Posted by Tony Hutton
Tuesday 18th May and back to our regular stamping ground of Leeds University's Weetwood Sports Park for a junior battle of the Roses between Yorkshire Academy and their Lancashire counterparts. No restrictions on spectators here and plenty from the wrong side of the Pennines to support their team. Not just parents and grandparents but famous players from the past in John Abrahams, now in charge of Shropshire's National County side and Paul Allott, now director of cricket at Lancashire, together with Bob Dearden one of the great servants of Lancashire youth cricket.
Lancashire won the toss and batted in this friendly 50 overs per side contest. Little was known of the Lancashire side other than Cian Dickinson, who had already appeared on the ground earlier in the season for Scarborough in the Yorkshire League North. Apparently he is a student at Scarborough College. The visitors put on an excellent opening partnership between H. Singh and Luke Young who added 65 until the introduction of left arm spinner Clark Doughney, from York cricket club, saw Singh lbw for 27. Skipper Tom Aspinwall joined Young and at 77-1 Lancashire looked set for a good score.
Yorkshire's captain Sam Wisniewski then bowled Young for 35 which rather surprisingly proved to be the visitors' top score. The middle order batsman all made good starts but could not build on them and Yorkshire's spinners took control. Doughney taking three wickets and opening bat Yash Vagadia two, before the later batsmen Arav Shetty and Ben Walkden added an unbroken partnership of 41 for the eighth wicket at the end of the innings. Lancashire 206-7 which didn't really seem enough.
Yorkshire lost an early wicket when Dan Ford went for nine, but Yash Vagadia, from Middlesborough, continued to show good form and held the innings together in fine style. Leo Johnson, current captain of Sedbergh School, following in the footsteps of Harry Brook, Matt Revis and George Hill made only six but then Harry Allinson from Harrogate joined Vagadia in a partnership of 112 which turned the match back in Yorkshire's favour.
Allinson was eventually dismissed for 43 by Lancashire's best bowler, Josh Boyden, who took 3-32 but by then Vagadia looked to be heading for a century only to be stumped for 81, which included six fours and one six on a very big ground. However Noah Priestley and Ed Booth saw Yorkshire home to a five wicket victory with two and a half overs to spare.
Good to meet up with old friends again and to see so many people watching the cricket.
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