A trip to grounds in the Pontefract League has become something of an annual fixture in my cricket watching calendar and with the end of the league cricket season not too far away and with bigger fish to fry next weekend yesterday saw me heading down the A1 in search of new grounds. First stop was scheduled to be a Division 1 game between Brodsworth Main CC and Hooton Pagnell but relying on the advice of a man whose parting words to me were 'I'm not from round here' I ended up at the wrong ground in the wrong league and was misinformed as to the name of the opposition. Things could only get better, and they did, but first up I saw a few overs of a game in the South Yorkshire League Division Four between Adwick le Street I and Conisbrough II, not Penistone as I was informed by an Adwick supporter. Conisbrough were batting and according to a couple of their players second was the best they could hope for and so it proved for their 143 for 7 off their 46 (sic) overs caused Adwick little trouble and a nine wicket win ensued. Adwick are by no means high fliers in this league but find themselves this morning well clear of the relegation zone while for Conisbrough Division Five looms.
Having taken fresh counsel within five minutes I was watching Brodsworth batting who were finding the going tough against Hooton Pagnell aka The Black Rams. Fine leg filled me in on the few overs I had missed and he turned out to be on loan from Fenwick CC, a team I had planned to see later in the day. Would his temporary status mean the ignominy of fine leg at both ends? Not so for when bowling switched to the other end he rose to the dizzy heights of backward square leg.
Thanks to 52 not out from John O'Neill, Brodsworth reached respectability at 162 for 8 but Hooton got home with almost five overs in hand and with only five wickets down.
Two miles away and a Division Four game between South Kirkby II and Fenwick and runs coming much more quickly. The visitors were batting and on a hot afternoon Kirkby's fielding grew increasingly ragged with a catch dropped and the captain's ire rising as the ground fielding became sloppy. 55 were scored off 7 overs while I watched with runs for numbers three, four and five and a final total of 210 for 7. Kirby tried nine bowlers, one of whom, Scott Smith bowled just one ball and conceded seven runs. Led by opener Matt Tarbuck who hit 64 the home team made a decent start but with seven batsmen getting only single figures subsided to 172 all out. This morning's table shows Fenwick third but Kirkby just one place above the pink ink.
Still in postcode WF9 my next stop was at Frickley Colliery CC and a top of the table clash with Horbury Bridge in attendance. The visitors were batting and effecting a recovery through a sixth wicket stand which was broken by a good catch from first slip who had to turn and run before taking the ball over his shoulder. 144 for 6 became 189 all out but Frickley II could only manage 142, a result that widens the gap between the two teams to 47 points.
My afternoon was completed with a trip to Hemsworth Miners' Welfare CC. whose ground is in Fitzwilliam, the birthplace of you probably know who, and ground of the day to my mind. This gave me the opportunity to see Frickley I in action and their innings was drawing to a close as I arrived. Much of their total of 137 had come from the top order and numbers six to eleven made only 11 between them. Fortunately our old friend wides chipped in with 20 and the mood amongst the decent sized home crowd was one of confidence that this was gettable.
After an excellent cup of tea I watched the start of Hemsworth's reply but they were soon in trouble against the quick, straight and full length bowling of Jason Mills who took 4 for 37 while 'Unsure' captured 3 for 6. Top scorer Phil Crapper was the only one to make double figures and Hemsworth were all out for 70 on a square that is to be relayed over the winter. Amen to that say the Hemsworth batters. You need to look to the bottom half of the Division 1 table to find these two teams and Hemsworth might be a little anxious about their proximity to the relegation zone. A 12 point advantage over West Bretton is not a lot when there are 16 points for a win.
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