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The season is in full swing with plenty of activity both on and off the field. Despite the weather still being more autumnal than summer like, the senior sides have got away with just one set of senior fixtures being called off in June. The bad weather has tended to save itself for midweek where our junior teams have suffered with multiple matches being called off. Unfortunately, this has meant a very disrupted season, with very few options to re-arrange. Unbelievably, our Under 13 side only have one league game left to play at the start of July.
The first team turned a disappointing start to the month around with two excellent performances in the league towards the back end of the month as well as being involved in a run fest 20/20 day down at Triangle, where they narrowly failed to qualify for finals day, due to some bizarre net run rate rule, which we’ll look to get rectified for next season.
The second XI march on despite league defeats at the beginning and end of the month with progress into the semi-finals of the Crossley Shield secured on the last day of June with a win away at Warley/ Elland in a repeat of last year’s final.
The Sunday team continue to develop and bring our younger players through with Noah Gould the latest player to make his senior debut.
Senior Cricket
1st Team
The 1st XI fared better in June than it had in May but had to win the last two games to end the month on a high. A cancelled game due to the weather, at home to Warley & Elland CC, fell in between two defeats and the two wins.
Saturday 1 June saw Triangle visit the Astleys and a fantastic game ensued. After skipper Simon Wood won the toss and asked Triangle to bat first, they made good progress with the openers putting on 109 for the first wicket, despite some tight early overs. Divakar Nagappan came to the fore, not for the last time in the month, with 3 wickets for 41 runs. Tom Wood (2/55) supported Divakar well from the other end as we kept Triangle to 220/7, perhaps not as many as it could have been but certainly a challenging total at our ground.
We were very nearly up to the challenge, despite a poor start with the bat leaving us languishing at 19/3. Chris Dalby (64) and Simon Wood (37) got us back in the game with a partnership of 65, and Gnanam Arjuna joined Chris when Simon fell to hit a blistering 55 off 35 balls, including five sixes, in a partnership of 79. Arun CK was also in form, wasting little time in hitting 30 off 17 balls. 18 runs were needed from the final over, but Gnanam was LBW to the first ball of it. After a six and a four from Arun, he was bowled off the penultimate ball leaving six needed to tie the game from the final ball. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be and we lost the game by an agonising five runs. Disappointing, but a significant improvement on some recent performances and five points to show for it.
The following week we visited Booth and were in the ascendancy when we managed to reduce our hosts to 55/5, with Alex Scholefield (4/47) doing the bulk of the damage. Unfortunately, a recovery was staged by Booth and they managed to reach a solid 230/8, with Divakar (2/27) chipping in again.
Run rate was never a problem in our chase, but wickets falling were, as we ourselves were reduced to 56/5, despite Adam Fawcett’s brisk 26 from 21 balls. Gnanam joined Simon and a fantastic partnership of 80 was reached in quick time, ended by Gnanam being adjudged LBW for another rapid knock of 54 off 30 balls. Momentum, though reduced, wasn’t totally halted as Arun (21) joined Simon (44). Unfortunately, we had left ourselves a little too much to do, as after Arun was out with the score on 179, the three remaining wickets fell for just a further seven runs. 186 all out with more than nine overs to go, a 44 run defeat which would have surely been a win were we able to preserve a few more wickets for the final dash.
Rain delayed us getting back on the winning trail, but we finally managed to get there with an impressive, and at times nervy, victory away to Illingworth. We lost the toss and were asked to field and were very happy to be there when the score read 32/3. A slight recovery was staged by our hosts before another flurry of wickets left them 119/6. We weren’t able to really force home the advantage however, as Illingworth managed to reach 181/8 from their 45 overs. Arun was the pick of the bowlers with 4/41 after Alex’s early 2/34.
In response, runs were spread around, Tom Wood top scoring with 48. However, wickets at regular intervals left us 131/6 with 51 still required. We needn’t have worried, as Arun’s 37 off 17 balls, including three sixes on the large Illingworth ground, well supported by a run-a-ball 24 from the skipper, saw us home in perfect time – just four balls to spare.
The following day saw us contest a T20 group day with Triangle and Oxenhope, hosted by Triangle. Few at the ground seriously expected us to challenge Triangle’s 279/7 in the first game, but 85 off 45 balls from Jamie Summerscales, plus contributions from Tom (46 off 24), Arun (42 off 18) and Divakar (40 off 13) saw us fall just 10 runs short. Rishav Tandon had been the pick of the bowlers with 2/44 from his four overs. Our net run rate had not taken too much of a punishing and we hoped that would stand us in good stead.
In the second game, we beat Oxenhope convincingly, with 2.2 overs and seven wickets to spare when chasing down 168 all out. Jamie (60) and Adam (59*) were the main run scorers. Rishav was again in the wickets with 4/27 and Rob Larkin took 3/30 from his four overs to set up a comfortable win. An Oxenhope defeat of Triangle in the final game of the day meant it was to be decided by a version of net run rate. Congratulations to Oxenhope who are in finals day due to the Halifax league rules.
We finished off the month with a convincing home win over Copley, but it wasn’t always plain-sailing. We were 59/5 but thanks in no small part to Alex’s 59, and Arun’s 36 not out, we managed to get up to a competitive looking 167/7 from our 45 overs.
We set about the Copley batting line up and looked well in control at 29/5. After a small recovery saw our visitors make it to 80/6, the game hung in the balance, not least because the weather looked ready to close in. However, we managed to take the final four wickets just in time as Copley’s innings closed on 88 all out. Earlier on Lewis Firth had done the bulk of the damage with 4/37, well supported by Alex (2/33) and Tom (2/10) who took the final wicket to fall.
Overall, a far more positive month and plenty to build on with half of the season still to play.
2nd Team
League
A disappointing match away at Triangle at the beginning of the month, which we probably should have won. They got off to a flyer, we dragged it back before some big hits at the end of their innings by 9,10 and 11 made sure they got to 206, before being bowled out in the final over. Mike and Tyson the pick of the bowlers with 6 for 68 between them with a mention for Dylan who bowled really well but didn’t get the rewards for his eleven over spell. We lost wickets at regular intervals in our reply and despite 22 from John, 23 from Dylan, 50 from Tyson and 23 from Ajay, we were all out in the 40th over and 50 runs short.
A much more straightforward run chase the following week at home to Sowerby Bridge. Mike with 4 for 27 and VC Keast with 3 for 21 to ensure we restricted our near neighbours to 142 all out. In reply, 26’s from Tony and Yuvraj, backed up Tyson’s 39* as we romped home by 5 wickets and with nearly 15 over left. Extras also played its part with 38 additional runs.
The game at Booth, the following week was washed out without a ball being bowled.
We had a comfortable win at home to Warley/ Elland seven days later. Mark and Tony top scored with 66 and 50 respectively as we made 188 off our 40 overs. Only half of our opponents XI made double figures when they batted as they were skittled for 103 (including 30 extras) inside 37 overs. Rob Larkin the standout bowler with 4 for 10, ably backed up by Tyson with 2 for 15.
Our final league game of the month resulted in a loss away at Illingworth. 72 from the hosts’ number 8 was the difference between the teams, as we fell away to a 57-run defeat. A ninth wicket partnership of 60 helped Illingworth go from 90 for 7 to 150 to 8. Thankfully, we took the last two wickets without much addition to the score to take maximum bowling points and dismiss our hosts for 158. Simon and Tyson taking 3 wickets a piece with Rob and Mike taking two wickets each themselves. We lost wickets at regular intervals in our reply (32 for 3 – 76-7). Ajay top scored with 27 with another five players getting to double figures before being dismissed. The final three wickets were lost without a run being added as we fell short by some distance.
Cup
Relatively straightforward progress to the latter stages of the Crossley Shield with wins away at Illingworth and Warley/Elland.
Away at Illingworth, we chased down 193 with six overs left. Chris 95* and Tyson 61* scoring the bulk of our runs in the reply, with 29 from Mark at the top of the innings. Earlier on in the day, some tight bowling from Simon and Tyson at the beginning of the match had helped us reduce Illingworth to 38 for 3. Run outs from Mike and Matty helped our cause with Rob taking three wickets.
A repeat of the 2023 final at the end of June looked to be a very tricky game on paper, but Simon and Rob taking 7 for 24 between them saw us dismiss our hosts for 62 just inside 34 overs. Despite the early loss of Mark, John and Chris saw us over the line to see us into a second successive Crossley Shield semi-final.
Sunday Side
A win and three losses in June for our Sunday first XI. There won’t be many highlights when you are bowled out for 27 BUT Jack Fellows led the way with the bat and lasted the best part of 8 overs against a talented Barkisland attack. Robin chipped in with three wickets as we gained a tony modicum of respect from what was a very poor day at the office.
We started the month off with a win in the final round robin match of the Rod Warhurst trophy at home against Almondbury. Chris Parker and Dave Grundy with 16 and 21 respectively, but the star of the show was Phil Earle, who hit 62 to enable us to post a more than respectable 135 for 6 off our 40 overs. Phil then backed this up with the ball taking 4 for 25 with Sameer bowling beautifully and taking 3 for 16 as we bowled our opponents out for 109 to take the win.
We played the same opponents a fortnight later in the league but a different result. Robin (extras aside) was the only player to make double figures scoring 72 out of a total of 136. Despite having our visitors at 44-1 and then 49 for 3, and with the odd dropped catch in there, Almondbury secured the win with just over 11 overs left and 4 wickets left- Robin rounding off his superb day with 2 for 12 with the ball.
And so, onto the final match of the month, where we had a point to prove against Barkisland to show that the 27 all out from the previous week was just a one off. Fin, Jack and Noah from our Under 15 side were part of the XI, all expecting to get a bat given the previous weeks performance, but as it turned out, Jack was the only one to get to put his pads on as Ajay (59) and Robin (51*) ensured that we only lost the three wickets on our way to 132 off our 40 overs.
In reply, we made an early breakthrough, but some assured batting along meant that Almondbury took home the points with 7 overs left and 7 wickets in hand. Two 7 wicket defeats against the same opponent, but two very different stories.
A much-improved performance from the week before to take us into July with renewed optimism.
Junior Cricket
Shameless plug for the junior end of season presentation which will be held up at the club on Friday 6th September. Full details to be confirmed a lot closer to the time.
As mentioned above, the junior cricket season has been massively disrupted by the horrible weather we’ve been having, resulting in plenty of games being called off or played in unseasonal conditions, so its testament to our youngsters that our coaches continue to have selection issues when it comes to picking our respective junior teams with more players available than spaces available. Thankfully, Friday night training nights have escaped the worst of the weather with the outfield and nets being full of youngsters wanting to develop and hone their cricket skills.
Noah Gould from our Under 15’s was the latest junior to play for our Sunday side making that four juniors who have made their Sunday team debut in 2024, with plenty more opportunities for other players to follow in their footsteps.
Social Events
The Euro 2024 sweepstake is reaching its conclusion with the clubhouse showing the England v Spain final match on Sunday 14th July.
There’s a quiz night on up at the club on Saturday 13th July and a Music Bingo evening 7 days later on the 20th of the month. Both events are priced at £3.50 and include supper.
The 2nd Team are in Crossley Shield semi-final action on Sunday 21st July against Booth with a 1.00 start. All support will be more than welcome.
A final plea for anyone who has some time free on Sunday 18th August as we host the Crossley Shield final (2nd team knockout competition). Even if you are free for a couple of hours, whether that be in the morning or afternoon, there’ll be plenty of “things” that need doing. Please do contact a junior manager or anyone at the club if you can help.
As a reminder, the bar is open every Friday for junior practice and there’s Play your cards right up at the club every Saturday evening following the conclusion of the 1st or 2nd team match played on that day.
Laura has been working hard on getting the end of season dinner all sorted with this being held at Southwood on Birdcage Lane in Halifax on Saturday 23rd November. Please do not hesitate to contact anyone at the club if you would like to attend, with full balance and menu choices to be confirmed by the end of August please.