Posted by Tony Hutton
Leeds/Bradford University have packed in a lot of cricket recently. Last week they played two T20 games against Loughborough University at their home ground of Weetwood before travelling down to Loughborough to play them again in a high scoring 50 over BUCS game. Yesterday they were back at Weetwood to play another 50 over game against Cambridge University and today they played another two game T20 fixture against Durham University.
Plenty of runs all round, which of course started with the side's excellent performance against Yorkshire at Headingley earlier in the month. The game at Loughborough last week saw Leeds/Bradford notch up a formidable score of 287-5, of which Jack Timby, from Lincolnshire, made a highest ever score for the University in 50 over cricket of 150.
Unfortunately he finished on the losing side as Loughborough went to victory with 291-5 from the last ball of the game. Amazingly yesterday's game with Cambridge also went to the last ball and this time Leeds/Bradford ended up winners. In pleasant warm sunshine with clear blue skies which lasted all day Cambridge batted first. They scored consistently against some occasionally wayward bowling and helped by two outstanding innings from Hyde (79) and Amin at number eight (75), put together a total of 311-8 in their 50 overs.
The Leeds/Bradford reply got off to a bad start when they lost their top three batsmen, Haynes, Timby and De Caries with only fifty runs on the board. However skipper Angus Dahl together with Tom Keast, whose brother Nick is also in the side, turned the game back the home side's way with a partnership of 157 for the fourth wicket. Cambridge's top bowler Senanayake, who had taken the three early wickets, eventually dismissed Dahl for 78, but then had finished his ten allotted overs.
Keast soon followed run out for 76 but a sixty run partnership between Ben Pearson and wicketkeeper Sam Billings, who scored a magnificent 65 from only 38 balls, put the home side back on track. Billings was eventually out with only four more runs required and it fell to number ten batsman Khan to score two twos from the last two balls of the game to see Leeds/Bradford home around seven o'clock at night.
Cambridge's new coach Paul Hutchison, well known in these parts for his days in both county and league cricket, must have been pleased with his side's fielding with some outstanding catches being held. Perhaps not so pleased with some of the bowling though.
Today brought more drama, this time of the T20 variety. In the first game Durham batted and made a daunting total of 203-4, Benjamin top scoring with 93. The home side's reply was virtually a one man band with Jack Timby scoring another century. He was dismissed shortly before the end of the innings for 106, but the target was achieved off the last ball of the nineteenth over.
The second game started more slowly with Leeds/Bradford making only 158-8. The visitors lost three early wickets to the bowling of newcomer Robertson, but got the runs with just three balls to spare, due largely to a splendid partnership between Scott, who made 81 not out and T. Price 72 not out. I should perhaps add that all the cricket at Weetwood was played on the maximum possible playing area, which left plenty of gaps in the field for the prolific run scoring. Most unusually for what is often known as 'Windy Weetwood' the weather was unbelievably warm for April and provided a splendid start to what will be an all too short University season.
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