecards of even the most obscure matches.
The sun was still shining and the light was perfect for taking photographs with long shadows across the grass.

Off I went to Grange Park, Wetherby which is the home ground of evening league side Carr Manor, originally from Leeds, but who have led a nomadic existence for many years. They had already bowled out Scotton for 86 and were just coming out to start their innings when I arrived.

Grange Park is a big sporting complex, with several rugby union grounds and a bowls match in progress. Inside the pavilion some sort of martial arts class was going on,
so this was carefully avoided. The one snag here is the proximity to the A1(M) road, which provides a continuous noisy background. However there are good views across the river Wharfe and woodland to the other side of the ground.

Carr Manor were well on their way to winning the game, which they did by nine wickets, when I left for my last call at the ground of nearby Thorp Arch and Boston Spa. Over the river bridge at Boston Spa, the ground is just on your left and is entered via a narrow gate off the pub car park.

Again some years since I had been here, but the rather frosty welcome remains. A sign outside the pub says 'patrons only, no cricket parking'. Serve them right there was only one car parked in the large car park and presumably not much custom.

The ground itself was a picture in the strong evening sunlight and a fairly large crowd, presumably mainly friends and relations, were watching the under seventeens do battle with Shadwell. The home side were batting second and the figures at the bottom of the scoreboard made it look as if the visitors had been dismissed for only 50. So I hurried round the ground, taking my pictures from every angle with the sun reflecting off the nearby buildings. TABS (as they are known) were 48-1 and a boundary was hit which I thought ended the game.

However when play continued, I managed to see a figure 1 in front of the 50 total.
So play would go on until quite late, but it was time to return home after a most enjoyable and perfect summer evening. Let's hope we get many more!