LANCASHIRE LEAGUE LEADERS WIN AGAIN

By Brian Sanderson,

I picked Bob up this morning and we sent off to the other side of the Pennines to see the Ramsbottom against Lowermoor match in the Lancashire League .Ramsbottom were top of the league this morning and Lowerhouse were third.We had not been to this ground for a few years and during last winter the ground had been completely flooded  by the river Irewell so it was good to see the club had recovered .

Lowerhouse won the toss and batted first on a sunny afternoon. Lowerhouses pro Dieter Klein opened the batting and during the week he played for Leicestershire. Today he scored 26 and I heard later that he has not had a good season .Lowerhouses recovered to 132 for 2  before they collapsed 166 for 9. There was a very good crowd and the bar taking must have been good.The teas at Ramsbottom were rated the best in the league and I am sure they will be top again of the table this season.

Ramsbottom bowling attack of Read, Fielding and Smit were steady . There pro is Daryn Smit  who has been a the club for three years and broke Brad Hodge batting record in 2015 by scoring 1248 runs at 113.5. When we left the ground he was batting again and looked in no problem.

Arriving home I find the Ramsbottom won by 6 wickets  which leaves them two points in front of Burnley who are second.A ground worth visiting just to see the cricket archives in the pavilion. Great to see a club interested in their history.

Heading tomorrow to Headingley and a late finish.

AUGUST FIXTURES

By Brian Sanderson,


AUGUST 1    YORKSHIRE V WARWICKSHIRE  HEADINGLEY 2.00PM

                      LINCOLNSHIRE  V CUMBERLAND  GRANTHAM

                 

                2 M.C.C UNIVERSITIES   V DERBYSHIRE SECONDS  WEETWOOD  3 DAYS

                   NORTHANTS SECONDS V YORKSHIRE  MARKET HARBOROUGH
                 
                 DURHAM U17 v YORKS (3 days) at Stockton
                  LANCASHIRE U17 v DERBYSHIRE at Northern CC (3 days)
                 NORTHANTS U17 v STAFFS at Desborough (3 days)
                  WARWICKSHIRE U17 v NOTTS at Edgabston Foundation (3 days)



                4 YORKSHIRE V WARWICKSHIRE HEADINGLEY   4 DAYS.


               7 MUTINEERS V ST GEORGES  ARTHINGTON

            8 YORKSHIRE SECONDS   V DURHAM    YORK 1 DAY

          9 YORKSHIRE SECONDS  V  DURHAM     YORK 3 DAYS

      11  YORKSHIRE U 14  V  DURHAM    NEW ROVER


     12   LANCASHIRE  V  YORKSHIRE    OLD TRAFFORD  4 DAYS


    13  DERBY   V  ESSEX        DERBY         4 DAYS

   14   CUMBERLAND   V  NORFOLK  SEDBERGH   3 DAYS   A MUST.

        ADEL   V  MUTINEERS  

  15    YORKSHIRE SECONDS    V   MCC UNIVERSTIES  STAMFORD BRIDGE  3 DAYS


   16    MCC  V  RIBBLESDALE CRICKET LEAGUE     BAXENDEN

   17  MCC    V  CHESTERFIELD         CHESTERFIELD     11.30
          DURHAM U19 v MIDDLESEX WHITBURN (2 days)



  22  DERBY SECONDS  V   LANCASHIRE   DERBY      3 DAYS
        DURHAM II V MCCU (3 days) South North

      YORKSHIRE U 15   V   BUCKINGHAMSHIRE   ACKWORTH   2 DAYS

  23   YORKSHIRE  V  NOTTINGHAM   SCARBOROUGH   4 DAYS
          DURHAM V WARWICKSHIRE RIVERSIDE 4 Days

  24 MCC V Nidderdale League Bolton Abbey
  25 MCC v West YOrks Schools  New Farnley

  30 MCC V DURHAM ACADEMY Ropery Lane, Chester le Street
 31   HAMPSHIRE  V YORKSHIRE      4 DAYS

   DURHAM  V   NOTTS        4 DAYS

   DERBY  V  GLOS                               4 DAYS

   DERBY SECONDS   V   NOTTS    3 DAYS    DENBY.

CRICKET FOR THE FUTURE ?

By Brian Sanderson,

Today was the first match of the Women's Cricket Super League at Headingley were Yorkshire Diamonds were playing Loughborough Lightning in a 20/20 match

The away side won the toss and batted however they lost two quick wickets for 30.Sophie Devine, New Zealand international and Australian all -rounder Ellyse Perry but on 55 for the third wicket.

Sophie Devine held the innings together with 52 from 38 balls.Loughborough managed to reach 128 for 9 in their 29 overs. The Yorkshire bowling was steady with two  very good catches.

I thought the total should be beaten but soon they were 47 for 5 in fewer than 6 overs.it was left to Katherine Brunt to win the match and she scored 16 off 20 balls but this was not enough . They were bowled out for 85 in the 18 th over,

A bit more about the Under 17 Championship

posted by John Winn

Before I am accused of being over parochial I thought I should pen an update on the other three 'A' groups in the Under 17 championship.

In group 2 there is all to play for between Warwickshire and Northants. Currently the Bears have a five point lead over their midlands rivals, each having one match left to play. Northants will take on Staffs on Tuesday at Desborough while on the same day Warwickshire face Notts at Edgbaston Foundation Ground, a renovated ground described by Tony in his posting last month, 'Historic Ground brought back to life',  There are a few ifs and buts here but bottom line says Northants must win.

No ifs and buts in the other two divisions, the outcome of which is already decided with Surrey and Somerset the winners.

A day at Weetwood

posted by John Winn

Those of us who can remember Phyllosan but might struggle to recall what if fortified turned out in good numbers at Weetwood on Tuesday for the first day of an Under 17 match with Lancashire the visitors. At one point the hospitality box (below) was full and from the cheap seats we looked on in envy as lunch was served. Seated nearby was a gentleman from Lancashire who assisted with identification of his team's players. He was also able to inform anybody interested how to get from Leeds to Accrington by bus, although worryingly not how to get back, and identified the winner of the Canadian Open Golf. Renaissance man indeed.

For many the county under 17 competition is part of cricket's hidden agenda but with patience it can be followed at ecbu17.play-cricket.com. For the championship there are eight groups with five county teams in  each and Tuesday's match was within Division 1A where in addition to Yorkshire and Lancashire, Durham, Derbyshire and Cheshire also compete.

On a decent enough morning, better for watching than in the last week's high temperatures, Lancashire won the toss and chose to bat. They lost two early wickets, one to a run out and the other , in the words of the Lancashire coach a  'given out'. Then followed a partnership of 116 for the third wicket between Thomas Billington and Sam Oldham. The afternoon, for which we were joined by John Rex, went Yorkshire's way until Red Rose skipper Nathan Jones boosted the later order with 59 to see his side to 255 all out.

The full scorecard appeared on the website last night and an interesting feature is the presence of 'Unsure of Yorkshire' who despite effecting a run out, scoring 22 runs and taking four wickets remains a man of mystery. Yesterday's rain ensured a draw but that was sufficient to send Yorkshire top, albeit by only two points from Lancashire and with Durham only a further point away. With sixteen points for a win such margins are easily overcome. Durham and Yorkshire meet at Stockton CC on Tuesday while Lancashire and Derbyshire meet at Northern on the same day. Cheshire have completed their matches. The winners will progress to semi finals and then a final at Arundel on 17th to 19th August.

The ECB  also run a cup competition for this age group with the finals day being at Kibworth CC Leicestershire on Sunday June 21st.

Sessay ensure a long journey

posted by John Winn

During the hot weather of last week every weather forecast mentioned the possibility of showers,'heavy at times', but with the exception of ten minute sharp burst on Wednesday morning I saw no rain throughout the week. Yesterday, however my luck ran out for the Village Cup semi final between Sessay and Cumbrian visitors Cleator was plagued by a series of brief showers. Although none of these were particularly heavy they caused several interruptions to play.

Both these teams are past winners of the competition, Sessay in 2010, Cleator in 2013, and with the two sides having met twice before and the score at one all a very good crowd had come in anticipation of a keen contest, as many if not more from West Cumbria than from the locality. With exact timing the first shower delayed the start for 25 minutes when Sessay, who had surprised the visitors by choosing to bat, began their innings. Opening the bowling for Cleator was Darren Clark, brother of Jordan who in 2013 hit six sixes in an over for Lancashire II at North Marine Road, also in the side yesterday was their father, Ian. All six bowlers used by Cleator maintained a grip on Sessay that saw the run rate struggle to get much above three and whilst several of their fielders would be in the 13 stone division if they were Cumberland wrestlers there were few errors and one excellent catch to get rid of Sessay dangerman, Simon Mason.

Towards the end of the Sessay innings and after the fourth rain break the shackles were finally cast aside and the acceleration enabled the home team to reach 199 for 7 off their 40 overs. One loose over from opening bowler David Blackwell, who had bowled an economic first spell, cost 17 including four wides, and left Cleator with the nice round figure of 200 to win.

The Cumbrians' reply got off to a flier with ten off the first over and skipper Mark Wilkie was forced to bring himself into the attack after five overs, a move that bore immediate fruit with a wicket and from thereon Sessay bowled and fielded themselves back into the game. Another shower persuaded me it was time to head home but I was able to follow the closing overs on Live Sports FM, an online commentary broadcast from in front of the pavilion despite competition from some spectators who had clearly visited the bar.

Cleator lost wickets regularly and eventually fell forty short thus sending Sessay through to the semi final in which they will visit Pembrokeshire outfit Carew CC who were winners over Newtown Linford yesterday, a round trip of almost 600 miles. The other semi final will be between Sibton Park who beat Dinton by six runs and Miskin Manor who got home by two runs against Cookham Dene when a last wicket stand which had produced 52 runs was ended with a run out off the last ball. Thus the two surviving Welsh clubs, Carew and Miskin Manor are kept apart and Lord's on September 4th may yet be a feast of dragons and leeks.

Scorers are behind the door at Sessay

BLACK SHEEP SEMI-FINAL

By Brian Sanderson,

I return to Weetwood again to watch Yorkshire Academy against York in the Black Sheep semi-final.

It is a fifty over competiition which started at 1.00P.M. with the Academy batting after there victory yesterday. There was a shower of rain which delayed the start a few minutes.Harry Brook was soon out for 4 and then Hussain was out for 2 which left the score at 21 for 2. Leo McKendry ,photographed above bowled well . Bowling his ten over for 3 for 28.

Nearly half way through the overs the Academy were in trouble at 88 for 5.Both sides were under strength but  Imtiaz batted well to score 61 before Pringle had him l.b.w .With the help of  Warner ,who scored 41, the Academy reached 224 in the fifty overs. There was a decent crowd but by half time the weather became cooler and some people went in their car too watch the match.

York started well with Brown, also a Academy player and McCauley who put on 35 in eight overs.At this stage I went home for my dinner . The last score is 117 for after 24 overs with the two McKendry brothers batting.

York must be favourites  to go through to the final with these good batsmen.

COMPLETED TWO MORE CRICKET LEAGUES

By Brian Sanderson,

I met Ron Deaton at Weetwood this morning as he required some autographs of  some young Yorkshire cricketers. Today the Academy were playing Stamford Bridge wo were captain by Will Rhodes,Yorkshire player.

The Academy batted first with Ben Ainsley and Harry Brook opening the batting. As we left they were still batting and looking at totalscorer site they put on a opening stand of 146. The Academy won by 59 runs and the match just finished as we return from our trip.

Second match we went to was Green lane Seconds against Horsforth  Hall Park in the Airedale and Wharfedale League. Ron had not visited the ground before eventhough he played in the league.

Moving on to Apperley Bridge who were playing Interlink in the Bradford Mutual Sunday Cricket League. When I saw cricket on the ground it meant that I had seen cricket on all the grounds in this league.

Moving to the other side of Bradford we arrived at Haycliffe Lane which is the home ground of Great Horton Park Chapel. The club was formed this year when Wibsey Chapel and Great Horton Chapel join together. They play in the Dales Cricket League and this was the final ground I required in this league.The cricket was not of the highest standard but both sides were enjoying their cricket.Long may they continue.

Moving on to the Bradford League , we went to Liversedge who were playing Yeadon who were batting.The home side used to be in the Central Yorkshire League. There second team was bowled for 59 by Hunslet Nelson  in 22 overs. Showing how poor the league is at this present time.However the first team beat Yeadon.

Next match was at  Heckmondwike were the seconds were playing Adwalton. The standard was not good but surprise surprise the home side bowled Adwalton out for 144.It seemed to be played as a charity match.

Last match we went to was at Batley were they were playing Baildon. The ground is next to the Rugby League ground and their supporters club still has not been knocked down since the fire in September 2015.

On the back of a shirt of a Cookeridge player was above. Comments please.

TWO T' S TAKE OVER TRENT BRIDGE

By Brian Sanderson,

On a very warm day I picked up Bob Procter and we traveled down to my favourite  county ground , Trent Bridge. It was the second day of the Nottingham and Somerset Championship match.

This morning started with Trecothick unbeaten on 117 and Somerset 244 for 3.During the morning Leech was out to Tahir and Trescothick reached 150 getting there in 227 balls with 24 boundaries.Jim Allenby maintained a steady flow of runs from the other end also and reached his 50 soon after lunch from 92 balls.He advanced his score to 63 before been bowled by Patel, hitting across the line.At this time we were sitting next to Northampton supporter who was Kallis fan.

Trecothick brought up his double century off 323 balls  with a trademark cover drive of Samit Patel before he was the last man to go, chipping Tahir to cover and Somerset scored 437 -a lead of 36.This innings is my favourite innngs of the season so far.He dominated the bowling in gruelling heat.

Imran Tahir took 7 for 112  and was the first overseas bowler to take five wickets in an innings for 12 years.

A excellent day with watching class batting and bowling from the two T's.

A unusual fact about people who read the blog.  It is  more popular in Germany than  in England at this point.

Another old favourite ground

Posted by Tony Hutton

Sunday 17th July and another old favourite appears on my ever changing itinerary.
Netherfield cricket club in Kendal overlooked by the ruined hilltop castle which once
belonged to the family of Katherine Parr, is a wonderful sight on a fine day. Minor Counties cricket has its problems, particularly with finance, but this sort of day was a great advert.

Although the wind blew towards the hardy spectators on top of the bank, who have a perfect view of the action, later in the day we had another wonderful summer evening in the sun.

Strange how the best weather always seems to appear after the tea interval but this has been a familiar story in recent weeks. Good to be back at this picturesque ground, after a gap of a few years, and interesting to see the improvements to the facilities in the pavilion and as ever to meet old friends. A familiar story emerged from my discussions with the hard working Cumberland officials. It has been very difficult to keep the same side together this season, with clubs having first call on their professional players for Sunday cup ties.

Cumberland in the field at Netherfield

So a few new names amongst the Cumberland ranks with one very late replacement after an injury yesterday. How do you find a man late on a Saturday night to play cricket for the next three days? Well skipper Garry Pratt did the trick with one of his Richmondshire team mates. There is also a shortage of wicketkeepers in Cumbria and a young 18 year old, Ben Howarth, from Blackpool made his debut and produced two smart stumpings.

Cambridgeshire batted first without the services of long time captain Paul McMahon, once with Notts, who has a long term injury and is working for the I.C.C. in Dubai. His replacement as professional is Ben Smith, once a high scoring batsman with both Leicester and Worcester. Not today however as when the two spinners took over the attack the leg spinner McKiernan removed opener Butt and Toby Bulcock, the slow left armer, had Smith leg before wicket for only one. So Cambridge 44-2 and up against it.

 

Distant view of the castle

The two spinners then bowled in tandem for the rest of the morning and almost all the afternoon session. Opener Richer held things together with a hard earned fifty and later in the day number seven Williams played a fine knock of sixty eight to give some respectability to the total. For once Toby Bulcock came in for a bit of punishment towards the end of the innings but stuck to his task and finished with figures of
31.3-9-85-4. His spin twin young McKiernan bowled even more overs and ended with
39-8-101-5. This young man is unfortunate to have been overtaken by another youngster Parkinson now bowling leg spin in the Lancashire first eleven.

Cambridgshire hit out

Cambridgeshire were 260 all out, with three and half overs left out of the first innings maximum of ninety. Probably more than most people expected. Cumberland with so many regulars missing took the unusual step of opening the batting with Toby Bulcock, usually a tail ender. However he stuck around to good effect making 31 in a century opening partnership with Dutton, who was first out after making a rapid 70 off only 72 balls. Cumberland ended day one on 120-2 and the game was nicely poised.

The evening sunshine continued all the way home through the Yorkshire Dales with clear views in all directions over Ingleborough and Pendle Hill. A marvellous end to a perfect day.

An upset at Tong Park

posted by John Winn

Three or four years ago, at the end of an afternoon watching cricket in the Bradford area I called at Tong Park, the home of Tong Park and Esholt CC, only to find the beautiful ground deserted and  cricket finished for the day. No such misfortune yesterday as I arrived at BD17 7QL in time to see the players taking the field for a Waddilove Cup semi final match with Tong Park, Aire Wharfe Div 3, taking on Div 1 side North Leeds. The home team had been invited to take first knock and made a slow start against some accurate pace bowling from the visitors and with the score at 14 Fawad Maqsood played on to one from Harry Dixon. Recovery was mounted by Ajantha Weerappuli and James Druce but boundaries were hard to come by and the scoring rate was only a touch above three an over.

The introduction of spin brought about Druce's dismissal but it was the pace of Farhan Khan that blew a hole in Tong Park's middle order. From a shortish run but with a whippy action he generated pace that gave him six wickets, three clean bowled. Weerappulli watched this from the non strikers end until he was seventh out with the score at 104, the casualty of an lbw decision with which he clearly disagreed. That Khan (F) was not unplayable was demonstrated by number ten, another Khan, Muhammed of that ilk, who hit  three sixes in his unbeaten 37 and a stand of 49 with no 8 Murray enabled his side to reach 154 before they were all out. Not enough I thought and even texted my friend Peter Sixsmith, who was enjoying the Southport air watching Lancashire taking on Durham, to tell him as much.

When, after five overs North Leeds' score was 41 for 0 with all but three of the runs having come in boundaries it looked as though the target might be reached in twenty overs, let alone 45. Wrong again for eight wickets fell for 19 runs, seam from Mahir Ali at one end and innocent looking dobblers from Mick Scott at the other. From the deckchair Scott's deliveries seemed innocuous but North Leeds could not fathom them and he finished with four for fourteen off his nine overs. Wales, who remained undefeated on 39 and Dixon erased some of the embarrassment by adding 32 for the ninth wicket but when last man Karim was run out with the score at 105 the third division outfit had won by 49 runs and will now play Otley, comfortable winners over Burley in Wharfedale in the other semi final, in the final on August 7th. Can Tong Park provide another upset? I'm saying nowt.

CUE FOR A FARON YOUNG SONG AT CLEETHORPES

By Brian Sanderson,

After a easy drive to Cleethorpes, I was able to purchase a cup of coffee before the match started.

When you go to a cricket match ,I look out for people I know either on the pitch or in the crowd.

On the pitch was James Middlebrooke umpiring in his second season and Jonathen  Tattersall who plays for Harrogate and ex Yorkshire Seconds ( photograph above ). Off the pitch was Mark Fell who is in charge of  Lincolnshire and the Doncaster twins. By the time I sat down in the shade Lincolnshire  had achieved  the wicket of  the Suffolk captain Huggins.

Just before lunch I sat down with the twins who I have known for a few years.Suffolk score at lunch was 90 for 4  and one of the twins said it reminded him of a Faron Young song " Four in the morning " which  I understand was a hit in 1971 but I could not remember it..After lunch I sat with a gentleman who was born in Booth which is a small village near Halifax and as it happens one of my favourite cricket grounds.It turned out he had played cricket and rugby league  and afterwards became a rugby referee and then cricket umpire.We swapped stories during the afternoon. Been while on the field  Suffolk were bowled out for 144.

Just before tea Lincolnshire lost two quick wickets. It was left to  Tattersall and Louth to put on a stand of 152. By the end of the day Louth was 92 not out and Lincolnshire was 33 runs in front with 44 overs still to bat.

The twins said the match would be over tomorrow afternoon  but they  said England would win. The ground is close to the sea front and worth a visit.

Club Championship KO Update

posted by John Winn

All seven outstanding fifth round ties in the National Club Championship were concluded last Sunday and the draw for the quarter finals is as follows

High Wycombe v Swardeston

Havant v Weybridge

South Northumberland v Chester Boughton Hall

Bamford Fieldhouse v Ormskirk

Ties to be played Sunday 31st July, Semi Finals on Sunday 28th August and the Final
at Northamptonshire CCC on Sunday 18h September

In the Village Cup the winners in last Sunday's matches were Cleator, Sessay. Cookham Dene, Miskin Manor, Newtown Linford, Sibton Park and
 Carew. The match between Mayfield and Dinton is being played today. The draw for the Quarter Finals to be played next Sunday is

Carew v Newton Linford

Sessay v Cleator

Sibton Park v Mayfield or Dinton

Cookham Dene v Miskin Manor

Newton Linford (Leicestershire) have made a plea for help via Twitter with their tie in Pembrokeshire, a round trip of almost 500 miles. They have a league match on Saturday which may not finish until about 7:00pm and are faced with the choice of driving to Wales that night or by coach on Sunday which would enable them to take supporters, this being their preferred option but at a cost they had not budgeted for. I will post any outcome of their request.

The pavilion pictured is that of Shipton Under Wychwood who were beaten at Cookham Dene last week. My wife and I called at this picturesque ground on Friday but alas there was only net practice to capture our attention.

Young talent a plenty

Posted by Tony Hutton

Friday 15th July was the last day of the St Peter's School Festival in York. This long standing event has always been one of my favourites with Yorkshire Senior schools hosting five visiting sides over the week. Earlier in the week we learned that the Yorkshire side had beaten Lincolnshire and a Pro-coach XI but lost to both Lancashire and MCC.

St Peter's York on a day when the sun shone.

Today's game was against the Durham Academy who traditionally have a strong side.
Today was no exception as the visitors batted first and posted a formidable total of 275 despite no batsman reaching fifty. Sam Dinning, Luke Henderson and wicket keeper Jason Erskine were all out in the forties and skipper Connor Whitelock made a quick 38 not out at the end against some rather wayward bowling.

Jonathon Donnelly from Silcoates School and Pudsey Congs bowled a good spell of 10 overs to take 2-35 but the best figures went to Jack Dracup from Grammar School at Leeds with 3-27. Another GSAL boy Eitan Litvin, who already keeps wicket for Harrogate's first eleven was very impressive behind the stumps.

The weather closed in towards the end of the first innings but play managed to continue during the afternoon in not very pleasant conditions. The Schools struggled early on and at 73-5 the game looked almost over. However 33 from Siraj Sajid from Kirkburton and 33 from Tom Loten from Dunnington kept them in the game. Finally number eight batsman Jack Hebden from Townville made top score of 34 off only 17 balls to finish the innings with a flourish. The Schools side all out 183 in 38 overs and Durham the winners by the large margin of 112 runs.

Saturday 16th July and the Yorkshire Academy were yet again at home at the Leeds University Ground, Weetwood this time facing Dunnington who are struggling near the foot of the Yorkshire Premier League North. One disappointment was the absence of Dunnington's veteran West Indian Test player Collis King, now well in his sixties, who is normally still a regular in their side. The Academy batted first but took some time to get into their stride against only four bowlers, one of whom was Tom Loton who we had seen in action at York yesterday.

Matthew Waite batting

Wickets fell with regularity and at one stage the Academy were 111-6 and in trouble.
Waite and Thompson who have both been in good form recently put together a rescue act and towards the end skipper Warner, still unable to bowl due to a back injury, joined Thompson in a productive stand of 94. Waite made 39, Thompson an excellent 69 not out and Warner a valuable 39 before he was out in the final over. The Academy innings closed on 216-7 which looked a bit too much for the visitors.

Dunnington man with a famous name

Despite opening the innings with a young man called Sutcliffe, Dunnington were never really in the hunt although fellow opener Tom Loten showed he has ability with the bat as well as the ball with an innings of 28. Once left arm spinner James Logan, who already had forty wickets this season before today, was introduced into the attack wickets began to fall quickly. Wicketkeeper Wilson and Brent did put up some resistance towards the end, Wilson top scoring with 34, but it was very much Logan's day yet again. His final figures were outstanding with 16-7-40-7 so he is now already nearing fifty wickets with the season just over half way.

Hopefully with good weather forecast for the coming week we might have some Minor Counties action to report on.

THE BEST TILL LAST

By Brian Sanderson,

This morning I picked up John Fuller, of Yorkshire Cricket fame and author and set off for to see some new grounds in Sheffield.

After a slight detour we arrived at Sheffield United and Rotherham Phoenix ground at Sheffield Hallam University ground and they were playing Sheffield Collegiate in the new South Premier League.The away side were batting and included Eliot Callis, William Root and Simon Guy. They reached 272 in their fifty overs and bowled Rotherham out for 196 with William Root taking three wickets.A large ground with no real character  apart from the old pavilion which required work on it.

Moving on to the other side of Sheffield to Abbeydale , the home of Sheffield Collegiate. were the second and third  team were playing Darfield  amd Shiregreen. The ground used to be a major ground for Yorkshire but today there are few seats  but a good club house .Darfield were playing on the main ground and scored 190 for 7 and then bowling the home side out for 69.

On the second ground the thirds were playing Shiregreen in  Division Three ( West ) in the South Yorkshire League. It was a bottom of the table clash and was played in heavy drizzle which was not forecast. The rain forced us off to Parkhead who won the first division last season.

When we arrived the players were coming back on to the pitch after the rain which carried on for another thirty minutes. They were playing Sheffield Collegiate VP X1 which is their fourth team who were batting.
The ground is situated behind a pub in a large hollow and has attracted numerous county players in the past to play on a Sunday. Today the away side score 177 which was three runs less then I predicted with fifteen overs to go.

The last ground was at De la Salle  cricket ground and is situated  near  the Beauchief Hall and in a middle of a golf club.There is excellent views of the surrounding area and is a club worth visiting. They were playing Holmesfield who were batting..

Just as we were reluctantly leaving I noticed some deer in the next field which  pushes the club up the league of best cricket clubs I have seen. If you want to see a professional appraisal  of the day look on Cricketyorkshire website and I am sure you will enjoy it.

Tomorrow on to Cleethorpes  to see Minor County cricket. and the sea . What more could  you want.

THE OVAL- RAIN

By Brian Sanderson,

I went down to London on Sunday and I returned back on Thursday , tired and sorry I did not see a good cricket match.Forecast was not good and the first two days losing  a number of overs and that created a drawn match.

Surrey batted first which gave me a chance to see Aaron Finch who used to play for Yorkshire.He batted well for his 52 before Steven Pattinson got him caught by Leaning,

One bonus match I saw was on the first night to see the Burton Court ground in Kensington and Chelsea.A private ground on the Chelsea Embankment.

Second day more rain and on the third day Yorkshire bowled  Surrey for 267 with Steve Davies nd Sam Curran batted well with a partnership of 75.

Yorkshire were soon 47 for 2 which allowed Adam Lyth and Andrew Gale to put on a good partnership of 150.

I decided not to stop to watch the fourth day as the match was going to be a draw. However Adam Lyth scored a excellent 202. Disappointed that the weather caused another draw this so called summer.

Back to league cricket tomorrow around Sheffield.

Under seventeens provide runfest at Weetwood

Posted by Tony Hutton

Tuesday 12th July saw the first under 17s county game under the new three day format to be played at the Leeds University Ground, Weetwood, between Yorkshire and Derbyshire. In previous seasons this competition was played over only two days. Whatever the reason for the change, which could perhaps be to increase the amount of spin bowling, the boundaries were pushed out to their farthest extent.

The match did indeed provide plenty of spin bowling and plenty of runs too and was a good showcase for the young talent available to both counties. Derbyshire batted first and struggled during the pre-lunch period on Tuesday. They lost their first four wickets for 53 runs and showed a lack of positive batting with only some seventy runs on the board when lunch came after two and a quarter hours batting.

Fortunately the mood changed after the interval and much more positive approach by Edward Barlow (no relation to the famous South African) and Archie Gleadall saw the
scoreboard ticking over at a faster rate. The pair put on a partnership of 250 with Barlow the faster scorer of the two reaching a splendid century before he was caught behind for 110.  Gleadall went on to make 67 but the remaining batsman collapsed very quickly and Derbyshire slumped from 205-4 to 232 all out.

The best bowler by far was Abdi Ahmed who reaped the benefits of bowling fast and straight to finish with splendid figures of 5-17. Spinner Alec Drury, from Driffield, was the most economical with a tidy analysis of 11-6-25-1.

Yorkshire's innings  got off to a bad start when Bilal Anjum was caught and bowled for 3 but fellow opener James Pick and Richard Brown stayed together until the close of day 1. Brown is an interesting character, being born in York, but a schoolboy at Repton in Derbyshire. He had previously played for Derbyshire's age group sides but has now decided to throw in his lot with his native county.

Richard Brown batting at Weetwood

This looks like a good signing as he proceeded merrily on his way on day two to reach 96  not out at lunch and completed his century shortly afterwards before giving a dolly catch on the leg side much to his own annoyance for 124. Like so many young players these days he displayed his displeasure on his way back to the pavilion and failed to acknowledge the applause of the spectators. This is something the coaches should surely correct.

Lunchtime score on day two

 

The later stages of day two were interrupted by rain showers but Yorkshire were well in the lead with wickets in hand when day three started in much better conditions. The runs kept coming with 36 from skipper Birkhead, 41 from Nathan Snookes, 18 from Alec Drury before number eight Sam Fox prolonged the entertainment with an innings of 67 which included eleven fours. Yorkshire finally declared on 423-9 which gave them a lead of 191.

Action about to resume at Weetwood

The home sides hopes of bowling Derby out cheaply to claim an innings victory after having them 44-2 were thwarted by yet another century maker in Ben Chapman-Lilley who made 102 and Gleadall who made runs again with 73. This pair put on 148 and when the first innings century maker Barlow came in at number six he saw them safely
 to a draw with 35 not out. So Derby were able to finish on 258-5 with the sun still shining on an excellent weather day for once.

The teams got five points each for a draw with Yorkshire getting four batting points and four bowling points and Derby just two batting points and three bowling points.
Lots of plus points for both teams and Yorkshire will be looking for a victory when they face Cheshire away at Oxton next week.