On April 20th, Easter Saturday, when most league cricket got underway the weather was glorious but since then it has contrived to bedevil my Saturday cricket watching and the last two Saturdays in particular it has spoilt potentially interesting finishes.
Yesterday I took myself off to Clifton Park York where the champions of the Yorkshire Premier North were hosting relatively close neighbours Harrogate. The helpful match day programme described the game as one between the only two teams to have won this league since its inception in 2016, one win for Harrogate and two for York. The accompanying league table showed neither has made the best of starts this season with Harrogatete fifth and York eighth, the latter no doubt being particularly unimpressed by only one win out of four.
When I arrived play had been underway about an hour and York had made an ominously good start with openers Snell and Leaning still at the crease. Ominous that is for my friend and Harrogate devotee Les Pennington who had been pitch side since the start. Snell and Leaning were not parted until both had made centuries and 252 were on the board. Snell was the first to fall after which Ishan Abeysekara picked up three relatively quick wickets and Leaning was run out by a direct hit from veteran Twigg
314 for 6 was the final score, one that was generally felt to be beyond Harrogate but Keable and Twigg had made an authoritative start and reached 95 without loss when rain arrived on cue and persuaded me that home was my best option. After my departure York picked up three wickets before the rain got too heavy for play to continue and York will feel they were the more hard done by. A winning draw gives them 8 points to Harrogate's 0 and raises them to fifth with Harrogate slipping to seventh. Scarborough who also picked up 8 points yesterday remain top and will host Harrogate tomorrow, a tough weekend for the St George's Road outfit.
After early morning rain skies have brightened in the Lower Ure Valley and the sun has broken through. I'm off to the aforementioned St George's Road where Yorkshire's women are taking on a very strong Kent XI. Wickets pitched 11:00. Sussex women the visitors tomorrow but it will be Headingley for me for the first championship cricket of 2019 when Hampshire come to town, perhaps a little subdued by their comprehensive defeat at Lord's yesterday?
Finally a word of thanks to our loyal readers for some time in the last week or so we have passed a quarter of a million 'hits' since our inception in 2008. We have been particularly popular in the USA in the last month. Morning, Donald.
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