'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.