Record 10th wicket partnership starts league season

 Posted by Tony Hutton

The Airedale and Wharfedale cricket league got underway yesterday and the game at Adel produced an eventful contest with local rivals Horsforth Hall Park. This attractive ground in north Leeds, adjacent to an attractive ancient Norman church, is part of a multi-sports facility which yesterday saw games of football, hockey, tennis and even, I believe, lacrosse going on. All the players and officials for these games had to enter and exit via the cricket ground so the Government's instructions that nobody should watch recreational cricket rather went out of the window, as none of them tended to walk past with their eyes closed.

The season gets underway at Adel.

Adel started the season in fine fashion and in no time at all Hall Park were struggling at 20-5 and the game looked to be heading for an early finish, with the players possibly taking their packed tea boxes home with them. Home skipper Matthew Kirkham took four of the early wickets, but it was his opposite number Ben Waller who began to put things right for the visitors. He compiled a bright and breezy 39, including seven fours and one six.

When Waller was out the score had progressed to 80-6 but then wickets continued to fall, three of them to the bowling of Elliot Audsley. When umpire Harold Todd slowly raised the finger of fate and number 10 batsman Sam Hyde departed lbw, it seemed as if the end was nigh with the score now 92-9. At this stage number eight Sam Wilkinson was four not out and was joined by number eleven Ricky Halloran.

The teams line up for the minute's silence in respect of the Duke of Edinburgh.

They managed to take the score beyond the hundred mark shortly before the minute's silence in respect of the Duke of Edinburgh, whose funeral was taking place. After this break in play the pair began to bat like opening batsmen rather than tailenders and the runs began to flow. The pair went on and on and the Adel bowlers and fielders became more and more frustrated. No chances went to hand and the likelihood of a wicket diminished as the overs progressed. 

Another big hit from Sam Wilkinson.

The fifty partnership came up in 68 balls and a further 46 balls brought the century partnership. Both batsmen reached their individual fifties and they finished the full fifty overs with a flourish at the end of the innings, which left the fielding side totally bewildered. The unbroken partnership reached the dizzy heights of 136, which turned out to be the all time Airedale and Wharfedale record tenth wicket partnership. This surpassed the record set in 2017 of 130 by Skipton father and son pair Ji and James Mukherjee.

The umpire signals six.

As the two heroes returned to their jubilant team mates assembled on the benches near the main entrance, Sam Wilkinson finished on 65 not out and Ricky Halloran on 56 not out. Horsforth Hall Park's final total being a most unexpected 228-9. Matthew Kirkham took 4-40 and Elliot Audsley 3-20.

The record breaking pair leave the field.

Adel by no means threw in the towel and put up a spirited reply to the challenging total,  despite losing an early wicket before a run was on the board. The pair of Elliot Audsley and Dan Ridgway put on 122 for the second wicket and Adel were well in the hunt for victory. Once Audsley was out, after an impressive innings of 80 which included eleven fours and three sixes, the wheels began to fall off again and the middle order collapsed to leave the Adel total at 162-8. The tail were defiant to the end and took the score beyond the 200 mark before Hall Park took the win by twenty five runs, bowling Adel out for 203 at the start of the 46th over.

A remarkable game which threw up yet another notable statistic in that Hall Park's wicketkeeper Steve Phillips took five catches and a stumping.