The weather continues to serve us well and despite the odd over being missed here and there, it has been a dry July.
We sadly said a final farewell on 24th July to our much-loved former player and Treasurer- Allen Hampshire. A marvellous send off to a much-loved Dad, stepfather, Pa and Great Grandad. A fantastic turn out from all those linked to SBCI both at the church service and then back at SBCI.
A much better month for our two Saturday sides as the first XI won three out of their four games and the 2’s had the better of their opponents in 50% of their matches played in July. The wins were offset by the news at the end of the month that Bradshaw had been awarded maximum points for a game that was abandoned, which brings them closer to us near the bottom of the league table.
Just the three matches for our Sunday first XI with one narrow defeat, one heavy defeat and a 20 point win against Lightcliffe in the middle of the month.
The Under 11’s continue to fly the flag as the last team standing in the 2026 junior season with a cup semi-final to be played on either 10th or 17th August. All other junior cricket has now finished, but parents, please keep an eye out on social media for an announcement around the end of season junior presentation.
Libby Fellows continues to go from strength to strength with the various Yorkshire ladies’ teams she is involved with. Mum and Dad are racking up the miles to get Libby to and from various cricket grounds across the North of the Country.
The SBCI social event of the year - Race Night was held at the club on 18th of this month. Thanks to everyone who attended or was involved in making the night such a great occasion. A huge thank you to Jo and Corrina on the suppers, the lads on the Tote and behind the bar, every race sponsor, horse owner, jockey and dice roller. Of course, the evening wouldn’t be anything without the organiser and compere (we’ll get you a microphone next year to save your voice) – Simon Hampshire. All in all, nearly £900 was raised which will go straight back to the club.
Senior Cricket
1st Team
A new month, the start of the second half of the season and a most un-July like day, up at the Astleys and a maximum point haul for our 1XI to put behind us the disappointment of the previous month. Triangle won the toss and surprisingly elected to bat in damp and windy conditions. They probably thought they’d made the correct decision as they got off to a flyer and were going at 6 runs an over for the first half of their innings. By this time, the skipper, Lewis and Aqeel had taken a wicket each to even things out a little. It was the change bowlers of Aqeel and Tom that swung the game in our favour as they took 6 wickets between them at regular intervals as Triangle went from 103 for 3 to 203 all out. Aqeel was expensive at first but soon got to his task and Tom was his usual economical self as our good accurate bowling finally bared fruit- with half of the dismissals being clean bowled. Lewis came back with a second spell to dismiss two of the Triangle lower order and Tom finished things off with a nice caught and bowled and we’d need 204 to win.
204 was reduced to 198 to win due to a shower that reduced our run chase by 6 runs and two overs. Jamie and Tom got us off to a watchful start with Jamie anchoring the innings with 35, with his being the last wicket to fall. Each of the top four made double figures and we were always in touch with the run rate and when Simon and Gnanam came together at the fall of the 5th wicket then we’d need a run a ball to seal the win. Both batted sensibly, finding the gaps and the fence when needed. A 17 run over more than helped our cause and Gnanam finished things off with a 6 and a 4 to seal the 12 points with 5 wickets in hand and 19 balls left.
A good game the following week at home to Oxenhope, but we fell short by 30 runs. On a warm and sunny day and with a slick Astleys outfield, our visitors called correctly at the coin toss and unsurprisingly batted first. We did well to restrict the opposition to 210 for 6 from their 45 overs after they had been 71 for 2 and then 172 for 3, and with plenty of wickets in hand as they looked to make a charge and increase the score as their innings came to a close. Tom and Will did a good job of containing the Oxenhope batters and took four out of the six wickets to fall with Aqeel and Lewis taking a wicket a piece. Skipper Scholefield only going for 31 runs from his 11 overs helped our cause and with us taking our catches, we were in a similar situation to the previous week chasing a score in the early 200’s to pick up the win.
A poor start with the willow saw us reduced to 29 for 3 and then 59 for 5 with Jamie, Tom, Alex, Dan & Simon all back in the pavilion. There then followed a much needed 110 6th wicket partnership between Chris and Will who both registered their maiden half-century scores of the season as we got back into the game. Unfortunately, when Will fell for 57 with 42 runs required for victory, the final four wickets fell for the addition of only 11 with Chris the final man out for 64 as he tried to get us to maximum batting points. Chris and Will were the only players to make scores in double figures as we were dismissed with 13 balls left in the match.
Some game away to Shelf/Northowram as we snook home by two runs in a match that went to the final ball of the game. On an “interesting” pitch that had clearly been watered, our hosts won the toss and elected to put us in. It was clear to see why with variable bounce being the order of the day. 41 for no wicket following a good start from Jamie and Tom became 46 for 3 as both openers and then Dan were back in the pavilion. 22 from Skipper Scholefield took us to 76 before he fell but Chris and Simon put on a crucial 5th wicket partnership of 57. Chris would go onto make 76 and this score was the highest individual knock by 22 runs on the day and gave Dollars back-to-back half-century scores and a welcome return to form. Will had 23 from 11 balls and Lewis 14 from 12 but we failed to use all of our 45 overs and thought that we could be 15/20 runs short.
We had two too many runs as our hosts ended up on 217 for 9 from their 45 overs. Tom only went for 5 runs in the 90th over of the game and effected a run out with the final ball of the match to seal the win. During the Shelf/Northowram innings the wickets had been shared around with Alex (3 for 40) and Tom (3 for 57) the key players with the ball. Shout out to Liam who took a great catch back pedalling at mid-off to start the ball rolling when we took to the field, but Shelf will be kicking themselves as at 140 for 6, they should have really gone on to win the match. A mention for Lewis as well who bowled the 42nd and 44th overs and only went for 2 runs from these 12 deliveries to turn the match in our favour, before Tom went on to finish it off. A great and unexpected win.
The final match of July at home to Sowerby, and another nail-biting finish as this one didn’t end up as being close as the previous week, but we took the last Sowerby wicket with 15 balls of the match left to seal back-to-back wins and 23 points from 24.
We chose to bat first on a blustery day up at the ‘Stute with Skipper and Tom getting us off to a good start. Alex scored 30 and Tom 22, but when they were both back in the pavilion with the score on 58, we needed a rebuilding job. Step forward Chris Dalby who anchored the innings perfectly with 46 runs. Not his most fluent innings, but it was what was required with wickets falling at regular intervals at the other end. 79 for 3 became 129 for 6 as Simon and Will were dismissed for single figure scores. That brought Gnanam to the crease who, with overs running out played a superbly timed innings of 51 (not out) from 31 balls to get us to the magic 200 run mark. There were some huge sixes in there as the tiring 4-man Sowerby attack was sent to all parts of the ground – and beyond. Supporting roles were played by Lewis, Haris (on his 1st team debut) and Dave who hit the last ball of our innings to the boundary to get us to our final total of 200 for 9 and maximum batting points.
We kept chipping away at the Sowerby batting line up and despite them making a good start, we turned it round with 4 wickets for 9 runs as Lewis, thanks to catches from Simon, Will and Haris, saw Sowerby go from 62 for 1 to 71 for 5. Dan and Simon combined for a run out as well to aid our cause. At drinks it was a pretty even affair with around 100 runs required by our visitors, but with only five wickets left. The rain thankfully stayed away, but in the gathering gloom, Sowerby put together a series of partnerships to get them within striking distance, but for the second week on the spin, they probably threw it away. Tom would then take centre stage with the ball as he took the last five opposition wickets to fall to see us over the line. The Wood brothers combined for three of those wickets including Simon stumping their set batter who was on course to seal an unlikely victory for our guests. Despite the odd drop in the field, Lewis took a great catch at long off to seal the win for us with the dark skies and rain gathering. A great way to finish off July.
2nd Team
The Hampshire brothers provided the perfect tribute to their late Dad, Allen with 5 wickets and an unbeaten half century as Triangle were swept away by 7 wickets down at Grassy Bottom. We won the toss and elected to bowl first. Simon took the first five Triangle wickets to fall, leading to them being in all sorts of trouble with half of their batters back in the pavilion. Simon shared the new ball with Bibin, who was unlucky not to take a wicket in his nine over spell. Some lower order Triangle resistance was soon ended by the combination of Matty and Rob as they took the last five Triangle wickets for 25 runs. Greeny getting firmly back into the swing of things with two catches behind the timbers.
In reply, Jonathan and Mark got us off to the perfect start and despite Mark and Tony falling before we’d got to the halfway point in our chase, Jonathan did as his Dad would have wanted and steered us home with a chanceless half-century, thanks to support from 31 from Robin and Jack who hit the last ball of the game for 6 to seal the win.
Back-to-back (and much needed) 12-point wins for our 2nd team as 3rd placed Blackley were blown away, despite having won the toss and batted first. Bibin was the destroyer in chief taking 7 for 44 from his overs and claiming the final wicket of the Blackley innings with two balls left in his 14 over spell. Unlucky in his first few games for the club and not getting the rewards his bowling deserved, it all came together as Blackley went from 13 for 2 to 89 for 8 and only due to some tail end wagging did our hosts for the day reach three figures, eventually being dismissed for 126. Simon with the other three wickets to fall and despite a couple of dropped chances, these didn’t cost us too much with the skipper and Mark claiming two catches a piece.
We were done and dusted inside 27 overs as Robin led the way with calm and unbeaten 38 to see us home after Jonathan and Mark had got us off to the (now customary) good start. Despite losing two wickets when our score was on 103, there were no further dramas as Tyson hit a six and then took advantage of four byes to get us to the victory target, maximum points, an early finish and a well-deserved drink.
An emotional first game at the Astleys for the Hampshire family following the passing of their Dad, Allen at the end of June on the 18th of the month as Shelf/Northowram Hedge Top ran out comfortable winners on the day. The opposition rattled their way on a rapid outfield to 246 for 8. 39 extras aided their cause, but Tyson (5 for 41) and Simon (2 for 33) the pick of the bowlers with Aqeel the only other SBCI player to take a wicket. Two catches behind the stumps for John, with Robin and Matty taking chances that came their way. We ended the match some 87 runs shy of our target on 159 for 6. Robin, once again leading the way with the bat with an unbeaten 59 with Tony making 35 and Jonathan (13) and John (10) the only other batters to register a double figure score as we never got up with the required run rate but did managed to secure a second batting point by reaching 159 runs by the close of our innings.
We didn’t recover from losing all top three of our batters without scoring as we fell to a 54 run defeat at Greetland. Our hosts for the day registered 202 for 7 from their 45 overs with Simon the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 59 from his 14 over spell. Rohit was responsible for two of those wickets with some exceedingly sharp glove work behind the stumps to bag himself a couple of stumpings. Matty had 2 for 47 from the longest spell he’s bowled all season and lets just say that Bibin made full use of the facilities on offer to get rid of the set Greetland batter. A good length ball shot right along the deck to hit the leg stump. They all count, I guess! Two catches in the gully for Robin helped our cause and we’d need 203 for victory.
Jack and Tyson steadied the ship after we’d lost our opening three batters with a 53 run fourth wicket partnership. Tyson would go onto top score with 36 and Jack 23. Our lower middle order and tail fired to get us within sight of another batting point with Matty scoring a run a ball 29 and Simon 24 from 14. Rohit had 18 with Akhil being the last man out for 12 and we were 54 shy of our target and two runs shy of an additional batting point.
Sunday Side
An unbeaten 82 from Rohit (his third half-century in a row) still wasn’t enough to get us a much-needed win against a young and talented Crossflatts Sunday side. We won the toss and elected to bowl and the opposition got off to an absolute flyer and had reached 76 off only ten overs. We did manage to reel them in and at drinks, the run rate had dropped to around 6 runs an over. This is even with Naman taking a wicket in the first over of the match. A 103-run 2nd wicket partnership saw the opposition take the game by the scruff of the neck. Hari had two wickets in one over, dismissing the Crossflatts opener and then their number four thanks to a great catch at backward point by Matthew. Fin was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 16 including the wickets of the other opener who made a half-century. Phil with the other wickets to fall and we’d managed to reel the run rate back down to a very respectable (just over) 5 runs an over, meaning we’d need 207 runs to win.
We got within 27 runs of our victory target. Dave and Phil put on 50 for the first wicket, but after Phil (16) and Dave (35) departed, then it was a familiar tale of woe of wickets falling at regular intervals and with not enough players reaching double figures. Thank goodness for Rohit who hit 82 not out from 67 balls with 13 fours and 2 sixes as he got us to additional batting point when we reached 175 but ran out of overs to get us any closer. 7 points picked up from the game, and we are only out of the relegation zone on having a better runs/wicket differential than Outlane.
A superb all-round team performance from the Sunday XI saw them pick up only their second win of the season and again it was against Lightcliffe, who now must be sick of the sight of us, having been rolled out for 20 on the first weekend of the season. In perfect cricketing conditions, we won the toss and elected to bat first. Dave (42) and Chris (17) got us off to the perfect start and were rattling on at 5 runs an over. Chris fell with the score on 44, but Jack (24) and Dave carried on the decent start with a 49 run second wicket partnership. We did get bogged down a little, but Jack hit a lovely cover drive that screamed its way to the longest boundary on the field and then hit a six into the neighbouring field for good measure. It wouldn’t be Sunday cricket without the traditional Sunday team shuffle as 93 for 2 quickly became 102 for 6. Funny old game is cricket and Rohit, having scored three half-centuries on the spin, departed for a first ball duck. A cultured 29 from Matt and some bish bash bosh from captain Collins (16 from 16 balls) and we had reached 150 before Lucas was the final wicket to fall with 3 overs of our 40 left.
All done and dusted inside 31 overs as our juniors took 9 of the 10 wickets to fall to see us to a 44 run win. Lucas 2 for 11 and Matt 1 for 24 were unlucky not to add to their already excellent bowling figures as the Lightcliffe openers struggled with the pace and accuracy of our opening pair. 10 for 1 quickly became 26 for 3. Their then followed a fourth wicket partnership of 37 which swung the game back in our hosts’ favour. Noah came on and despite going for 24 from his first two overs, kept plugging away and his next 5.5 overs would only go for another 12 runs and he’d take five wickets in the process to ultimately, win us the game. 83 for 4 descended into 106 all out. Akhil and Jack taking catches to aid Noah’s first ever senior 5 fer’ and with Fin (2 for 7) getting the big wicket of the Lightcliffe captain thanks to a good catch in the deep from Chris) then the result was never in doubt and Noah took the last two wickets in as many balls to leave him on a hat-trick going into next weeks’ game but more importantly, giving us 20 valuable league points.
Top of the table Rastrick came to the Astleys for the final senior match of July 2026 and showed exactly why they were in the position they are, comfortably chasing down the 163 we had made after having lost the toss and been asked to bat first. We, admittedly, didn’t use our full allocation of overs up, but suspect our opponents would have easily reached an increased target as they got to the 164 runs they needed with over 10 overs remaining in the match. Each of our top four got into double figures, but there was only one other player who did so as we suffered the (now customary) middle to lower order ‘Sunday shuffle’. Chris and Mark (12 and 16 respectively) got us off to a good start before Chris departed which brought Jack to the crease to bat with his Dad. For the second match in succession, Jack (17) would outscore his Dad. Rohit came to the crease with the score on 62 for 3 and, following last weeks’ first ball duck returned to form with 65 from 72 balls, with 58 of those runs coming in boundaries. He put on 65 for the 4th wicket with Ashan, but once Rohit was out with the score on 142, we could only manage another 20 runs and we were all out halfway through the 36th over.
Noah was the only wicket taker in the second innings as Rastrick reached their target with 63 balls of the match left and nine wickets in hand. Both openers made half-centuries as our bowlers toiled against some high-quality Sunday afternoon batting. Bibin, Jack and Noah the pick of our bowlers with Noah taking 1 for 17 from his 5 over spell.
Junior Cricket
The final month of the season is Collinson Cup time, with each of our four junior sides. The 9’s made it through one round before coming up against a very strong Booth side. The 13’s came up against the all-conquering Thornton Under 13 side and lost in the first round but put up a fantastic showing with two nine-year-olds – Hugo and Joe standing firm against some pretty sharp opposition bowling. Sadly, the 15’s never got going as their first-round cup fixture fell on the same day as the England world cup semi-final game and we were unable to raise a team.
The 11’s have come through top of their round robin group with three wins from three against Southowram, Mytholmroyd & Lightcliffe and now await to see who finishes second in the other group table, as this will determine who they face. Semi-Final fixture to be played either Monday 10th or 17th August.
Social Events
Former Players and Sponsors Day – 1st August.
Annual Club Dinner- Details TBC but looking like Saturday 7th November or Saturday 28th November.
Dave and Lewis
