I began my league cricket watching for this season back in April with a visit to Sessay, newcomers to Yorkshire Premier North. Under the title 'A good start for Sessay' I described their comfortable win over Acomb, for whom little has gone right since, while for Sessay things have been a little better but overall it has been a disappointing campaign for the North Yorkshire villagers. The fixture computer presented them with two home fixtures over the Bank Holiday weekend with both sets of visitors travelling from East Yorkshire.
On Saturday Stamford Bridge, third in the table, represented difficult opposition but when I arrived on a breezy but sunny afternoon the home team were making steady progress with skipper Mark Wilkie at the helm. Alas it never got better than steady with run making a chore on a slow pitch and attempts to force the pace usually ending in dismissal. Main tormentor for Bridge was Dave Chaplin who took 6 for 56. Wilkie who went for 77, ct Dominic bowled Will, Rhodes that is, received some support from Tim Hall, 28, and 182 all out was felt not to be enough amongst a crowd which included a fair representation from east of the Derwent.
And so it proved with Ryan McKendry anchoring the innings with 74 not out, Dominic Rhodes hitting 37 and Will Rhodes who I had seen on his way to a century for Warwickshire a week earlier, bagging a duck, Bridge got home with four wickets to spare and ten overs in hand.
This result left Sessay in the one relegation place not reserved for Acomb with Driffield, yesterday's visitors just a whisker ahead. Despite Sunday's rain, play started on time with Driffield batting.Through their Twitter feed Sessay had exhorted 'all (to) get behind Mark and the boys and make it a massive day for the club' and it was very apparent that 'the boys' were up for it with plenty of chat and good bowling backed up by keen fielding. On a pitch similar to Saturday's, Kavindu Kulasekara and Nick Hardgrave pulled things round after the loss of two early wickets but at a rate that rarely rose above three, progress was pedestrian. When KK chanced his arm he was brilliantly caught by Wilkie at deep mid off at 104 for 3 which proved to be The Lord Mayor's Show as spinner Langstaff got to work and none of the last seven batsmen got into double figures. 150 all out in the 49th,'game on' said one of the Driffield players.
Despair soon struck the home support when Wilkie was run out for 7 by 'Unsure'. Johnson who took five overs to get off the mark was unrattled by the incident but received little support until the arrival of Christopher Till when 5 were down for 74. No place for the faint hearted so home I went and in so doing missed a famous victory for Sessay who got home without further loss with Jackson 59 not out and Till on 41. The result leaves Driffield in the pink but probably not feeling it, 4 points behind Sessay with Clifton Alliance, Harrogate and Castleford above them in ascending order. Sessay visit Scarborough next Saturday while Driffield face a difficult East Yorks derby at Woodhouse.
Championship cricket resumes on Wednesday with Yorkshire welcoming Somerset to Headingley. I shall be at The Riverside where Northants are in town, a chance to see Durham's new overseas player, Axar Patel who played such an important part in the recent win at Glamorgan. Leaving partisanship aside match of the week is probably at Old Trafford where the two bottom teams, Lancashire and Worcestershire, are in action. Yorkshire supporters and a few others might be interested in that.
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