Deck chair given a short airing

posted by John Winn

Yesterday morning's temperatures were high enough for me to disturb the deckchair from its winter hibernation and take it with me on the short journey to Clifton Park for the friendly game between hosts York CC and their visitors from South Manchester, Didsbury CC. As I arrived the players were taking the field, ten minutes earlier than scheduled and with a fifty rather than forty five over game in prospect. York had won the toss and batted on a greenish looking track and lost an early wicket when Leaning was bowled for 5 but thereafter partnerships of 46, 63 and 94 took them to 209 for 4 from where 300 seemed a reasonable target. And so it proved with a final score of 303 for 8, with Collins and Kay the main contributors.

 Some of Didsbury's fielding showed early season  rustiness and only skipper Nick Anderson, who at times may have thought the umpire's finger was also in need of WD40, achieved an economy rate of under 5. The two teams had played a T20 * match the previous evening which York had won comfortably and the homesters may have thought at tea that a double was within their grasp.        


 At the beginning of the afternoon the weather was such that the deck chair did not seem out of place and  heartened by news of Somerset's collapse at The Riverside, this blogger was in something close to clover  but well before the York innings finished I had sought shelter in the bar. There I was able to pass the time with the sage of Headingley, Bob Proctor and two other generations of his family.

The interval was my queue to depart and take the A19 to the village of Raskelf, near Easingwold where the Nidderdale League club were entertaining, in what has become an established annual fixture, Vale of Leven CC from the west of Scotland. It was almost tea when I arrived and Raskelf reached 220 for 3 off 35 overs with 4 men 'retired out' .Entering the club house I was warmly welcomed by chairman Peter Sigsworth who pointed me to the website for a detailed history of the club. Theirs is an unusual story for in 1963 their original ground was sold for building and the club was in abeyance until 1993 when it became part of a village hall/ multi sport facility on the outskirts of the village. They entered league cricket in 1995 by joining the Pilmoor Evening League and two year's later embraced Saturday league cricket with a successful application to the Nidderdale. Had I thought to ask I would have been interested to know why they chose a league in which most clubs are 'over the water', rather than the more convenient York League. I suppose one answer might be that it is not so 'convenient' when you have to travel to the east coast.

The playing area at Raskelf is very large and with light rain starting the view from the car park was not a good one and I headed for home as the Dunbartonshire club's innings began. By the time I crossed the toll bridge over the River Ure the rain was steady and I was not surprised when Total Cricket Scorer showed the game at York had been abandoned with Didsbury on 161 for 6 and somewhat behind the clock. I would not be surprised if the Raskelf fixture had met a similar fate to enable  the Scottish lads to get an early start for their planned night out in Harrogate.

Finally a week or two ago I set a hare running by suggesting that it might not be possible for Hartlepool CC to host Tuesday's three day fixture between Durham and Yorkshire Seconds. Bypassing our Hartlepool correspondent I this evening telephoned the club and they confirmed that the match will be played at the attractive Park Drive ground. Good news, may see you there.

*they actually played an 18 over game