It is but a twenty minute drive for me to the Knaresborough ground and I arrived just as the players took the field in front of a large crowd, one of whom was Brian Cobb who remarked on the profusion of cup finals at a pcw's disposal yesterday. I took my seat in the company of Tom Burrell and his family. Tom is the grandson of my former next door neighbour and his son Dan plays for Knaresborough Under 9s.
On a blustery afternoon when the sun made only brief appearances and temperatures were similar to those we had in May Burley chose to bat and the early overs set the pattern for the rest of the afternoon with tight bowling and keen fielding keeping the run rate at only a whisker above two an over. Only two men in the Wharfedale side made double figures, opener Nick Brook and lower order batsman Danny Bryan. Teenager Ollie Hotchkiss took 3 for 12 and Stuart Hudson picked up two wickets in a nine over spell that included seven maidens.
The gloom on the faces of the Burley supporters suggested that 87 was never likely to be a winning score and on what had now turned to a miserable afternoon with rain driving the players from the field at one point, many must have felt that their journey down the dale had been a mistake. Clearly the Burley players thought otherwise and top scorer Nick Brook produced a remarkable spell of bowling with 4 for 4 off 9 overs. He was well supported by Shane Etherington and Ed Brown and although a ninth wicket stand of 27 brought hope to the Beckwithshaw camp, possible saviour Hudson, like his namesake Henry, was cast adrift on 18 not out when number eleven Wademan fell in the 36th over.
Burley have now won the trophy nine times, thrice in the last four years. I wonder if any of their previous successes could rival the tension of yesterday's events.
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