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.