Cricket's last weekend.

 Posted by Tony Hutton

Arthington by Mike Latham.

The Arthington cricket festival came to a close yesterday to bring down the curtain on a most unusual season which has brought with it a series of problems the game has never faced before and hopefully will never see again. The last two games provided quite a contrast with a high scoring encounter on Saturday bringing a bonus of two centurions and action all the way, whereas Sunday's game, although played in wonderful sunny weather, was rather more low key and rather more one sided. No complaints however from the spectators, gathered from far and wide on Saturday and a smaller select band for the last rites on Sunday.

Saturday's spectators included at least three from Lancashire and I understand one or two professional cricket watchers who had made the long journey from the south of England. Sunday's local celebrities included the Middlebrook family, out in force including current first class umpire James. Both he and his father were last seen in action on this ground in 2014 I believe in the Mick Bourne memorial match.

Fellow blogger Mike Latham and friends in the background.

Middlesbrooks father and son guesting for Arthington in 2008.

Saturday's game started badly for the home side when near neighbours St Georges Church from Harewood House dismissed both openers for single figures, which brought together two guest stars in the shape of Daniel Fitzpatrick and Nathan Smith. These two produced an afternoon of big hitting rarely seen here before. Fitzpatrick hit ten fours and seven sixes in 69 balls before retiring on 105 out of a total of 151. His partner in a century partnership Nathan Smith was only 36 not out at that stage.

Smith went on to equal Fitzpatrick's score going to 105 from 57 balls with seven fours and another seven sixes. One of the sixes damaged the windscreen of a car parked carefully behind the wooden pavilion, which proved to be no hiding place today. Arthington's first team skipper and leading run scorer Naveed Andrabi, then made a cameo appearance, scoring only 11. However a man with his record in league cricket this season, which shows 1152 runs in 20 innings, with seven fifties and four centuries, had nothing left to prove.

It looked as though Arthington would make 300 but a rather pedestrian partnership between Andrew Stoddart and Malcolm Barraclough, who at least hit one six and one four, meant that a series of singles in the last over only made the total 295-4, with two men retired. An unhappy day for the men in the field with the exception of the two opening bowlers Simon Timperley and Sam O'Sullivan who both had tidy figures from their eight overs apiece.

Last over coming up, but the 300 mark proved too elusive.

The not out batsmen applauded in.

The visitors innings got off to the worst possible start with two outstanding juggling catches by Nathan Smith at deep mid off from the bowling of Simon Mace He also clean bowled Chatterjee to make it 28-3 and the game likely to finish early. Not the case as the O'Sullivan brothers, Sam and Ryan, encouraged by father Sam who captained the side, both got stuck in and put on a partnership of 116 to apparently give the visitors an outside chance of a remarkable victory.

However, once they had gone, both dismissed by Andrew Stoddart, Sam for 81 and Ryan for 72, things rather fell apart. Geoff Barker made a fairly rapid (for him) 38 not out from only 47 balls but the rest failed to contribute much, obviously intimidated by the size of the two bowlers Stoddart and Vince Greaves-Newell, who finished with admirable figures of 3-22 and 2-15. The last pair defied them to the end so St Georges finished on 220-9 having done so well to extend the game for it's full overs after such a poor start. 

Bright sunshine greeted everyone for the last match on Sunday when Cambridge Road Methodists, with a somewhat different personnel from previous seasons, took to the field a little late with a brief appearance by Steven Bindman, the perennial twelfth man. No big hitting on the scale of yesterday's efforts but a good fifty opening partnership between Stoddart and Nathan Smith set the scoreboard ticking before Stoddart really got into his stride, hitting seven fours and a six before retiring on 60 not out. James Lord gave him good support and was unlucky to be dismissed on 49.

Andrew Stoddart hits out in Sunday's last match.

Best bowler for Cambridge Road was Remy Khan, who perhaps could have been used earlier. His spell of 7-1-29-3 rather controlled the scoring rate until a late flourish from Andy Conboy with a rapid 34 not out at the end of the innings, which ended on 234-4 after forty overs.

No doubt the worst possible start to an innings overtook Cambridge Methodists who progressed from  0-3 to 10-4, then 20-5 and 31-6. Tom Conboy was responsible for most of the damage four of the first five wickets in his opening spell of just three overs and figures of 4-17. Veteran Dennis Nash also chipped in with a couple of wickets, but the score was eventually given some respectability by the combined efforts of Ahtsham Ellahi (40) and Sufyaan Ahmed (46). Nick Briggs and Andrew Conboy with a couple of wickets each then brought the innings to an end on 133 all out in only 27 overs.

The shadows lengthen as the season comes towards its end.

So a rather sad end to proceedings and to the season. Everyone wending their way home to face whatever the winter has in store for us in the hope that we will all meet again next Spring. Rest assured that the blog will continue with cricketing tales from far and wide, past and present, throughout the winter months.