Yesterday's Yorkshire League North game between Harrogate and the Yorkshire Academy at St George's Road promised to be a close encounter with both sides joint top of the league table. So it proved with the game going right to the last over with the Harrogate last pair together.
The Academy batted first, but without both regular opening batsmen Harry Brook and Ben Ainsley. Brook, we discovered later, was playing for his school at Sedbergh and scored a record 198 the highest innings in the school's history. The Academy certainly missed him as they struggled for runs on a pitch which seemed to help the spinners.
Yorkshire Academy batting at Harrogate
Mosun Hussain played a dogged innings to make top score of 47 and captain Jared Warner weighed in with 39 near the end to give the score some respectability at 185-9 in 50 overs. Off spinner Taylor was the best bowler from Harrogate, having opened the bowling and taken two early wickets, he finished with splendid figures of 5-45.
During the interval it was possible to see Harrogate Strays (the third XI) taking on Markington on the junior ground behind the pavilion. Runs were coming freely for the home side in contrast to the events on the main ground. In fact opening batsman J. Marshall was on his way to 132 and a Harrogate total of 286-8 in 45 overs, not bad going even on a smallish ground.
Harrogate Strays piling up the runs
However back to the main event and Yorkshire were quick to introduced slow left armer James Logan into the attack. He soon dismissed the two openers, both lbw and Harrogate were struggling at 39-2. The two main men, both former Academy players, Tattersall and skipper George Ross then had a good partnership which began to turn the game back Harrogate's way. They put on 52 before Ross was caught and bowled by Barnes for 33.
Building up to an exciting finish
Tattersall, who has being doing well recently for both Derbyshire seconds and Lincolnshire in the Minor Counties, was still there but finding it hard to score runs against some tight bowling, particularly from Logan. After three more wickets fell to make it 135-6 Tattersall seemed to get bogged down in the forties and was eventually
caught low down by Brown at mid wicket again off Barnes for 49, which was top score of the match.
Tattersall was suitably distraught and it seemed as if Harrogate's chance of victory had gone with him. When wicketkeeper Litvin and Taylor soon followed with Logan completing another five wicket haul it was 164-9 with the game almost over in favour of the Academy. Importantly though Logan now completed his allocation of sixteen overs and was removed from the attack. The last wicket pair of Geeson-Brown and Stowe needed another twenty two runs to win and enjoyed a major bit of luck when the ball eluded wicketkeeper Read and struck the helmet lying on the ground behind him. Five penalty runs to Harrogate!
The pair rode their luck, pushing singles and running well between the wickets, but taking their time until the game went into it's last over bowled by Warner. Off the third ball number eleven Harry Stow became the hero of the hour with a perfect cover drive to the boundary for the winning hit. A real cliff hanger and full praise to both teams for a fascinating game which could have gone either way.
While all this was going on further excitement on the junior ground where Markington progressed at some pace to an unlikely victory by scoring 289-5 in 43.3 overs to win by five wickets. Two more century makers into the bargain with 101 for Dennis and 112 not out for R. Thompson. A most entertaining day all round.
More action on the junior ground
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