Since my recent blog on the first game of the Festival, cricket has been coming thick and fast and helped by some very reasonable weather the regulars, and a few visitors from far and wide, have enjoyed the special end of season atmosphere.
Sunday 23rd September saw the visit of Halifax Nomads, of which little is known as they do not have a website and the club history published some years ago seems to be no longer available. However they had a few useful performers, one of whom Nigel Ling made top score of 58 putting on a good partnership with opener Kevin McGuiness who made 48.
The varied Arthington attack stuck to the task well with five bowlers, including veteran Dennis Nash, each taking one wicket and restricting the Nomads to 174-5 in their forty overs. Despite an accurate opening spell by Simon Mace for the visitors, Arthington cruised to a comfortable victory following a century opening partnership between Andrew Stoddart and Kamrosh Khan. Stoddart played the sheet anchor role for once and remained 65 not out at the end, whereas Khan was a little more adventurous and hit eight fours and three sixes in his innings of 60.
Arthington won by eight wickets with five overs to spare, but the following Saturday 29th September they were put to the sword by a strong Hawks team with a sprinkling of well known Aire Wharfe League players, as well as one of the top Bradford league performers in Charlie Parker of Pudsey St Lawrence. However another Parker destroyed the early Arthington batting taking 3-18 and reducing the home side to 46-5 at one stage. Joe Nash, the Arthington skipper stopped the rot with 29 but it was left to an eighth wicket stand of 60 runs to give the score some respectability.
Simon Mace (33 not out) and Adam Pothecary (30 not out) helped themselves to some more rather friendly bowling at the end of the innings. A shame that Pothecary's young son, Owen, who had been padded up for a long time, never got a bat, but no doubt his turn will come soon. Among the spectators today was Dave Lewis who used to bring his now defunct Doghouse side on regular visits to Arthington.
What followed could be described as total carnage, as the Arthington bowlers were put to the sword in no uncertain manner by Tom Lester and Charlie Parker. Sixes and fours flowed in all directions, many into the adjoining garden. Parker offered to retire when he reached fifty but his colleagues apparently told him to carry on. He was finally bowled to the delight of Andrew Stoddart, the only bowler to take a wicket, for 69 with seven fours and five sixes.
Tom Lester also carried on regardless, hitting another five sixes and eleven fours in an innings of 85 not our. The Hawks winning this very one sided contest in only the sixteenth over. Fortunately in view of the early finish another match was in progress just up the road in the grounds of Harewood House, where St Georges Church were playing Cookridge Hospital. Two travelling professional cricket watchers from Lancashire were in situ, Mike Latham, who had also visited Arthington and Ian Cockerill.
Sunday 30th September brought more 'foreign' visitors in the shape of our Hartlepool correspondent, Mike Taylerson and non other than Tony Day, aka 'Jesus', a very rare appearance after many years of absence. He hadn't changed a bit and was horrified to learn that my partner had stayed at home to watch the Ryder Cup golf on TV. Arthington were playing the Druids and managed to bowl them out for 129 with the help of South African guest star James Van der Merwe, who took three wickets.
Dougie Jones also had three wickets and informed us that his father, Grand Master Rupert Jones, was out of the country playing chess for Papua New Guinea in Georgia, the Russian version rather than USA. Amazing what you learn at an end of season cricket match. Yet again we had an early finish with this time Arthington Knocking off the runs after being 9-3 mainly due to Van der Merwe with a quickfire 75 not out. Arthington winning by five wickets.
Hopefully today's scheduled game with Andy Stoddart's Mutineers will go ahead despite light morning rain and tomorrow we should see Kings James' XI from Bishop Auckland in action. The final weekend of the season sees games on Saturday and Sunday again 13th/14th October.
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