For once we came unstuck with our fixture planning this weekend. Having travelled what seemed the length and breadth of the country in the previous week we settled for two days close to home, thinking that cricket was available at Harrogate on both days. Saturday was not a problem with a Premier League North fixture between the home club and Stamford Bridge. However it all went wrong initially on Sunday when we believed three women's county teams were involved in a T20 competition all day. It turned out that Yorkshire, Lancashire and Surrey were in fact playing at Widnes, which is a long way on the other side of the Pennines. The only cricket available at Harrogate was an Under 15s boys game.
Eventually we found a welcome substitute game which proved rather memorable and shows how the unexpected can turn into something rather special. Anyway back to Saturday 12 noon when the powerful Stamford Bridge side won the toss against Harrogate and decided to bat against the home side who were missing both regular opening bowlers.
Opening batsmen Ryan Gibson, formerly of Yorkshire, and Dominic Rhodes made a confident start against the second string opening bowlers Ashley Griffin and Jonathan MacGregor, before Griffin bowled Rhodes for 20. Enter brother Will Rhodes, once of Yorkshire now of Warwickshire, and together with Gibson he added a partnership of ninety before being caught behind by Ed Wilson for 46 when George Ross introduced his spin to the attack. 119-2 became 159-3 when Gibson was caught off Griffin for 62 and soon afterwards 160-4 when Chris Grey was bowled by Ross. Harrogate may have thought they were back in the game at this point but the Bridge have batting in depth and the ever reliable Ryan McKendry together with Max McIver pulled things round rapidly.
McIver has just finished his three year stint at Leeds Beckett University and whether he will stay at Stamford Bridge is not clear, but he has certainly provided full value as both batsman and bowler.
He and McKendry put on an excellent partnership of 117 which turned the game back to the visitors very rapidly. Both were eventually dismissed during a late flurry of wickets from skipper George Ross, but by then McIver had made 70 and McKendry 57. Stamford Bridge 288-6 in their fifty overs.
Ross was by far the best bowler with 5-66.
Two early wickets from the other University man, Ollie Bocking, set the Bridge on their way and even the return of New Zealander Matthew Goode could not provide the big innings needed by Harrogate. Atkinson made top score of 37 and there were several other scores in the thirties, but no one threatened to provide a decisive innings. Most defiance came near the end of the game from Bates and Stothard but the Bridge could not get the last wicket to earn a complete win and had to be content with eight points. Final score for Harrogate 222-9.
Which brings us back to Sunday when a hasty scanning of fixtures in the neighbourhood came up with four quarter finals in the Nidderdale League's Atkinson Swires Cup. The one which seemed the most likely was league leaders Birstwith's home tie with visitors Wath and Melmerby at their attractive village ground, not far out of Harrogate. So there we were for a prompt 1.30 start with a splendid vantage point some way from the boundary edge which proved to be a much needed precaution.
The home side batted and were soon in trouble when Mitchell Cross, clean bowled Tom Croston with the second ball of the match. He dispatched the other opener George Hirst soon afterwards and Birstwich were 19-2. What happened next was total annihilation as James Riley and Chris Base put on no less than 233 for the third wicket before Cross returned to bowl Riley for 147. Base continued to hit sixes galore to reach his century too before being bowled for 105. Yet another six from the final ball of the forty over innings took the Birstwith total to 306-4.
This partnership entertained a good crowd quite royally and we felt privileged to have stumbled across such a memorable occasion. Just for the record James Riley scored 147 from 104 balls, with seventeen fours and six sixes. Chris Base 105 from 109 balls, with seven fours and five sixes. Wath stuck to their task well in the very hot conditions and all the fielders, as well as both umpires, shook hands with the two batsmen. The spirit of cricket is well and truly alive, at least at Birstwith.
Wath and Melmerby had an impossible task but star bowler Mitchell Cross became star batsman as well with a fine 57 which included eleven fours. Three other batsmen got into the twenties but the tailenders rather disintegrated and 127-4 became 147 all out in the 28th over. Nick Wain took 4-26 and Jonathan Millward 4-40 as Birstwith cruised into the semi-final with a win by 159 runs.
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