The trials and tribulations of county second eleven cricket.

 Posted by Tony Hutton

Watching county second eleven cricket is a way of life for many ardent cricket watchers. The relaxed atmosphere, often on delightful club grounds, is a most pleasant antidote from the pressures of modern life, particularly during the current crisis. However every conceivable obstacle seems to have been put in the way of this mostly elderly band of enthusiasts by 'the powers that be' whether it is the ECB, individual county clubs or local authorities.

It seems so obvious that groups of twenty to thirty people, all vaccinated up to the hilt, have enough common sense to socially distance around a large cricket field without causing any problems to anybody. However tales of people being turned away from grounds all over the country are commonplace. No such  problems however in evidence at the Leeds University ground, Weetwood, Leeds this week when Yorkshire seconds took on Warwickshire in a four day second eleven championship match. The only person who seemed to suffer being a Warwickshire member who had travelled from Durham and was turned away after a couple of hours due to his travelling companion, a border collie. No dogs allowed on the ground.

One other distant visitor, a Lancastrian, was a refugee from Southport where Lancashire seconds were playing Nottinghamshire seconds. Ticket only admission, but a covid scare meant that day one was played behind closed doors. Spectators were to be admitted on day two, but the game was abandoned due to yet another covid problem - hence the long journey from Southport to Leeds.

Warwickshire's flag flies on the pavilion at Weetwood.

Fortunately the game at Weetwood lasted for almost the full four days, starting on Monday morning and ending around 3 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. Here again things were not quite straightforward as a number of first team members took the opportunity of match practice, some staying the full course and other leaving half way through the match to join the first team squad for T20 games. Hard to keep up with the comings and goings in the Yorkshire side with Patterson, Olivier and Tattersall departing after the first two days to be replaced by Ed Booth, James Mukerjee and Harry Duke, behind the stumps.

Dominic Sibley patrols the boundary at Weetwood.

Perhaps the most notable first team man was Dom Sibley, the England opening batsman, taking some much needed practice with a painstaking 31 runs in almost two and half hours during Warwickshire's first innings. His team mates all struggled on a wicket more helpful than most on this normally batsman friendly ground. The wickets were shared between the six Yorkshire bowlers, with Ben Coad's 2-13 in twelve overs probably the most impressive. Warwickshire dismissed for 135 to encourage thoughts of a three day finish amongst the small band of spectators.

Steve Patterson bowls Ethen Brookes.

Vikai Kelley is lbw to Jack Shutt.

These thoughts gained further credence when both Yorkshire openers fell cheaply, Wharton to the first ball of the innings and Tattersall soon after, but Matt Revis played a Sibley-like innings of 53 which took him almost four hours, with initially good support from the two young Academy players Luxton and Vagadia, and later from Ben Birkhead with a more rapid 54 which included eleven fours. Yorkshire proceeded to a healthy first innings lead thanks to skipper Ben Coad, who also made a rapid half century towards the end. Final total Yorkshire 266 all out.

Wharton lbw b Nowell to the first ball of the innings.

Dominic Sibley bowling in the nets.

Warwickshire's second innings was a workmanlike effort, rather turgid at times, but at least it satisfied the regulars by taking the game into the fourth day. This time Sibley went early on and had to be content with more practice in the nets where he was captured bowling with his pads on in readiness. His opening partner the left handed youngster Rob Yates provided the backbone of the innings and was unlucky to be dismissed for 97 after five hours patient batting when Wharton took a fine low catch at short leg of Josh Sullivan's bowling.

Wharton holds the catch at short leg to dismiss Yates for 97.

The South African P.J. Malan made a patient 62 and there was a useful 28 from trialist wicket keeper and surprisingly captain for the match, South African Chris Benjamin recently with Durham University, who was awarded a contract for the rest of the season by Warwickshire during the game. However the resistance was prolonged by a stubborn ninth wicket partnership between Garrett and young wicket keeper Vikai Kelley (although not keeping in this match). They put on 72 runs, rather slowly, frustrating all the Yorkshire bowlers in the process until Revis eventually took the last two wickets. The second innings total of 344 meant that Yorkshire required 214 to win.

Despite losing the wicket of Wharton, bowled by Norwell for only one, without playing a shot, before the close of play on day three, the home side had plenty of time to score the runs. Harry Duke who had already impressed with three catches and a stumping, got his head down and made a fine 67 which earned him a call up for the first eleven to face Lancashire in the T20 game on Friday evening. The real hero of the final day was the other wicket keeper Ben Birkhead, who followed his first innings half century with a magnificent hundred, which came with the winning hit in mid afternoon. He was helped to the century mark by Will Luxton who made a confident 22 not out at the end but manipulated the strike for Birkhead to reach the hundred mark.

Ben Birkhead wins the match for Yorkshire and completes his century in the process.

So all round a very pleasant four days in a mixture of hot sunshine and overcast cloudy conditions. This was proper cricket and a welcome release from the continual biff bang of the endless T20 version of the game. One sad note rather spoilt the end of the match for me, and several others, in that instead of allowing Birkhead to enter the pavilion first to the applause of players and spectators, he was swallowed up in the mass fist bumping of both teams and left the ground unacknowledged. Another piece of cricketing etiquette which seems to have gone by the board.

End of the match scene at Weetwood.

Some of the pictures on this blog have been taken from the nvlive streaming which is an invaluable tool for anyone wishing to keep up to date with live scores of all county second eleven matches.