End of season for Yorkshire Premier Leagues.

Posted by Tony Hutton

Nothing at stake for the last round of matches in the four Yorkshire premier leagues, apart from Richmondshire avoiding defeat by nearest rivals Nunthorpe to clinch the North Yorkshire and South Durham League title. Apparently there is a change to previous years when the champions knock out semi-finals were played on neutral grounds so that Richmondshire will host Sheriff Hutton Bridge and Woodlands, of the Bradford League, will be at home to Doncaster Town. Both games to be played on Saturday 14th September with the NYSDL website suggesting an 11 a.m. start. The final will be at Headingley on Saturday 21st September.

We spent the day on Saturday at Weetwood for Yorkshire Academy's final game of the season against Harrogate. With the visitors having avoided relegation with Sessay and Beverley going back to the York Senior League, they put out a side missing several regulars and lost a rather one sided contest by a margin of 77 runs. The Academy have had rather a mixed season often missing players through injury or representative calls and not able to field a settled side. They finished just below half way in the league table but produced several excellent performances along the way.

Yorkshire Academy squad in pre-season (Picture from YCCC website)

James Wharton and Matthew Revis, the latter fresh from an appearance for MCC Schools at Lord's, put on a century partnership for the first wicket. Both of them got half centuries, Wharton 67 and Revis 51. Wharton got rather bogged down after Revis was out and it was down to Finlay Bean, who top scored with 70, to increase the scoring rate. As ever Tom Geeson-Brown was the stand out bowler for Harrogate, although a little expensive, with 3-64.

Stand in wicket keeper Harry Stothard played his part with three catches and a stumping but a fair number of wides took the extras total to 27. Harrogate's Sri Lankan spinner Abeysekera did not have the best of days, his two wickets coming at the cost of 82 runs. A late flurry with a rapid 26 from Harry Duke took the Academy score to what looked a winning total of 269-7 in their 50 overs.

Weetwood pavilion.

With veteran Alexis Twigg out early, Harrogate relied on their deputy captain Josh Atkinson who held things together with useful contributions from youthful Harry Allinson (23) and Harry Stothard (39) before the introduction of left arm spinner Harry Sullivan saw him caught and bowled for 46. After that there was only token resistance from a rather longish tail and the two Sullivan brothers (Harry and Josh)  saw the Academy home with three overs to spare and seven wickets between them.

George Hill was top scorer for the season with 514 runs in only ten appearances, with James Wharton 504 runs in 18 appearances. Harrison Quarmby was the leading wicket taker with 22 wickets followed closely by the two Sullivan brothers with 21 each.

The Academy in action at Weetwood earlier in the season.

The small band of regular Academy supporters were rewarded first with biscuits bought for them by the players and later by chocolates from groundsman Richard Robinson, who really deserves a much bigger reward for the excellent job he has done at Weetwood all season, first for Leeds/Bradford University and then for the Academy. A day when the weather conditions relented for once and we were able to enjoy the sunshine for most of the day which brought our league season to a very pleasant end.