Turned out nice again - eventually

 Posted by Tony Hutton

For the professional cricket watchers of this world, starved of their staple daily diet of cricket as they are, the search for obscure fixtures taking place where they can is another full time job. Trawling the internet can be a soul destroying job but just occasionally it can come up trumps. Yesterday revealed an unlikely game at Knaresborough Forest cricket club against the local branch of the Forty Club, an admirable organisation which provides middle aged cricketers with a whole host of midweek fixtures against clubs and schools (when such things are in operation).

The stage was set at Knaresborough Forest.

Promptly at 1.30 p.m. we were in position at this attractive ground in a bowl of what appears to have been an old quarry to the rear of the Cricketers Pub, which provides an ideal vantage point to watch the cricket from an elevated position behind the bowler's arm in it's beer garden. The players were in position, all in whites (another blessing) and all seemed well with the world. Unfortunately the feeling of well being all too soon ended abruptly. At the end of the first over loud music blared out from speakers in front of the pavilion and continued at regular intervals every time a boundary was scored or a wicket taken as well as between overs!

Calcutt Oval, Knaresborough

Knaresborough Forest Pavilion

Whose brilliant idea was this! One can only surmise it was not the choice of the visiting Forty Club members. Certainly not to the liking of local residents, beer drinkers in the pub garden or the handful of spectators. Probably only the person whose idea it was thought it of any benefit to the proceedings. It will not surprise regular readers to know that twenty minutes or so of this was enough and off we went.

View from the beer garden at Knaresborough Forest.

This was rather a shame as we later discovered, thanks to the play-cricket scorecard, that the home side made 200-6 in 40 overs and the visitors 162-9, which in olden times would have been regarded as a draw but today probably a victory by 38 runs. The odd point about this was that a a very well known batsman in local club cricket circles, one Geoffrey Barker, came in at number eleven for the Forty Club to make top score of 29 not out. Very strange, except he protected his long career average by notching up yet another not out!

Later in the day it was again the turn of the Headingley Evening League where New Rover were taking on St Chads in yet another of the interminable local derbies in the area of north Leeds. Plenty of room for social distancing, for the minority of people who take any notice of this, but again not ideal for old fashioned cricket watchers as St Chads turn out in yellow shirts, one of only two or three teams in this league who bother with such sad customs.

The yellows batting, but not for long.

However, as George Formby used to say it did eventually all turn out nice again. New Rover's opening bat Adam Patel provided exceptional entertainment, with the first century of this shortened season which we have witnessed. His innings was peppered with a whole series of enormous sixes into neighbouring fields and one which must have almost reached the adjacent Leeds Ring Road. He was finally out for 107 as the home side's total reached over 200 for the loss of only four wickets.

Runs a plenty in the New Rover innings.

Another huge six from Adam Patel at New Rover.

Nice to see New Rover take the field all in white when St. Chads two men in yellow started their response. Sadly the visitors had no response to the daunting target and were all out for 89 in 15.1 overs.Only three batsmen reached double figures with the difficult name of number five, Tom Erxleben, not a typing error, top scoring with 35. All seven New Rover bowlers got at least one wicket so you could say a good team performance. However, no doubt whatsoever about the man of the match, centurion Adam Patel who made the whole day memorable after rather a bad start. Turned out nice again after all.

Applause for Adam Patel as the centurion leaves the field.