Three days planned at Scarborough with a mixture of cricket and music on the spa proved a real tonic last week. However, as already mentioned by Brian, the first day's cricket between Yorkshire 2nd XI and Worcestershire 2nd XI never happened as there was a large area of dampness on the bowler's run up at one end. The groundsman informed us that play would not start until twelve, but when we returned from a nice walk we were informed by some of the Yorkshire players that the start would be even later.
An inspection at 1.30, by which time the groundsman was cutting and rolling a new wicket, proved fruitless and by 2.30, soon after the arrival of Brian Senior by train from Leeds, play was called off for the day despite the non-stop sunshine. So it was off to Sea Life centre for a first visit to see the penguins, seals, otters etc.
Next morning a full day's play with Worcester batting for most of it after losing two early wickets to Wainman. Star of the show was 'Audrey' Hepburn, an Australian with a fine innings of 121. Seem to remember seeing him score runs at Darlington last season. He was aided and abetted by Will Fraine from Huddersfield and Durham University who made an impressive 87 not out. Ben Twohig another Yorkshire born player scored a useful 21. Worcester finally all out for 373 with Wainman easily the best bowler with 5-49.
Yorkshire declared on their overnight score of 20-1 and Worcester forfeited their second innings leaving Yorkshire a challenging total of 354 to chase for a win. Elliot Callis who had been out for a duck the night before was soon back at the wicket again. He was soon out again to make the early score 13-3, following Geldart and Gibson back to the pavilion, thanks to a fine opening spell from Morris and Tongue. Waite soon went as well bowled by Tongue for one. So 16-4 and the small band of spectators started thinking of it being over before lunch.
Help was at hand thanks initally to a grafting partnership between Rhodes and Hussain
who put on 45 before Rhodes was bowled by his namesake, the son of Worcester coach Steven Rhodes. Rafiq came in and played a long innings of two and a quarter hours for 37. Fortunately at the other end Jordan Thompson,coming in at number eight, took on the bowlers with a vengance and reached a well deserved century just after tea.
When Rafiq was out soon after the interval the score was 183-7 and again the spectators thought the game was all over. Not so as Thompson and Wainman put on 131 for the eighth wicket and when Wainman was out for 47 the score stood at 314-8.
Yorkshire ran out of time and the game ended in a draw on 328-8, just 26 runs short of victory. A fine effort and in the end an excellent game of cricket.
Saturday morning and off we went to York for the game between the home side and the Yorkshire Academy both joint top of the Yorkshire League North. The sun was shining and all seemed well with the world until we arrived at Clifton Park. Cars were parked on both sides of the road outside the ground, the car park was full, lines of portaloos were formed on the far boundary and the whole complex was full of people.
We then came across a sign which explained a pop festival was taking place with forty bands on four stages. Enough was enough so we turned around and headed for Harrogate.
Having escaped from this mini Glastonbury all was peaceful and tranquil as we arrived at St Georges Road, Harrogate just as the umpires took the field for Harrogate against Castleford. Here we were re-united with Mr Winn before he departed to Knaresborough. Having seen the visitors already this season we were happy to see that the home side were batting as the very young visitors have been having a rather torrid time. Skipper David Wainwright, their one quality player, led from the front as usual taking the first wicket after a very quick start by the Harrogate openers. He got Good lbw for 26 with the score 78-1 after only 11 overs.
Harrogate's other opener, the overseas player Sanson, also fell at the same total and Cas were in business. A middle order collapse saw Harrogate slump to 136-7 and only the late runs from Taylor, Hampson (the deputy wicketkeeper) and Geeson-Brown saw them to the respectability of 200 all out. David Wainwright as usual was by far the best bowler with 3-25 in sixteen overs.The innings ended in farce with all the last four batsman being run out. All these seemed self inflicted apart from one brilliant throw which hit the stumps at the bowlers end.
Wainwright opened the batting for the visitors but had a rare failure being bowled by Taylor for only one. Three wickets fell with the total on eight and despite a good effort from Sykes, the only batsman to reach double figures with 23, wickets continued to fall with regularity. With spinners Foster and Taylor taking most of the wickets Harrogate rushed through their overs to ensure a Duckworth Lewis victory if the rain came. It did come with Cas on 51-8, but relented in time for the final two wickets to fall to give Harrogate a full ten point victory.
So an early finish and back in Leeds the rain had not yet arrived. Adel were playing Guiseley and on the neighbouring pitch Adel A were taking on Pudsey St Lawrence A in a Dales Council game. Adel had bowled Guiseley out for only 142 but were struggling having lost two wickets for only ten runs. Andy Laws led the fight back and Adel were back in the game at 44-2 when he black clouds which had been circling for some time finally unloaded a lot of rain and the game was abandoned.
Sunday saw us at Headingley for the first session of Yorkshire v Pakistan A. We were hoping that 17 years old Harry Brook would be playing his first game in a first class match for what was largely a Yorkshire second team. A late team change meant that he did play and when Lees tried to leave a ball outside off stump, which came in and bowled him, young Mr Brook did appear.
Last week Harry Brook made the highest ever score for Sedbergh School with an innings of 198 against Durham School and made a total of 500 runs in a week.
Harry Brook in front of the Sedbergh scoreboard.
Today however he was not so lucky which shows how cricket can take you from triumph to despair so very quickly.
Sadly like many good players before him he was clean bowled by a splendid yorker first ball and departed the scene very sadly. His day will come before too long.
The Headingley scorecard sadly records Harry Brook's dismissal.
At lunchtime we left the ghostly atmosphere of an almost deserted Headingley for the much more attractive surroundings of Weetwood, just up the road, where Yorkshire Under 15s were taking on their Lancashire counterparts in front of an excellent crowd of camp followers from both sides of the Pennines. Good to meet up with Harold Galley, the Yorkshire Schools secretary, for so long the scorer and reporter for the Yorkshire Academy side. Yorkshire finished on 199-7 after 50 overs and were heading for victory with Lancashire 80-7 when it began to get cold and we left.
Good crowd at Weetwood for the under 15s
What we learned some considerable time later was that the Lancashire 8th wicket pair put on what must surely be a record partnership of 113 and the visitors were easy winners in the end by two wickets and with two overs left. The heroes for Lancashire were Samuel Dorsey, the captain, who came in at number four and batted through to the end with 69 not out and number nine Jack Wynn who also scored 69 before being out just before the finish. Congratulations to Lancashire for an excellent victory.
So an eventful few days in the life of a professional cricket watcher not to mention all the doom and gloom surrounding Brexit!
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