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Senior Cricket
And so, another cricket season consigned to the record books.
Mid-table finishes for both our first and second XI as well as a third Crossley shield semi-final in four years for the 2’s. Results wise, a season to forget for the Sunday side, but plenty to look forward as we’ll continue to promote youth to play senior cricket in 2025 with some new grounds to visit!
Thanks to everyone involved in ensuring that the Junior presentation evening was a roaring success (save for the pizza that was 45 mins late) which was held on the first Friday in September.
Overall, another season where it’s been a privilege to be involved with this cricket club. A big thank you to everyone who put their hand up and volunteered over the course of the past five months. Simply put, this season wouldn’t have happened without the goodwill and generous donation of their free time by many people from our cricket club, whether directly or indirectly connected to SBCI.
A special thanks to Lewis who has made a big contribution to each of these monthly reviews.
Well done to all our individual prize winners- we’ll look to celebrate these successes and look back on the 2024 cricket season at the dinner on 23rd November.
Winter well!
1st Team
The 1st XI rounded off their season in convincing fashion, winning both of their completed games in September. The first game of the month, at home to Illingworth, started but was ultimately lost to the weather.
We were on the back foot in that game thanks to some aggressive, and at times fortunate, stroke play from the Illingworth openers, after we lost the toss and were asked to bowl first. Two wickets apiece from Tom Wood and Olivia Thomas meant we had regained some sort of foothold in the game when the rains came at 175/4 from 27 overs. We took four points to Illingworth’s five.
The following week we made our last away trip of the season, one of our shortest, down the valley to Copley. We lost the toss again but weren’t too unhappy to be bowling first on a fairly green track which looked like it would offer the bowlers some encouragement. Alex Scholefield led the way as we reduced our opponents to 48/4 and then 68/6, taking 4 for 38 from his 14 overs. He was ably backed up by an economical 2 for 31 off 14 overs from Lewis Firth, before a wicket from Divakar Nagappan (1/32) and a smart run out from Lewis left our hosts 94/8.
Some lower order resistance did come as Copley added 50 for the 9th wicket, but two brilliant pieces of fielding in the space of two balls from Lakshmi Narayanan ended the innings abruptly. First, he threw down the stumps with a direct hit after a mix-up between the batters, and then the very next ball took a fantastic low catch off the bowling of Olivia (1/25) to leave Copley 144 all out in the final over.
We were confident at half time but knew the game was far from over and indeed found ourselves in a whole heap of trouble early on. Adam Fawcett (17) was the only one of the top four to make it into double figures and that left skipper Simon Wood and Yuvraj Kumar with a big rebuilding job on their hands from 30/5. Yuvraj led the counterattack with some fine shots, hitting 9 fours and a six on his way to a maiden fifty for the club, a superb innings. He was unfortunately out the next ball but along with Simon had got us to the brink of victory. Any nerves were dispelled by Lakshmi (11*) and Simon, who got to his fifty with the winning shot, as we recorded a four-wicket victory with more than four overs to spare.
Though we couldn’t finish any higher or lower than fifth going into our final match, at home to neighbours Sowerby Bridge, we still wanted to finish on a high note. We won the toss and elected to bat, and though we were at a precarious 21/2 early on, recovered to look well set for a big total at 89/2 with Alex (58) leading the scoring. When Simon was out for 20, it set in motion something of a collapse and now our visitors looked well placed for a precious win in their fight against relegation as we were 126/7. Lewis joined Jamie Summerscales and the two started to attack, putting on 45 before Jamie (37) was caught. We managed to continue to add runs at the death, with 18 runs being added to the score in the final over as Lewis finished 49 not out. 216/9 looked a good score, and we were hopeful that if we bowled well, we would end the season with a victory.
And so, it proved, as 4/2 soon became 19/4 when Olivia sent the number five batter back to the shed first ball with an undoubted ‘catch of the season’ contender, diving full length and grasping the rebound as she hit the deck. Lewis (5/35) had the best figures but an excellent team performance put Sowerby Bridge under pressure that they were unable to overcome. There were two run outs, from Tom, and Lakshmi took two good catches off Olivia’s bowling (2/32) to round off the innings and the season with a 114 run win.
A few!!! well deserved drinks were raised after the game to our departing players. Lakshmi Narayanan and Divakar Nagappan have been excellent additions to the club and come up with some key contributions over the course of the season. As two committed members of the team they will be missed, and we wish them all the best. Always welcome back at the ‘Stute!
Vice-captain Adam Fawcett leaves us after eight seasons with the club. A dependable, calm head, thoroughly respected throughout the team and club, Adam has had a big hand in more than a few memorable victories over the years. A pleasure to play alongside, he will leave big shoes to fill in more ways than one. All the best to Ads – and his dad Mel – two proper club men who we’ll surely see plenty more of!
2nd Team
The first of our final three matches of the season shall be remembered as the miracle of Elland. How we ever completed a game of cricket in the gloom and rain and how we recovered from 29 for 5 to chase down 117 in the final over without losing another wicket, will remain a mystery for years to come. Fair play to both sides for sticking with it and with all other matches in the 2XI Premier Division all completing, we didn’t miss out as it were by having the match abandoned.
The skipper lost the toss, but on a wicket notorious for uneven bounce and low scores we were asked to field first. At 14-4, we thought we’d be in for an early finish with Tyson and Hampy taking three of the wickets to fall- the latter thanks to a very sharp bit of work behind the timbers by the returning John Greenwood. Yuvi had a hand in the fourth wicket with a throw to Greeny behind the stumps to affect a run out. Thomas Ingram, a Yorkshire Under 13 player batted excellently for his 13 and with Jimmy Sarwar building an innings at the other end, the score progressed to 58 before Laksmi got in on the act by removing Jimmy. Another wicket followed the next ball with the hat-trick ball narrowly avoided. Lakshmi finished up with 3 for 24 off his nine over spell and probably deserved a couple more wickets as well. When Matty caught the Warley number 8 (at the second time of asking) off the bowling of Dylan, our hosts were 69 for 8. Somehow, they doubled their score in the last fifteen overs or so as the rain started to come down leaving us fielding in far from ideal conditions. Thankfully, Rob and Tyson took the last two wickets with two overs of the innings remaining giving us a more than tricky target of 139 to win the game.
The rain continued over the tea break, and it looked like hands were going to be shook and off home we’d go. Mark, Kim and Libby Fellows decided there’d be no more play and headed home. The rain abated and we’d lost 10 overs meaning a revised target of 118 to win off 35 overs. At 29 for 5 we had no chance and were perhaps regretting not taking the draw. Matty and Dylan had other ideas and proceeded with an unbroken 89 6th wicket partnership to see us home by 5 wickets with four balls of the match left. On a big playing area, singles, twos and threes were easy to come by, so the run rate remained “gettable” at around a run a ball, even though the pair only found the boundary six times between them during their partnership. The run chase was timed to perfection with Dylan winning the match and getting to his 50 by walking across his stumps and flicking the ball to the boundary over the wicketkeeper’s head. Somehow, and in almost pitch-black conditions, Matty and Dylan had pulled a victory out of nowhere, but with Matty reluctant to run any more “3’s” in his life.
The final home match of match of the season saw in excess of 450 runs and two centuries scored in conditions more befitting mid-July than mid-September. We lost the toss and, surprisingly given that the opposition only had 10 men were asked to bat first. 45 overs later we’d notched up nearly 250 runs. Mark Fellows the ageless genius with the bat making 116 and carrying his bat for the full 45 overs. One or two LBW decisions aside, his innings was chanceless, making full use of a rapid outfield and the extra gaps in the field that are generated when a team fields with a player down. Tony Kirby came in at the first wicket to fall and made 57 from 70 balls, making the most of being dropped on single figures. When he was out with the score on 178, we would have been happy with a score of 210, but Jonny Hampshire had other ideas and blasted 41 from 24 balls with some of the cleanest hitting we’ve seen all season from anyone. A nice 24 from Mr extras meant that 248 would be a challenging total for Illingworth to chase.
And they gave us a fright, getting within 35 runs and having a real chance of victory before Matty and Greeny combined to get rid of Asif and effectively win the game for us. As has been the case on many occasions this season, Tyson was the star of the show with the ball on his final appearance of the season taking 2 for 30 from his ten over spell. Dylan and the skipper also chipped in with wickets with assists from Browny and Mark, who took great pleasure in catching his brother out at mid-wicket. Fair play to the opposition opener who, like Mark carried his bat for an excellent 102. Our ground fielding was excellent on the day to make sure that our margin of victory (in the end) was comfortable. Great game of cricket.
And so, onto the final match of the 2024 season away at Blackley. With nothing riding on the result, both teams made sure that everyone was involved. Our hosts for the day pulled their batting order out of a hat, and nine of our players turned their arms over- Jonathan Hampshire for the first time (competitively) in 25 years! Simon and Dylan, the pick of the bowlers with five wickets between them. Special shout out to Jack Fellows who took his first ever second team wicket and finished the Blackley innings with a great catch at mid-wicket. Keasty, Browny and Naman with the other wickets to fall with Dylan taking one stump out from nearly on the boundary edge to run their number 9 out.
At 17 for 4 we were always up against it. Mark got a shocker of an LBW decision and Tony ran himself out (first duck of the season). Greeny (25) and Ajay (40) then steadied the ship with an 88-run partnership. Matty and Naman made double figure scores, but it was Dylan who, having found some late summer form, was the star of the show against his former side. 59 not out with ten fours as him and Browny saw out the final overs of the season with no further dramas, but 58 runs shy of our target.
A fifth placed league finish in 2024 and a Crossley shield semi-final for the second XI in 2024..
Sunday Side
The less said about our two brief games against Triangle at the beginning of September, the better. Highlights from our match at Grassy bottom on the 1st of September. 1) The wicket was one that any bowler would like to roll up, take with them and play on it every week. 2) Ken top scored with 17 3) The Triangle teas lived upto their billing.
A week later, it was a similar story with us being asked to bat first on a very unpleasant day weather wise. Aswin and extras were the only ones to make double figures with Naman having the only success with the ball as our visitors for the afternoon required only 8.3 overs to chase down the 52 runs required for victory.
The penultimate Sunday of the season saw us put on a much better batting performance in conditions more suited to football or rugby than cricket, but still succumbed to a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of title chasing Great Horton Park Chapel, who were promoted to the first division of the Sunday league following this routine win. Only Robin (32), Dave (24) and Rohit (22*) made double figure scores and against some highly accurate bowling, scoring shots were at a premium meaning that our score of 90 for 8 in a reduced over match (34 overs a side) was unlikely going to be enough to trouble a top of the table side.
A wicket apiece for Robin, Lucas and Dylan (courtesy of a very smart catch in the slip by Ken) were all that we had to show for our efforts in the field with our visitors scoring the required runs with just less than half of their overs remaining and with that securing the points they needed to gain promotion.
The Astleys played host to the final match of the 2024 with a match against Outlane played in very autumnal conditions. Outlane needed points to ensure they’d spend another season in the Sunday section division 2, whilst we had nothing to play for. Given the conditions, it was no surprise that when the opposition won the toss, they asked us to bat first. And surprisingly we put in our best batting performance of the season. At 14 for 2, we were looking at another Sunday team shuffle, but a third wicket partnership of 125 between skipper Dave Grundy (70 and his first SBCI CC half-century and his first score of 50 or more in 30 years) and the ageless Phil Earle (64), saw us turn the innings around. Despite these two departing within 11 runs of each other, some late innings big hitting took us to a more than impressive 185 for the loss of 7 wickets.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be enough in far from friendly bowling and fielding conditions and Outlane secured their division 2 status by knocking the required runs off inside 35 overs. Jack and Robin the pick of the bowlers with two wickets each- Jack’s second wicket courtesy of a one handed grab at mid-wicket by Phil.
The match outcome and conditions pretty much summed up the Sunday team’s season- disappointing overall, but with plenty to build on and look forward to in 2025.
2024 Junior Presentation Evening
The weather played ball on the first Friday of September as in excess of a hundred junior players, parents and coaches attended the junior presentation evening.
A fantastic night was had, with us coming together for one final time in 2024 to celebrate the successes we have had over the course of the season.
Once again, a massive thanks to all the coaches and volunteers at the club who give up their free time to make junior cricket “happen” and a big thank you to Phil Earle who came and handed out the trophies/ medals to our junior players.
Under 9’s
Player of the Year- Joe Collins
Most improved Player of the Year – Seth Fellows
Under 11’s
Player of the Year- Matty Oughton
Most improved Player of the Year – Conor Maddock
Under 13’s
Batting – Libby Fellows
Bowling – Libby Fellows
Fielding – Samuel Scholefield
Under 15’s
Batting – Jack Fellows
Bowling – Ayaan Sheraz
Fielding – Jack Fellows
Libby Fellows
Matthew Grundy
Special Awards
Plaque awarded to Libby Fellows for taking a hat-trick v Outlane on 9th May 2024
Most promising Under 13 – Ben Langhorn
Best Junior- Jack Fellows
Junior who has made the biggest contribution off the field – Finlay Charnock
Social Events
End of season dinner
Laura has also 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 Laura (07861 644307) if you would like to attend. Full balance and menu choices to be confirmed ASAP please.
Dave and Lewis