Rodrigues sparkles for Diamonds

posted by John Winn

I was present at the finish of an exciting match on Sunday, no, not that one, for I was one of the 9000+ optimists who had bought tickets for a fifth day at Headingley; instead I was at Clifton Park, York where a last ball single gave Yorkshire Diamonds a win over Southern Vipers. The win came too late for Diamonds to qualify for finals day  but it provided an excellent afternoon's entertainment for those of us who were content to receive the news from Headingley by text, via a second party or simply the oohs and ahs of those who after three o'clock jammed the clubhouse to watch Sir Benjamin on TV.

The toss was won by Diamonds skipper Lauren Winfield who asked the visitors to bat and thanks to Bates, Wyatt and Beaumont they built a position from which a formidable total looked achievable, 125 for 2 in the fifteenth. Diamonds fielding had not been more than modest to that point but a succession of outstanding catches, particularly one by Winfield that saw Suzie Bates on her way, revived our hopes. An unbeaten stand of 43 between Maia Bouchier and Amanda Wellington restored Vipers as favourites and the innings closed on 184 for 4, and my companion for the afternoon, Graham Sykes, and I agreed a likely winning total.

Diamonds began their reply in the worst possible way with Winfield dismissed by Tash Farrant second ball, but enter the diminutive Mumbai born Jemimah Rodrigues who proceeded to bat through the innings playing shots of exquisite elegance hitting 17 fours and a six to finish on 112 not out, as good an innings as I have seen in women's cricket. She received good support from Healy and Armitage but when Heath and Davison-Richards went for ducks, 121 for 5 in the fourteenth over looked distinctly precarious. Leigh Kasparek then helped Rodrigues to add 49 for the sixth wicket assisted by two free hits until she was out for 12. Linsey Smith then assumed the Jack Leach role as Rodrigues stoked the boiler to leave just one needed from the last ball which was only the second Smith had faced and she duly hit the single that was needed to gain victory by four wickets.

Finally I must mark an unusual event which occurred on Saturday while I was watching Ouseburn v  Dacre Banks in a  Nidderdale Division 1 game. A wedding reception was being held in the village hall which forms part of the same building as the club room and dressing rooms and on a lovely afternoon they took their drinks outside oblivious it seemed to the dangers of being hit by the ball. During the drinks interval the whole party spilled onto the outfield where they were photographed by the official photographer and me. This caused the drinks interval to be extended and 'wedding stops play' entered cricket's lexicon.

The match was won by Ouseburn which significantly eases their relegation fears but leaves acre in the relegation zone with Masham. These two meet at Dacre on Saturday, interesting.

Surprise, surprise!

Posted by Tony Hutton

Just to confirm that the second eleven championship final over four days between Hampshire second XI and Leicestershire second XI will be played at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton. Yet another national final being played in the south of England.

NMR delights again

posted by John Winn

I joined a queue outside Scarborough Cricket Club at 9:15 on Sunday morning with the forecast indicating a full day's play. After six overs, when Yorkshire were 13 for 4 with the cream of their batting back in the pavilion, 'full day' took on a new definition and those who had booked 'digs' for three nights began to look a little uneasy. As most of you will know our pessimism was unnecessary as Yorkshire's innings was rescued by two home products, Tattersall and Bresnan with a stand of 121 for the sixth wicket and minor contributions from Patterson and Olivier boosted the total to 232 all out. Not world beating but handy enough against a Notts' side whose batting mercenaries have performed badly for much of the season.

On this occasion the visitors' top order shaped rather better than has been the case and Slater and Libby saw them through to the close at 41 without loss. Monday saw me at The Riverside to see a day's play that Tony has described in his latest post, but in my absence Notts reverted to type being bowled out short of a batting point, 48 runs in deficit to Yorkshire with Coad and Olivier getting most of the wickets. On Tuesday morning a late running, overcrowded train took me back to the seaside along with other cricket followers and others bound for the beach. The journey was enlightened by young George who managed to scream from Malton to Scarborough and whose lungs were still giving it what for as we left the station.

Despite the delay I missed only one over as Yorkshire built on the overnight score of 177 for 2. Some fine bowling from Fletcher made life difficult but a mature innings from Kohler-Cadmore and some lusty blows from Maharaj got the total to 338, a lead of 386. Slater was first to go and those of us sitting in front of the Notts' dressing room were treated to a display of petulance that surpassed that of Frain on the first morning. Nash showed some resistance and Duckett mixed aggression with patience to be there at stumps but those who returned on the fourth day, and I was not amongst them, got the right balance between a comfortable Yorkshire victory and enough cricket to make it worthwhile. Notts'  winless run in the championship now extends to 18 matches and in a week that has seen Samit Patel go on loan to Glamorgan and Luke Wood opt to go to Lancashire rather than stay by the River Trent next season these are troubled times for Mick Newell's outfit.

So Scarborough is over for another year. It  has attracted large crowds to see two matches that have gone to the fourth day, one of which went within two overs of the distance, and two pitches  that have produced the right balance between bat and ball. As they left on Tuesday evening people were saying to friends 'see you next year' but quite what next year's fixture list has in store we can only wait and dread.

North East Tour

Posted by Tony Hutton

Back to our normal base in Durham City for four days cricket in North East England. We arrived on Sunday 18th August at Jesmond, a leafy suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne for the first day of a Minor Counties game between Northumberland and Cambridgeshire. The Jesmond ground is still much as I remember it for the great days of Callers Pegasus sponsored celebrity cricket matches in the late 1980s and early 1990s before Durham became a first class county. Not a lot of seating available now but a good pavilion and a wide playing area with shorter straight boundaries.

The Jesmond pavilion.

Northumberland are struggling at the bottom of the table and even with reinforcements from down the road, in recently released Michael Richardson and Ryan Pringle from Durham they struggled somewhat on the first morning against a confident looking opening pair from the visitors in Waqas Hussain and Eddie Ballard. These two dominated the proceedings against some rather untidy bowling from the home side and put on 160 runs in 40 overs before lunch.

Hussain on strike.

Hussain, born in Middlesex, was a member of the very successful Berkshire side with an excellent track record before moving to Cambridgeshire this season. Up till now he had made only two fifties, but today was his day and he completed his century shortly after lunch, before being dismissed for 113, which included no less than seventeen fours and one six. His opening partner Ballard fell earlier for 64 out of a splendid opening partnership of 165.

Cambridgeshire 160-0 just before lunch.

Ballard and Hussain return to the pavilion at lunchtime.

With a cold wind blowing across the ground, we decided to leave at this point to make the short journey to Chester le Street where news had reached us that Alex Lees was making runs for Durham against Leicestershire at the Riverside. We arrived just as newcomer Alex Robson was out for 16 with the total on 118-2. Lees was already well past his fifty and continued to dominate proceedings until well after tea with an innings of 181, including twenty five fours. He looked back to his best after an uphill struggle since joining Durham from Yorkshire last season. We were delighted to be there to see it.

Lees salutes the crowd on reaching his century.

Lees on 147 at tea.

Durham ended the day with a commanding score of 368-5 quite a change from some of their earlier performances with the bat this season. Indeed it was Yorkshire's turn to lose three early wickets at Scarborough with a Durham like 10-3 score. Lees had been partnered briefly by new Australian signing Handscomb, who has replaced Cameron Bancroft, and then more significantly by Jack Burnham with an excellent 86.

Lees just before being dismissed for 181.

Lees takes the applause.

On day two the run fest continued with newly appointed captain Ned Eckersley determined to make runs against his former county colleagues, after nightwatchman Rimmington had stayed around to make a useful 25. Eckersley batted on and on with good assistance from Brydon Carse, taking the score beyond 500. Some Durham members were calling for him to declare, but he changed his batting gloves and batted on until Carse was run out for 43, then declaring with a huge total of 544-9.

Leicestershire's opening pair of Hasan Azad, a star performer this season, and veteran skipper Paul Horton made batting look as easy as Durham had earlier, putting on a century partnership with no trouble at all. Things then changed quickly when Carse was returned to the attack to dismiss both Horton and Dexter so that 100-0 became 100-2. Spinner Trevaskis bowled the dangerous Mark Cosgrove for 21 and Carse did the trick again having Azad caught at slip by Handscomb for a patient 53. Leicester 152-4 at the close of day two.

 Carse takes the applause for an outstanding bowling performance.

On day three night watchman Wright hung around to make 27 but nobody else could match his score as Carse, who looked pretty quick throughout, and the ever reliable Chris Rushworth demolised the tail in no uncertain fashion, the last four wickets falling for only two runs. Carse finished with career best figures of 6-63 and truly deserved the standing ovation as he left the field. Leicester were asked to follow on, but certainly did not lie down and die. Horton and Azad this time put on 93 for the first wicket with Azad getting his second half century of the match. At the close of day three Leicester were 153-4, still a long way behind and victory for Durham looked inevitable.

Meanwhile back at Jesmond Cambridgeshire achieved victory by 50 runs, despite a first innings century from Richardson for the home side. Northumberland faced the daunting task of chasing 326 to win on the last day and after a good start the middle order somewhat collapsed and it was left to the last wicket pair of McCreath and Williamson to add respectability with a partnership of 76 before they were all out for 276.

With that thought we moved further south the next day to see Durham seconds taking on Essex seconds in a three day game at Darlington. Little did we know that Leicester would bat all day thanks mainly to Mark Cosgrove's century and with the help of an early finish due to bad light managed to hold out for a draw. A great pity Durham could not pull off a victory which would have moved them well up the league table.

Feethams, Darlington.

However a very pleasant day at Darlington, made all the better for Mrs Mulholland's presence in providing the wonderful catering as only she can. The cricket was pretty interesting too with a lot of young players, mostly local boys, turning up for Essex. This was day two and Rishi Patel had made a century the previous day in Essex's first innings score of 321-7 dec. We saw fifties from Jones and Harte and a quick fire 41 from Poynter, but the young Essex bowlers were well on top with paceman Bhuiyan taking 3-27 and left arm spinner Nijjar, bowling a long spell did very well with 5-62.

When Essex batted again, their former player Matt Salisbury took three early wickets, including experienced Varun Chopra and they slumped to 38-4. The middle order provided some resistance, but at the end of the day, after we had departed for home, Harte finished Essex off with four wickets for four runs in two overs and two balls. Rain delayed the start on day three but Essex just failed to win the game despite taking nine wickets, leaving Durham about thirty runs short of their target.

Finally some confusion surrounds the Second eleven Championship Final which is to be played over four days commencing on Tuesday 3rd September. This is between Leicestershire and Hampshire, not Lancashire and Hampshire, as Lancashire needed to beat Leicester last week and only got a draw.
The confusion arose because Lancashire are playing Hampshire in a three day friendly at Crosby on 16th September. The venue for the final has still to be announced.

Cup finals - a south of England monopoly.

Posted by Tony Hutton

The first of a series of national competition cup finals took place this week in the shape of the county second XI T20 semi-finals and final played as usual at Arundel Castle in Sussex. Some rather strange scores saw Glamorgan (204-4) beat Notts (99 all out) in the first semi-final. The Australian batsman Nick Selman made 115 not out, thus beating Notts on his own, despite the presence of first team openers Nash and Slater.

Arundel Castle cricket ground.

Hampshire then bowled a strong looking Durham side all out for 93 and won by five wickets in the second semi-final. The final was a low scoring affair and won in dramatic circumstances by Glamorgan by just one run. Billy Root was the top batsman with 49 not out, but remember the name of 19 year old pace bowler Kazi Szymanski who played a major part in Glamorgan's victory. Surprisingly not another overseas player as he comes from Torquay.

The county second XI one day trophy final had already taken place at the end of June when Kent beat Durham in the final (at Beckenham) thanks to a century from Alex Blake. The county second XI championship is a little more complicated as the Northern group winners play the Southern group winners in a three day final commencing on 3rd September. Again the rain had a say when Leicester managed to hold out for a draw against Lancashire (who had the upper hand throughout) at Kibworth to clinch the Northern group. They will now play Hampshire at a venue to be decided. Possibly done by the toss of a coin, but my money would be on somewhere in Hampshire.

The county under 17s final this year will be played over three days commencing Tuesday 27th August between Cheshire and Surrey at surprise, surprise - Arundel Castle yet again! Cheshire were a little fortunate with the weather which deprived Lancashire or Yorkshire from possibly winning the Northern title. Whichever team had won through would have faced a daunting journey almost as far south as one can get.

Arundel Castle cricket ground yet again.

Now for the Minor Counties one day trophy competition where yet again the weather had a big say in proceedings. Cumberland's semi-final with Staffordshire was scheduled for Carlisle cricket club last Sunday but due to the railway being flooded and Carlisle being virtually cut off, a bowl out was arranged at Penrith cricket club which Cumberland won 3-0. This reminds me of the famous occasion some years ago when the final of the Tilcon Trophy at the Harrogate festival was decided on a bowl out where all eleven players of both sides missed the stumps and they had to go round a second time to get a decision. However now Cumberland will face the favourites Berkshire at the Paul Getty ground in Wormsley, Buckinghamshire. Yet another long journey for the Cumbrians.

Wormsley cricket ground.

After all this it is some consolation to know that at least the final of the Headingley Evening League will not be played in the south of England. After this week's semi-finals New Rover will play Yeadon on a date and at a venue to be announced.

Short change for Todmorden.

Posted by Tony Hutton

Sadly the only representative cricket match at Todmorden cricket club this season took place earlier this week with a planned two day game between Lancashire Under 19s and Middlesex Under 19s.
Unfortunately the wet weather ruled out play on day two and the game ended in a draw after Tuesday's efforts which saw Lancashire bowl out Middlesex for 235 with Lancashire 130-3 at the close.

To our surprise, after seeing the amount of standing water in the car park, play started only half an hour late in bright sunshine which lasted for most of the day, although a moderate breeze blew down the Calder Valley from the direction of Burnley. So yet another enjoyable day in this most attractive of settings and such a pity that both Lancashire and Yorkshire second elevens, who have hosted regular three day games in the past, seem to have abandoned the venue. The playing area looked a picture and the wicket, although perhaps understandably a trifle slow, played well enough.

Centre Vale, Todmorden.

Middlesex fielded a strong looking side, the majority of whom had second eleven experience. One of the opening batsmen was Josh DeCaires, son of Michael Atherton, who uses his mother's surname, perhaps to avoid the obvious comparisons. He batted well enough before being first man out after an opening partnership of fifty, when given out lbw for 23. As usual an excellent scorecard was provided by Lancashire with all the clubs of the home team players listed. Sadly this efficiency does not spread to the publication of match details after the event, presumably because this competition, between only six counties, is not funded by the ECB.

Some lively pace bowling from two left armers Ben Gibbon, a regular in the Cheshire Minor Counties side this season, and Ollie Sutton, from Formby cricket club, kept the Middlesex batsmen on their toes. A wicket each took the score to 97/3 when Jack Davies, one of the Berkshire contingent in the Middlesex set up, who has played for England Under 19s, was lbw for 20. However the innings of the day was played by Joe Cracknell, a rarity in being a Middlesex local lad, who made top score of 84. He was cheered on by his team mates throughout his innings with 'good shot Crackers'.

The never changing view at Todmorden.

After Hollman had been caught at slip off Gibbon for 0, Cracknell dominated proceedings until he was caught behind by Harry Barclay, from Chorley, off the bowling of off spinner Parikh Praharsh, who plays for Winton cricket club. That made the score 188-5, but after a useful 44 from Artharva Prasad, for Middlesex, they slumped from 223-6 to 235 all out soon after tea.

Lancashire made a useful 130-3 before the end of day one leaving the game evenly poised, but as the forecast rightly predicted the weather had the final say and no play was possible on Wednesday leaving the match drawn. Middlesex taking six points and Lancashire seven. In the six counties league table this leaves Leicestershire and Lancashire level on 42 points, with Lancashire having a game in hand. Yorkshire Under 19s also took part in a high scoring game with Warwickshire at Moseley this week, but again a whole day was lost to the weather.

On the 28th and 29th August, Yorkshire Under 19s will play Lancashire Under 19s at Hullen Edge, Elland.

No breakfast at Tiffany's for Diamonds.

posted by John Winn

Representative cricket returned to Clifton Park, York yesterday when Yorkshire Diamonds hosted table toppers Western Storm in a Women's Super League T20 match. On a breezy but at times sunny afternoon a decent crowd was in attendance when Storm captain Heather Knight won the toss and asked Diamonds to bat. I joined Messrs Thorpe, Parr, and Sykes at the Shipton Road End to watch Alyssa Healy and Lauren Winfield get the home team off to a decent start at about a run a ball until Healy went for 12 and Winfield was joined by Hollie Armitage. Scoring improved to almost 8 an over  before Winfield was stumped for 12 off Odedra. There followed Diamonds' best part of the afternoon as Armitage and Rodrigues added 60 for the third wicket. Rodrigues fell to Shrubsole, after which farce descended with the five of the next six wickets wickets falling to run outs, which is probably some kind of record,  Only Armitage escaped the ignominy of such a dismissal and she was eighth out for 59 when bowled by Freya Davies. The innings closed on 151 for 9, 13 of which were wides, respectable but not enough to worry the powerful Storm batting we surmised.

Storm's innings was opened by Rachel Priest and Smriti Mandhana and these two were not parted until six were needed for victory. Diamonds were powerless to slow the rate as the pair struck boundaries to all parts. The openers rode their luck at times for not being frightened to hit the ball in the air, shots went just over or fell narrowly short of fielders. Only Katie Levick exercised any kind of restraint but it was Alice Davidson-Richards who took the solitary wicket when Mandhana  was caught by Healy with just six needed for victory. Would she do it in one, mused Mr Thorpe, yes was the prompt answer as the fifth ball of the 15th over went for six to give Storm a victory which extended their lead at the top of the table to 9 points over Southern Vipers. Meanwhile Lancashire Thunder were narrowing the gap at the bottom of the table to two points as they tied their match with the Vipers. 

As I type rain is falling at the Home of Cricket and at Lord's but tomorrow's forecast suggests some hope of cricket. I am intending to travel to Harrogate where Stamford Bridge are the visitors, a team I have not seen for a few seasons. This assumes I can escape the Lower Ure Valley for somebody at Highways England appears to have found the key to the cupboard where white line paint is stored and Road Closed has been a familiar sight for the last two days. I was this morning assured by a gentleman in high vis that these signs will disappear for the weekend but return on Monday. He is planning an early start to Countryfile Live tomorrow which goes to show that quite often if not always there is somebody worse off than yourself. 

A distinguished career

posted by John Winn

When Yorkshire played Kent at Wigginton Road, York in 1890 three Kent players arrived too late to bat in Kent's first innings. Arguably the most distinguished of these was Stanley Christopherson who died in 1949 and whose obituary in the following year's Wisden occupies nearly a full page. Distinguished both as a player and an administrator and also in the world of finance, Christopherson was born in Blackheath in 1861. Educated at Uppingham School he was good enough to play fifty matches for Kent and one test for England, against Australia at Lord's in 1884. Although England won the match by an innings and five runs Stanley's contribution was slight. Batting at number 11 he made 17 and he claimed the wicket of Bonnor  in the Australian's first innings, caught by WG for 25. He was not selected for the following test at The Oval.

Wisden describes Christopherson as 'one of the best fast bowlers in the middle 'eighties', with 'a fairly long run and who made full use of his height'. His best performance for Kent was against Surrey at The Oval in 1883 when he took 8 for 41. An injury to his arm meant that Christopherson played little major cricket after 1887. He was one of ten sons and with their father making eleven the family played matches mostly against schools in Kent. The scorer's cry of 'bowler's name' presumably answered by forename only. Of the ten Christopherson sons one other, Percy, played first class cricket, his one game for Kent being against Sussex at Tonbridge, a match in which Stanley also appeared,  and he also featured for Oxford University v The Gentlemen of England in 1889 at The Parks where he had the misfortune to bag a pair. The sporting talents of the Christophersons were not confined to cricket for Percy won two caps for England at Rugby Union and Stanley represented his country at Hockey. Percy's first international was v Wales at Newport in 1891 and he scored two tries, worth one point each, in a 7-3 win. Percy did not travel to Ireland for the next match and his swansong came against Scotland at Richmond when a 9-3 victory gave Scotland victory and the triple crown for the first time.


Stanley Christopherson was President of MCC from 1939 to 1946, the longest anyone has held the office, just pipping Lord Hawke who held the office during World War 1. Away from cricket he was an important figure in the City of London and chaired Midland Bank for a while. His grandson Ian Stanley Akers-Douglas played first class cricket for Oxford University and Kent in the nineteen thirties. Ian's obituary in the 1952 Wisden recounts his death aged 43 as the result of a shooting accident at his home in Frant, Kent. An old Etonian, he topped their batting averages in 1928, but missed a blue at Oxford when only twelfth man in  the 1930 varsity match. He was one of three men to skipper Kent in 1936, the other two being Percy Chapman and Bryan Valentine. Aker-s Douglas was also a brilliant rackets player being British Isles champion in 1933. A talented family indeed.

Cricket in four counties in four days (Part two).

Posted by Tony Hutton

After a good night's rest in our Cheshire base it was a nice easy ride on the dual carriageway into Staffordshire and the centre of Stoke on Trent. Another new ground quite easy to find in the area surrounding Stoke City's football ground, where all the roads are named after famous footballers. After negotiating the most famous of them all - Stanley Matthews Way - we found our target Dennis Violett Avenue the home of Hem Heath cricket club. For the last couple of seasons Derbyshire county cricket club have taken second eleven cricket to this newish ground, established I gather in 2002. Today Derbyshire seconds were playing their last championship three day game against Northants seconds.

Hem Heath pavilion.

It took a little researching to find out the origins of the Hem Heath club, but apparently they were a colliery side who played in the grounds of the colliery just down the road, between Trentham and Longton. The new ground is in an area known as Trentham Lakes. It has a somewhat urban atmosphere on the edge of a factory estate, with an apparently disused Stoke City Academy building next door. However an attractive line of trees on one side of the large playing area adds a rural note.

The trees looked impressive in the evening sunshine.

With only a small handful of spectators, partly because Staffordshire were playing Cumberland in the Minor Counties just a few miles down the road at Checkley, there was nobody to get very excited when Derby took two very early wickets through veteran Tony Palladino, this year's beneficiary, and young hopeful Alfie Gleadall. This brought together two batsmen who were to dominate most of the rest of the day.

I had heard good reports of Emilio Gay, a young man from Bedford School (like Alistair Cook) who has recently earned himself a contract with Northants after scoring 180 not out to achieve a notable nine wicket victory over Warwickshire seconds. He was joined by Saif Ali Zaib, who has been at Northants for six years, without ever really gaining a regular first team place. He is a left hand bat and a slow left arm bowler.

Emilio Gay on his way to a hundred.

After a slowish start these two made run scoring look easy against a very varied attack. When first team leg spinner Matt Critchley appeared Zaib immediately took a fancy to his bowling hitting him for four huge sixes. Up till then Gay had led the way, with lots of runs nudged round the corner on the leg side, but Zaib gradually caught him up and it was neck and neck as to who would get to the century mark first. They reached a 200 partnership with with Gay on 95 and Zaib on 94 and it was the latter who reached his century first shortly followed by his young partner.

Zaib celebrates his hundred.

When Zaib was eventually out caught behind by Harvey Hosein off Gleadall for 136 he had hit fourteen fours and seven sixes in a third wicket partnership of 272. Gay soon followed stumped by Hosein off Lacey's bowling for 125 with sixteen fours and just one six. Some quick late runs from Ben Hutton (once with Notts) and Tom Keast, the wicket keeper from Lincolnshire, helped Northants to a total of 353-6 declared.

Impressive partnership on the board.

Apparently the following two days continued to show the pitch was a batsman's paradise. Derby made 472 all out, with Critchley, who has played for England Lions, making 156. Northants then batted out for a draw with 216-5 on the final day. Match drawn.

The following day, Tuesday 6th August, it was a quick run up the M6 and M58 to Ormskirk in Lancashire where Lancashire Under 17s were taking on Yorkshire in a vital championship game which could possibly decide the Northern Division winner to go through to the semi-finals.
However en route we passed close by the Grappenhall ground where Cheshire, also very much in contention were to take on Derbyshire.

The Ormskirk old pavilion.

Lancashire batted first after a delayed start following early morning rain showers and made a good fist of it with an opening stand of 71, between Fielding and Matthew Jones. Fielding got a big century and a fifty in Lancashire's win over Durham at Hartlepool last week and was in good form again.
Fielding a left hander, is the son of the former Lancashire spin bowler who became a well known league professional.

The more modern pavilion next door.

The impressive Fielding lets a ball through to the keeper.

The game began to turn Yorkshire's way thanks to an excellent spell of left arm spin bowling from Harry Sullivan. He was very accurate and gave nothing away and soon took two valuable wickets after Matthew Revis had got rid of both openers, including Fielding for 79. Lancashire were struggling at that point on 126-5 but Yorkshire rather fell apart during the rest of the day with the support bowlers not really performing.

A partnership of 146 for the sixth wicket between George Bell and Subhaan Mahmood took the game away from Yorkshire. Bell went for 76, but Mahmood batted on to the close making 103 not out as Lancashire claimed maximum batting points by passing the 300 mark.

Excellent floral displays at Ormskirk.

Unfortunately there was no play on day two due to further rain, which robbed both teams of the chance of qualifying for the semi final. Not too far away Cheshire were able to complete a full day's play and coasted to an impressive innings victory on day three with 24 points, when Yorkshire just batted out for 215-7 at Ormskirk, where the match was drawn. Cheshire go through to the national semi-final where they will play Nottinghamshire at home over three days commencing Tuesday next 13th August.

Cricket in four counties in four days. (Part one)

Posted by Tony Hutton

With a trip bound for deepest Cheshire on Sunday, we stayed close to home on Saturday 3rd August watching two Airedale/Wharfedale league games in close proximity. The grounds of Ilkley cricket club and Olicanian cricket club are separated only by the town's swimming pool and lido. Both of them have excellent views of Ilkley Moor and the Cow and Calf Rocks.

 Welcome to Ilkley. Note the sandbags.

 Ilkley pavilion with distant view of the Cow and Calf rocks.

Ilkley were taking on Addingham very much a local derby in a first division game. The visitors batted first and built up a very reasonable score of 247-9 with half centuries from Ellis and Haggas against some useful bowling and very keen fielding. There were several excellent catches, none better than the one that included a prolonged juggling incident. Ilkley were urged on in the field by their veteran former county cricketer, David Pennett, who started with the Yorkshire Academy and then played for Nottinghamshire for several years.

Ilkley scoreboard with David Pennett lurking in the outfield.

During the interval we wandered round next door to see how the second division game between Olicanian and Guiseley was going on. Again the visitors had batted first and the final wicket fell just as we entered the ground with Guiseley all out for 149. This didn't really look enough but wickets fell rapidly when Olicanian batted as in no time at all they were 10-3. A score we have seen several times this season when Durham bat.

Olicanian pavilion.

Opening bowlers Findley and Hallas continued the carnage and Olicanian were soon 45-5 before Tom Smallwood, brother of captain Harry, began the recovery with a few lusty blows to make joint top score of 32. We had to leave at this stage but the home side just managed to get over the line in the end with a one wicket victory, thanks to some good batting from the lower order and the help of five penalty runs which I assume was for the ball hitting a helmet on the ground.

Olicananians batting with the panorama of Ilkley Moor.

Dark clouds hover over the Moor after tea.

The game at Ilkley also had a close finish with the home side finishing just twelve runs short of the Addingham total with eight wickets down. So two entertaining games both producing an excellent finish.

Next day off to the attractive ground of Alderley Edge to see the first day of Cheshire v Devon in the Minor Counties championship. Despite heavy rain in the area during the previous week, with some serious flooding in places, play started on time and yet again the action came thick and fast.

The Alderley Edge pavilion.

Devon won the toss and rather surprisingly decided to bat first. They were captained by Zac Bess, cousin of Dominic, at present on loan from Somerset to Yorkshire. Cheshire's opening bowler Ben Aitchison, from the Formby club, was soon among the wickets, removing openers George Allen and very young looking wicket keeper Jamie Baird. The other opening bowler Mike Finan also chipped in with the wicket of Beaumont to make it 18-3, before Aitchison, obviously getting movement off the pitch, took two more to make it 19-5.

One of these was much travelled former county man Wayne White not to be confused with Cheshire's Yorkshire based professional David Wainwright. The other quick bowler Ben Gibbon and Rick Moore joined in the fun with more wickets and Wainwright only managed to bowl two overs towards
the end of the innings. Devon with only two batsmen scoring more than twenty were all out for 85.

Devon struggling on 26-5.

Cheshire used the experience of David Wainwright as an opener which gave them the advantage with an opening stand of 49 with skipper Leech. Wainwright then took the score to within sight of Devon's total before being dismissed for a valuable 40. After tea when the conditions eased Rick Moore and Robert Sehmi increased the scoring rate, both making half centuries and Cheshire looked to have the game in the bag by the close.

The following day, when we had moved on, Cheshire batted out their full ninety overs to make 305-9.
Devon put up something of a better show in their second innings with an opening stand of 86 from Allen (41) and Baird (38), followed by 42 from Wayne White. However, it was David Wainwright who had the final say finishing off the tail very quickly to end with figures of 22.2-9-43-5. Cheshire winning the game by an innings and seven runs with a day to spare.

'Gate widen the gap

posted by John Winn

The extremes of weather, family commitments and the paucity of accessible attractive fixtures having denied me any cricket for two weeks it was with some pleasure when a decent forecast and  an interesting fixture a short drive away at Sessay made my choice of venue for the afternoon an easy one.

I last visited Sessay's attractive ground near Thirsk in April when they were given pretty short shrift by Eppleton in the National KO Cup. Since then things have not gone well for the North Yorkshire side  and for the second year running they have found themselves in a struggle against relegation. Their opponents Harrogate have also been in poor form recently and the tag line for their trip to Sessay might have been 'Who will join Beverley in the relegation zone come September?' for the East Yorkshire outfit have had a torrid time in the top tier with only two wins and  this morning's table shows them 22 points from safety.

Harrogate had just begun their innings when I settled into the deckchair under a spreading copper beech which offered welcome shade from strong sunshine. Openers Kempley and Twigg made steady progress but the run rate remained stubbornly at about three an over.

First to go was Kempley with 56 on the board but Twigg and Atkinson added another fifty and the latter had another good partnership for the third wicket with Stothard. Attempts to raise the scoring rate brought about a couple of run outs but some lusty hitting by Geeson-Brown added some quick runs at the end as the Sessay fielders constant exhortations to 'keep working hard lads' became less and less convincing. 233 for 6 looked a good score and the usual coterie of Sessay supporters looked less than upbeat as they drank their cups of tea. 

Sessay began quite brightly with Wilkie and Till at the wicket but after Till went at 101 for 4 wickets fell steadily. There was some resistance from Harrison but the last four went for just twenty runs with Geeson-Brown and  Abeysekra claiming four each. Victory by 47 runs gave Harrogate ten points to Sessay's nought and the gap between them is now 14 points. Not insurmountable of course with six matches to go but a tall ask for a team who like Beverley have only two outright wins to their name. 

Sheriff Hutton Bridge head the table with Woodhouse Grange three points behind. York and Stamford  Bridge are close enough to think they too might have a chance of winning the title. 

Harrogate take the field after tea. 

Under 17 county cricket takes centre stage.

Posted by Tony Hutton

Tuesday 23rd July, the first day of a short lived heat wave, saw us in the pleasant surroundings of Queens Park, Chesterfield for day one of the three day game between Derbyshire under 17s and Yorkshire under 17s, This game followed the county championship game with Northants and the big event of a T20 local derby between Derbyshire and Yorkshire. Clearing up operations were still going on following the big games and at times the handful of hard core spectators had to view the action between lorries being loaded with temporary seats and barriers. When they departed peace was restored and we could get on with some interesting if rather slow cricket.

Derbyshire batting at Queens Park, Chesterfield.

Derbyshire batted, but made hard work of it against a mainly spin attack of Harding, Harry Sullivan and skipper Sam Wisniewski. Nobody played a major innings with number three Mitchell Wagstaff making top score of 32. Harry Harding had the best figures of 4-26 but the prize for accuracy must go to Harry Sullivan who finished with the excellent analysis of 24-10-38-3. Derby all out 172.

Queens Park, Chesterfield.

Yorkshire lost the wickets of James Wharton (13) and Arjun Ramkumar before the close but the two new comers Dan Ford from Methley and Cooper Smith from Harrogate both started well and were to add a partnership of 93 before Ford was out for 63 and Smith for 82 the following day. Yorkshire's middle order were all successful with Duke (58), Greaves (29) and Harding (72) all contributing to a final total of 383 for 8 declared.

Not much danger of this on day one.

As the week got hotter, we stayed at home for the last two days and apparently the final day was the hottest of the week when Yorkshire toiled in the field all day in stifling conditions. Most people expected Yorkshire to gain an easy innings victory, but it proved something of an illusion as the Derbyshire batsmen batted on and on with growing confidence and batted it out for a draw. Final score after an exhausting day for the Yorkshire bowlers was 356-8 - match drawn.

The continuing hot weather followed by thunderstorms and torrential downpours meant a complete week off from cricket (a most unusual state of affairs) until Tuesday 30th July when Yorkshire under 17s were in action again in another three day game, this time against Cheshire at Weetwood, Leeds.

Again the game was curtailed by the weather but not as badly as at first seemed likely. All of the second day action before lunch was lost but our worst fears were not confirmed. Unfortunately Yorkshire fielded a weakened side, with players missing on second eleven duty or through injuries. In fact a new opening partnership of Leo Johnson and Hector Bowerman took the field to start proceedings. Johnson is yet another Sedbergh School pupil from Collingham cricket club and Bowerman is from Ashville College, Harrogate and Follifoot cricket club. Both had impressed for the county under 15 side in the past, but sadly Bowerman marked his debut with a pair.

Black clouds circled the ground throughout the three days.

Yorkshire's batting on the first day was generally well below par with only Cooper Smith, who has done well recently with the Harrogate first eleven, making an impression with top score of 44. Cheshire's opening bowler Aaron Soni dismissed both openers in his first spell and returned to get rid of Smith and finished with 3-44 from 20 overs. Spinner Harry Newton destroyed the middle order with figures of 5-33 and Yorkshire must have wondered what had hit them. All out for 152.

Cheshire's reply also started badly with two early wickets for Archie Greaves, followed by three from Charlie Bourne, from Hallam in Sheffield, and the visitors were reduced to 65-5. Even the man with what must be the longest name in cricket Aaryan Godhamgaonkar only managed three runs. However Ned Bailey and number seven Ben Staniforth started the recovery in fine style.

Aaryan Godhamgaonkar returns to the pavilion.

This continued well into day three when they had put on 110 together before Bailey was caught behind by Duke off the bowling of left armer Sharma. Staniforth, who had been the minor part of the action then took over and went to his century with the last ball before lunch. A splendid effort from a lower order batsman. He had batted for almost four hours but was swiftly run out soon after the interval. The score was then 288-7 and the tail went quickly to leave Cheshire 295 all out, with a lead of 143.

Ben Staniforth takes the applause for his century.

With not much time left and black clouds passing over, Cheshire scented victory if they could bowl Yorkshire out cheaply yet again. Aaron Soni showed the way with another opening burst which soon got rid of both openers. Enter Arjun Ramkumar, who we had seen make an excellent half century for Yorkshire seconds at Kidderminster earlier in the season. He certainly went for his shots early on and raced into the eighties, with twelve fours, before becoming somewhat becalmed and then was caught behind from a careless waft when on 90 and a century there for the taking.

Ramkumar hits another four.

The score by then was 125-4 and Yorkshire were still eighteen runs behind. Into the last hour and Cheshire still had hopes of a remarkable victory. As the overs began to run out the Cheshire captain Toby Brown, took the bold step of putting himself on to bowl with rather hopeful leg breaks. He could not find a length at all at first and Greaves despatched him for a huge six. Soon afterwards a ball kept very low and Brown claimed an lbw victim to great excitement from the fielding side.
With fielders all around the bat Brown claimed another wicket by bowling Duke, who had not played a shot. Yorkshire edged into the lead but Cheshire persisted until ten to six, when time ran out. Match drawn.

With Lancashire Under 17s securing a narrow victory over Durham by 22 runs at Hartlepool today, the league table for the northern section makes interesting reading.

Lancashire 49 points, Yorkshire 47 points and Cheshire 46 points. Each side has one more three day match to play and the winners of the group go through to the national semi-finals. The big game is obviously between Lancashire and Yorkshire at Ormskirk which starts on Tuesday next 6th August. On the same day Cheshire will take on Derbyshire at Grappenhall. All to play for as they say.