Regular readers will be well aware of our liking for cricket at all levels. In fact the more obscure the better we like it. This week proved to be right up our street with a surfeit of our sort of cricket, mainly close to home with the exception of our first expedition of the season to Scarborough.
Sunday 14th April and our first womens' match of the season, which we stumbled across on Twitter.
Yorkshire women were taking on Notts in a pre-season friendly match at Methley cricket club now prominent members of the Bradford cricket league. This is a pleasant spot with a bit of a village green atmosphere, a well appointed pavilion, good scoreboard and plenty of parking on the grass at one end where you can sit in the car on cold days, which this one certainly was.
Notts batted first and struggled after a bright start against some useful Yorkshire bowling, particularly the two spinners Levick and Thompson. They had to be winkled out gradually and it took 37 overs before they were all out for 97. Yorkshire struggled early on and had been reduced to 38-4 before a fine partnership between Kasperek (42 not out) and McDonald (25 not out) saw them home to victory in only 27 overs. Relief for players and spectators alike to return to the warmth of the pavilion, where we lucky enough to get the last bacon sandwiches during the interval.
Monday saw us back to base so to speak in what has seemed like an early season Weetwood cricket festival at the Leeds University ground. Today's visitor's were Bristol University for a 50 overs a side BUCS game. They had made the long journey north and would also be travelling to Durham for another game the following day.
Leeds/Bradford were given an early scare when Bristol showed that they were not overawed by their powerful opponents. In fact they dismissed last week's centurion, Batchelor, for only 9 early on and then Ashraf and Dahl also went for single figures to leave the home side on 60-3. However today's centurion proved to be opener Taylor Cornall, from Lancashire, who took his time early on but played a very correct innings, only cutting loose near the end with two big sixes.
Cornall was well supported by another Lancastrian, Ben Pearson who plays for Todmorden in the Lancashire league. He made a fine 73 and put on 129 with Cornall before being caught going for a big hit. Haynes (32), Ironside (13) and Killoran (20 not out) all give Cornall good support until he was out in the penultimate over. The home side finished on 316-7.
Bristol lost two early wickets and their run chase looked a forlorn hope but the number three batsman, K. Smith, had other ideas and raced to a hundred in 113 balls, with ten fours and a six. Despite his efforts and a good middle order 50 from Cameron, Bristol were never really up with the rate and they ended 72 short on 244-8 in their fifty overs. However they performed well and contributed to a fine day's cricket. We have now seen six centuries already at Weetwood this season.
Tuesday brought a change of scene with a trip to Scarborough for Yorkshire seconds against Lancashire seconds in a two day friendly. Both teams agreed to bat for 96 overs on each day, irrespective of the number of wickets that fell. Really just glorified net practice. Lancashire fielded a very young, inexperienced side and were always going to have the worst of things.
They were in trouble against the seam attack of Warner, Taylor and Thompson and were reduced to 48-5 and then 119-8, but Greenwood with 44 and Hartley with 54 brought some respectability to proceedings and the tenth wicket went down at 182. The two openers re-appeared and were both dismissed twice in the day with Lancashire ending day one on 258-13. However nice to be sitting in the sun at Scarborough so early in the season and to enjoy the pavilion balcony bar when it got a little colder later on.
Wednesday and back at Weetwood again for another BUCS fifty overs game with Cambridge University, who had played two T20 games here while we were at Scarborough. In actual fact the visitors were virtually all students at Anglia Ruskin University, anyone from a Cambridge University college is a rarity these days. Probably the warmest day so far this season with hardly any other spectators, as most people had gone to watch Yorkshire v Leicestershire in the Royal London Cup at Headingley.
Peace and quiet reigned and the cricket was pretty good as well. Cambridge 223-8 and Leeds/Bradford not having it all their all way until Cornall with 55 and skipper Dahl with 51 not out saw them home with a couple of overs to spare. The most remarkable over was the very first of the day bowled by Neal, who got an lbw decision first ball, then hit the stumps with the second but the batsman had pulled away at the last minute so not out. His third ball hit the batsman on the ankle, causing a delay and finally he yorked him with the last ball of the over to make it 0-2 and it could have been three.
Finally on Thursday Leeds/Bradford entertained Durham second XI again at Weetwood. A very strong Durham side with plenty of first team experience made this an unusual experience for the university side who have carried all before them so far this season. Durham made 318-7 mainly due to new recruit from Leicestershire, Ned Eckersley with fine innings of 108. Veteran Will Smith came in towards the end and hit 61 in 34 balls, with four huge sixes and four fours, Durham ending on 318-7. The university were never in the hunt and were bowled out for 222. Two wickets each for Josh Couglin, Cameron Steel and Ben Whitehead.
Ned Eckersley returns to the pavilion with 108 on the board.
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