Cricket at Scarborough

Posted by Tony Hutton

This was the scene on Monday 23rd April when only a handful of spectators turned up to watch Yorkshire 2nd XI take on Nottinghamshire 2nd XI at North Marine Road, Scarborough. The ground had been flooded only a short time ago and groundsman John Dodds, often working single handed, had done a wonderful job to get things ready for a three day friendly match, to be followed by a one day game on Thursday.

The weather for day one was dry, but very windy, and it soon became obvious that the only place to watch cricket from in comfort was the balcony bar upstairs in the pavilion. The visitors won the toss and decided to bat with a very young side captained by Mark Footitt, the left arm quick bowler, returning to his original county after spells with Derbyshire and Surrey. I can remember seeing him play for England Under 19s on this ground way back in 2005.

The rest of the side were nearly all teenagers and two of them Chris Gibson an 18 year old from Cornwall and Soloman Budinger, also 18, born in Zimbabwe but recruited by Notts from Sussex where he played last season, opened the batting. Budinger was the first to go, caught in the slips off Waite for 12, but Gibson got his head down and played a responsible innings of 51 before being dismissed caught behind off Warner just after lunch.

The view from the pavilion.

Billy Root, younger brother of England captain Joe, came in at number three after being twelfth man for the first team at Headingley last week. It is a mystery to me why Billy has not yet got a regular place in the Notts first team. He has scored large amounts of runs in second XI and league cricket and had a county championship century at the end of last season. However Notts' policy of recruiting players from elsewhere like Nash from Sussex and Taylor from New Zealand is keeping him out of the team.

Today Root made 30 in quick time, including six fours, before being caught behind by Tattersall off the bowling of Ed Barnes. Tattersall, previously known only as a batsman, took up the wicketkeeping gloves on the pre-season tour of South Africa and rumour has it that he is being groomed for this role in white ball cricket. Lyndon James, a local lad from Worksop was out cheaply bowled by left arm spinner Karl Carver before the partnership of the day was established by two more teenagers.

Savin Perera is a diminutive left hander from Sri Lanka, who went to school in England and has played for England Under 19s recently, while progressing through the Middlesex age group system.
He seems to have changed counties at a very early age. After a slow start he progressed to an excellent fifty in partnership with wicketkeeper Tom Keast, who also got to 50. The pair had put on 107 to take the score to 212-4 before Keast was dismissed by the last ball of Bilal Anjum's first over.

Keast is still only 19, but seems to have been around a long time. I remember seeing him keep wicket for Cleethorpes cricket club when only 15. Bilal Anjum, now with Doncaster cricket club is a Yorkshire Academy batsman, not regarded as a regular bowler. However, today was his day, running through the tail to take a wicket in each of his four overs and finishing with a remarkable analysis of
4-1-12-4. The visitors lost  their last six wickets for just twenty runs and were all out for 232.

Yorkshire started their innings in the gathering gloom with Kohler-Cadmore and Tattersall. Both were dismissed by Matt Milnes, former Durham University player, and both caught behind by Keast.
Bad light eventually curtailed proceedings and Yorkshire ended the day on 42-2.

Day two was not quite as windy as day one but still a stiff westerly breeze. Anjum made 22 before falling to another catch behind, this time off Blatherwick and Waite went cheaply to give Milnes his third wicket. Thompson and Birkhead added 67 for the fourth wicket and Thompson who seems to enjoy batting on this ground made a valuable 56 before being caught by Root off the left arm spinner Patterson-White. Birkhead went for 34 just before lunch and with things appearing well balanced with Yorkshire on 163-6 the rain sadly brought an end to proceedings for the day.

There was heavy rain most of that evening which prevented any play before lunch on Wednesday and we decided to call it a day and head back to Leeds with the hope of play at Weetwood in the University game. We made the right choice as further rain in Scarborough meant the game was abandoned as a draw.
Fortunately the two teams were able to get a completed one day game on Thursday.