After a dreadful start to the season with all three of their games against county sides washed out Leeds/Bradford started their season last week at Cambridge. Unfortunately both the one day match and the two day game ended in defeats. However due to our early departure from Scarborough we were able to see all but the first hour of their first victory of the season in the BUCS one day game with Durham MCCU at Weetwood, Leeds on Wednesday.
Unlike Scarborough where there was no play at all a prompt start was made in this fifty overs a side game with Durham making a poor start in the overcast conditions after winning the toss and batting first. Skipper Will Fraine, from the Huddersfield league was out early on quickly followed by Marshall, Plater and Macdonell. Harry Stow of Harrogate got two of the wickets and Ollie Bocking, who I believe is to play league cricket with Stamford Bridge and newcomer Ironside took the others.
Cooke, last year's captain, who made a century against Leeds/Bradford last season, stuck around for a while but was the fifth man out with the total on only 82. Ruffell soon followed, again bowled by Ironside, a Suffolk Minor Counties spinner, and it was left to the seventh wicket pair of Graves and Sohal to get Durham out of trouble. Vicram Sohal is an off spinner from Bedford School and has played for Northants 2nd XI. Benedict Graves has little information other than being born in Hammersmith, Middlesex - 21 years ago.
Graves produced the innings of the day so far with a well constructed century in exactly two hours which included eight fours and one six. Graves and Sohal put on 79 for the seventh wicket, but then Graves got little support from the tailenders and was last man out stumped for an impressive 105. The Durham total of 205 had an element of respectability after a poor start.
Leeds/Bradford also lost an early wicket when wicketkeeper Potticary was bowled by Russell, but after that it was plain sailing all the way for 'The Yellows'. Andersson and Batchelor, of Middlesex and Surrey respectively, put on a stand of 82, so that on 112-2 they were in a comfortable position.
Durham tried seven bowlers but they could not break the Andersson partnership with skipper Bullen.
Leeds/Bradford won in a canter with the only item of interest being whether Andersson would reach his century. Bullen had other ideas hitting a couple of fours near the end to leave the Middlesex man on 95 not out. Batchelor had made 40 and Bullen was 46 not out at the end. A comfortable victory which should give them confidence for the two day game the following day.
To our surprise after overnight rain a prompt start was made on Thursday in cold, damp and windy conditions. The home side won the toss and invited Durham to bat. This was perhaps a decision they regretted later in the day when steady batting by nearly all the Durham men took them to an impressive 335-7. Top scorer was Cooke with 81, followed by skipper Fraine with 69 and Graves, yet again, with 59 not out at the close. Most of the handful of brave spectators had departed long before the end as the cold wind from the west took it's toll.
Sadly this morning the rain arrived early and it was impossible to re-start the game at all. So abandoned as a draw - Leeds/Bradford eight points, Durham nine points. Weetwood will welcome Cardiff for another double header next week, so we hope for drier weather by then.
No comments:
Post a Comment