Having been rained off at Harrogate last week, the young Yorkshire Academy side got underway at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and just managed to hang on for a draw after looking on the way to victory at the start of their innings. They were without two of their most notable batsmen George Hill and Matthew Revis, who are both at Sedbergh School and in the middle of quite a few school fixtures, which have priority. In fact we saw them in action last Thursday when they helped the school to a comfortable nine wicket victory over MCC in a rain interrupted game. Revis made his third fifty of the season already.
Saturday's game was also subject to several short rain delays as showers blew through in a strong wind throughout the game. The home side batted first and lost prolific scorer Ryan McKendry early on bowled by Harrison Quarmby, the opening bowler from Huddersfield. New overseas player Zac Keune from Australia looked quite useful, but he too was bowled by left arm spinner Harry Sullivan.
The home side were then in some trouble on 49-4.
Newcomer Oliver Sherwood and the ever reliable Dominic Rhodes put things back on an even keel with a stand of 88, of which Rhodes scored a fine 56 with five fours and two sixes. Sherwood was able to hang around to become the last man out off the penultimate ball of the innings for 46, when he was stumped by Harry Duke off the spin bowler Harry Harding, who finished with the best figures of 4-21.
Yorkshire's reply with James Wharton and Finlay Bean started slowly against accurate bowling from paceman Rhodes and spinner McKendry. However they gradually took control and put on an opening partnership of 115 which seemed to have put the Academy in control. Bean was the first man out lbw to Keast, who is playing for Leeds/Bradford MCCU this season, for a very good 62. Unfortunately a collapse followed, which included Wharton run out for 49 and main man Tom Loten stumped by Waite again off Keast.
Apart from a brief stand between Duke and Leech, wickets continued to fall and the Academy were hard pressed to survive with the last pair together. James Keast had the best bowling figures for them with 5-53, but Rhodes' figures were also impressive with 22-4-20-1. So a winning draw for Stamford Bridge who took eight points with four points going to the Academy. By a quirk of the fixtures, which have probably been re-arranged so that the Academy players can be used as net bowlers when the World Cup comes to Headingley, the two teams will meet again tomorrow, May Day bank holiday at Weetwood, Leeds.
As it turned out Monday's game became a victim of the weather, at the same time as Yorkshire's game with Durham was called off at Headingley. The Academy lost two early wickets both to Dominic Rhodes but Wharton, acting captain with Tom Loten playing at Headingley, played another good innings of 78 and Arjun Ramkumar a very confident 48 not out, looked to have made the foundations of a big score. However after the rain became much heavier the game was called off with the Academy 155-3. Five points to each team.
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