UPPER AIREDALE U-13 REPRESENTATIVE TEAM

Hambleton District put paid to UAJCA lingering hopes of progression in the 2018 Yorkshire Festival. UAJCA posted 168-8 [Capt Lucas Robinson 77 no] but their batsmen proved up to the task with an 8 wicket win

SCARBOROUGH PIP UAJCA IN TENSE FINAL OVER

On a cloudy but warm day at Harome CC UAJCA batted first but found scoring difficult. Openers Hannan and Lucas departed cheaply but Khunais [23] continued his fine form in partnership with a typical knock from Max Hibbert [29]. Yusuf too joined in and his 31 helped us reach 121-7 on a tricky track with a wet long-grass outfield. With the ball Ishaan Khullar was an ace up our sleeve with 3 for 17, whilst Charlie Raby really put the brakes on with a masterful display, albeit wicket-less with 7-1-17-0. Wilf Roberts also bowled very quickly claiming lots of dots and 2 wickets. Yusuf got the yips and bowled 5 wides whilst Raheeb looked completely out of sorts but caught well. For 85% of the match UAJCA were in control but Gregson [11no] and Edmund [52no] rotated strike well to edge us out with just 3 balls remaining.

UAJCA UNDER-13 TOO STRONG FOR AIRE-WHARFE Team Manager Alistair Harrison reports his team has defeated Aire-Wharfe League in the first match of the Yorkshire Festival. Recovering from 42-6, UAJCA reached 183-9 thanks largely to two GHC boys, Khunais [70] and Mohammed Yusuf. Aire-Wharfe were bowled out for 111. More details soon............

Team Manager Alistair Harrison announces his first team of the season to take on the New Delhi tourists at Bingley Congs CC. The squad includes some promising under-12s:

Dylan Blenkhorn [Earby], Max Hibbert [Steeton, w/k], , Jenson McGregor [U Wharfedale], Charlie Mitchell [Steeton], Alfie Price [Skipton], Charlie Raby [Oakworth], Wilf Roberts [Steeton], Joseph Simmonite [Skipton], James Powell [Oakworth], Jake Keslinke [Oakworth], Sebastien Eastell [U Wharfedale], Luke Spragg [Steeton].

As attendance was reduced at last Sunday [8^th April] at the UAJCA trials, probably with families still on Easter holiday, confirming interest and availability has taken some time. Our Coach-Managers nevertheless were able to add understanding about prospective UAJCA players for 2018. The under-13 squad will therefore comprise 19 players, which includes up to 4 players who may be county selections and unavailable for certain competition matches. The Squad is:

Raheeb Akhtar [GHC], Dylan Blenkhorn [Earby], Sebastien Eastell [U Wharfedale], Max Harrison [Steeton], Max Hibbert [Steeton, w/k], Adam Hodge [Earby], Ishaan Khullar [Skipton], Jenson McGregor [Steeton], Charlie Mitchell [Steeton], Alfie Price [Skipton], Hanaan Qureshi [GHC], Charlie Raby [Oakworth], Wilf Roberts [Steeton], Lucas Robinson [Earby, Capt], Akash Sanadi [Skipton], Joseph Simmonite [Skipton], Ben Slade [Earby], Muhammed Yusuf Zahid [GHC] and Khunais Zaman [GHC].

Barnsley District defeated Hambleton and have tallied 31,44 points and have pipped UAJCA by 0.52 points. Barnsley batted first and scored 163 and then bowled out Hambleton for 55.

So the weather at Cononley & Earby defeated us, no-one else. as we remain unbeaten, but eliminated.

Yorkshire Festival update from Sessay CC
Upper Airedale JCA 146 all out Hambleton 123-8

A superb bowling performance from UAJCA compressed the Hambleton reply so well, the required rate rose to 11 per over for the home side. But earlier it had been a different story as after reaching 98-1 Skipper Jack Luxton [42] and opener Toby Meynell [37] were in stupendous form. Later UAJCA were strangled by some tidy spin bowling and fell to 125-7 before a cameo knock of 22 from keeper Luke Chapman [Earby] carried us on to 146 all out.

UAJCA opening bowlers Mohammed Yousef [GHC] and Jack Luxton [Steeton 1-21] kept things well under control but when Toby Meynell [Bradley 2-18] and Saqif Ali [GHC 1-9] came into the picture the Hambleton runs dried up. Saqif beat the bat numerous times whilst Toby gave absolutely nothing away with his left-arm over. At the 20 over mark Hambleton had reached just 49. After the break Jacob Terry [Cullingworth pace 1-17] and Subhaan Ahmed [Oakworth leg-spin 1-27] continued to tie the home team down. The bowlers were well on top and the win came after an entertaining last over when the home batsmen brought out the reverse sweeps and lap shots to good effect. But it was too little too late. We had our second win and ended our group matches unbeaten with 2 wins and 2 rain-derived draws.. We need to wait the results of other teams tomorrow. The semi-finals should we reach that stage are on Thursday at Clifton Alliance CC, York with the Final at Cleckheaton on Friday.

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Despite significant efforts by the ground staff at Earby CC the match vs Pontefract was abandoned without a ball being bowled. After their efforts the sun shone briefly and as the players were going out to play the heavens opened again. Tomorrow its Sessay CC and Hambleton District.

On a day with weather threatening all the time, UAJCA batted superbly to post 185-7 in their 40 overs. Skipper Jack Luxton set the tone with 3 sixes in his 34, aided and abetted by Toby Meynell [17], Jacob Terry kept the pot boiling with 30 and Kaif Malik finished the job with a cracking 40no. Will Smith added 21 at number 8 to push us up to a seriously challenging tally. Only Harry Ambler with 3-12 caused any real trouble for UAJCA.

The bowlers set about the opposition but failed to separate the openers Lowe and Ambler, who after 11 overs were 45-0. The score had passed 60 before Saqif Ali made the break-through. The wickets just tumbled thereafter like ninepins with 2 smart run outs from Anthony Clark and Toby Meynell. Saqif posted 3-20 and Toby Meynell also joined the fun with 3-12. After Johnny Atherton took the 9th wicket at 81-9, the umpires brought the players off in heavy rain.

For UAJCA, we can go to Earby tomorrow in good heart having dominated a match which could have been won. Look out Pontefract UAJCA is on a roll. Tuesdays match at Sessay CC looks like being a tension-packed day.

LEEDS DEFEATED, NOW FOR BARNSLEY

The UAJCA u13s finally got into serious action at Altofts CC. Manager Adnaan had arguably his strongest line-up available and the bowlers and fielders really did him proud in his first match in the Yorkshire Festival. Muhammed Yousef struck early on with Saqif Ali also taking a couple later on. Leeds were hustled out for just 93 but when UAJCA batted it proved just as difficult. But in the end we had enough and came out on top by 2 wickets.

The next match is next Sunday at Cononley CC vs Barnsley District.

Team Manager Adnaan was faced with a late arrival and a late finish but got in a useful 20-over match. Saqif, Jacob, Peter & Luke did well with the bat whilst Johnny grabbed a couple of wickets in 4 overs. The close match went to New Delhi.

The Yorkshire Festival starts on 23rd July with a trip to Altofts to play the Leeds League [1:00pm] Postcode WF6 2QP

NEW MANAGER & U13 UAJCA SQUAD

2016 Team Manager Neil Bishop has stepped down and he will be replaced by new manager Adnaan Shafique for a first season. Welcome Adnaan and good luck in your first year for UAJCA. Adnaan announces his under-13s squad to compete in the 2017 Yorkshire Festival and other matches:

Resolute Leeds openers topple UAJCA

With regular opener Ben Southern unavailable Bradley Powell stepped up to open with club-mate Subhaan Ahmed. Bradley remained solid but Subhaan was soon out for just 4. To add to early woes both Shiv and Amrit failed to make their mark. By the time Bradley fell for 21 at 65-5, UAJCA was very much on the back foot. Anthony Clark [11] batted well but with 2 more losses [Ben W & Toby] our innings was slipping to oblivion. But our tail wagged profusely, led by no 10 Lucas Keslinke who smashed 2 sixes in a much needed 30no. He had great allies in George [20], Oliver [9] and last man Ewan with 7. Our tally of 139 was defendable and well ahead of what had looked likely only a few overs earlier. Ollie Box topped the Leeds bowling charts with 3-17 with opener Fairburn picking up 2-17.

But the excitement of Lucas' innings was short lived as it became clear the Leeds openers Virdi and Holt exhibited sound defence and high skills in finding the boundary. Virdi in particular looked class and with 14 x 4s in his 76, he virtually assured his side of victory. Holt also made a solid anchor-man 35 as the pair carried their total into 3 figures. After 29,3 overs it was all over, a defeat by 6 wickets. For UAJCA Anthony Clark excelled with the ball taking 2-24 whilst the others struggled to contain. Arguably Ewan Johnston could have been used earlier but his 4 overs for 10 was too little too late. Keeper Keslinke added an excellent stint behind the timbers to his earlier heroics of his batting.

The side will need to improve at Monk Bretton and hopefully take a leaf from the u-11 book and bounce back to take the group after a first match loss.

Amrit stars against New Delhi

At a gloomy Wilsden CC, the annual visit from Sachin Khurana's New Delhi u13s unfolded with our visitors batting first and making 130-5 in 20 overs. UAJCA pace bowlers shipped some sixes but the spin from Lucas Keslinke brought a couple of victims, whilst Bradley Powell engineered two late smart run-outs.

With the bat UAJCA started steadily but lost an early wicket of Toby Meynell. Ben Walker and Shiv Bhatoa got the tins turning before Ben's dismissal brought Amrit Sharma to the crease. The run-rate picked up, with Amrit particularly fluent. With 4 overs remaining 37 were required to win. Amrit reached his maiden 50 and continued to look for the boundaries. The final over was reached with 17 needed to win but in very dim light indeed. Amrit was finally out for a magnificent 64 and our innings ended at 116-8, just 14 adrift.

It had been a thoroughly entertaining match, albeit somewhat extended by slow play. At the after-match presentation, our Indian visitors voted Amrit Sharma as the UAJCA man-of-the-match. [pictured above]. Coach Neil Bishop has now completed his 'warm-up' programme and has gained insight into the strengths & weaknesses of his squad in advance of the first Yorkshire Festival match against Leeds at Oxenhope CC on 24th July.

Squad to face New Delhi at Wilsden

The annual fixture with New Delhi tourists is on Wednesday 15th June at Wilsden CC [BD15 0JY] at 6:00pm. The team selected is:

Oliver Bishop [Captain], Harry Bayliff [Embsay], Ben Southern [Silsden], Bradley Powell, Amrit Sharma & Lucas Keslinke [all Oakworth], Shiv Bhatoa [Oxenhope], Tom Eaglesfield & Toby Meynell [Bradley], Jack Luxton & Ewan Johnston [Steeton].

UAJCA battle Halifax before rain

A not-so sunny afternoon at Booth CC was the venue for the reverse fixture and again UAJC batted first. An early couple of wickets; Shiv and Harry had the Halifax tails up at 4-2. A 44-run stand from again impressive Ben Southern [27] and Amrit Sharma rectified the situation at 48-3. Bradley Powell joined team-mate Amrit and another 17 was added but at 65-4 Amrit was dismissed for a cracking 31 [4 fours]. Again contributing well George Arkwright and Bradley took the score on to 84-5 when Bradley was caught for 16. A third duck, this time for Lucas and a further 7 from George carried UAJCA to 91-6. Skipper Ollie Bishop supported George well and the pair added another 16 runs. Ollie departed for 4 at 107-8 before Ewan Johnston helped add another 4 to leave us at 112-8, George unbeaten on 19.

With rain threatening, Halifax lost opener Mideam for 0 to Shiv Bhatoa before a stand of 32 was dominated by Jonny J. It was ended when Ollie removed Eric P for 6, caught & bowled. The innings terminated at 37-2 after 9 overs when the heavens opoened.

It had been another satisfactory performance with four batsmen making well into double figures as the line up gels before the final 'warm up' against New Delhi on Wednesday.

Halifax succumb to UAJCA bowling

A sunny afternoon at Oakworth CC greeted teams with UAJCA winning the toss and electing to bat. Will Luxton [Steeton] and Ben Southern [Silsden] got matters under-way. With 25 to his name Ben was run out for 25, his innings with three 4s. No 3 Shiv Bhatoa [Oxenhope] was steady in accumulating 10 runs but Bradley Powell [Oakworth] was clean bowled for 4 with the score at 61-2 after almost 17 overs. The Halifax bowling tightened up further with Will retired on 22. Oakworth duo Amrit Sharma and Bilal Khan took the score forward to 86-3 before Amrit was caught for just 1. George Arkwright [Embsay] put bat to ball well and with Bilal built a good partnership. Manager Neil brought off Bilal for 11 before Skipton all-rounder Ben Walker also settled quickly. George remained unbowed on 12 with Ben on 11. With 17 extras our total reached 113-3.

The Halifax reply was soon in trouble with Shiv bowling Mosey for a duck. After 4 overs Barton was run out by Will to leave the visitors on 8-2. No 4 Walsh provided a second wicket for Shiv at 8-3 and Smith was bowled by Amrit at 10-4. Another run-out this time by skipper Ollie Bishop had the Halifax boys staring at a hefty defeat which became more certain when Ollie bowled no 8 Penrose for a fifth duck at 15-6. At 15-7 the game was probably over as a contest as Powell became a 6th batsman to depart without scoring, a second victim to pace from Amrit. All the while no 3 Roberts remained resolute as his partners tumbled around him but no 9 Moore got the scoreboard moving. The pair added 33 runs in 8 overs to bring a modicum of respectability to the Halifax total. Roberts finally went for just 3 in the 16th over. Moore departed straight after for 11. But he had set a defiant tone and no 10 Pearson and no 11 Singh frustrated UAJCA bowlers, adding another 13 with no 12 allowed to bat. The last two wickets fell to Will and Thomas Eaglesfield [Bradley]

Halifax were all out for 61, well adrift of UAJCA for whom Shiv Bhatoa returned 4-2-6-3, Amrit Sharma 4-0-6-2 and Ollie Bishop 4-0-11-2 as our most penetrative bowlers.

It was a good result for UAJCA, auguring well but it is likely Halifax will come back strongly on 12th June on their own midden at Booth CC.

Neil to tackle the Festival

Oakworth coach Neil Bishop is to have a first stab at the Yorkshire Festival with the UAJCA u13s this year. Last year Neil managed the u12s so will likely know many of the squad. The pre-season trial will be held on 10th April at Ermysteads GS Sports Hall at 2:30pm.

For a third day in a row the schedule of u13 Festival matches was ruined by poor July weather. After just 7 overs at Settle, none at all at York, the Steeton ground was initially bathed in very warm sunshine. Amazingly after winning the toss, Sheffield inserted UAJCA with sun on their backs.

UAJCA openers Jo Holderness and Wahab Khan got the show on the road until Jo was out for 12. Wahab was second to fall for a solid 39. This brought Corey Green and local boy Harris Rowlett together and the made hay. Harris was the anchor but scoring well whilst Corey took the fight to Sheffield, Boundaries flowed including a huge six from Corey and a decent score was under-way. The pair added around 80 before Corey was out for 32. Harris stood tall and with Owen Narey the sparks began to fly. Owen looked in superb touch and this brought the best out in Harris and both sailed past fifty. The score was just short of 200 when rain brought the players off for a short break. The Sheffield bowling and fielding began to fall apart and the pair accelerated yet further. Harris was out for a belting 82 and Owen ended on 72no with Henry James also at the wicket. We tallied a daunting 262-4 in our 40 superbly executed overs.

Tea became Rain, over 2 hours of it. On a resumption Owen took UAJCA to the semi-final with 2 wickets. Sheffield had to admit the match was over at 7:30pm on 43-2. The points calculation showed that as York and Hambleton had also ended as a draw but with much lower scores, UAJCA had won the bonus points tally.

Hambleton at Settle

Manager Ben Holderness will field the following team against 'new boys' Hambleton at hopefully sunny Settle on Monday: Harris Rowlett [Capt & w/k], Jo Holderness, Wahab Khan, Corey Green, Owen Narey, Henry James, Tom Starkey, Harry Hollingsworth, Tommy Watson, Nathan Hodge & Callum Worts.

Halifax crushed

Oakworth CC hosted our first friendly fixture of the year against the Halifax League. After looking at the overcast conditions and the damp wicket (no fault of hard work by the Oakworth faithful), UAJCA captain for the day Harris Rowlett won the toss and chose to Bowl.  

The innings got off at a slow rate thanks to tight bowling by Oakworth Pair Harry Hollingsworth and Matty Corkindale. After the first 10 overs Halifax were pegged to 18 for 1 (Matty with the first wicket). It didn’t get easier for the Halifax batting as Callum Worts making his debut bowled a beautiful and dangerous spell of off spin, using flight and grip to completely baffle the batters. He ended his spell with 4 for 27 from 8 overs. What a debut! He was so unlucky not to get 6 or 7 wickets for fewer runs. Well done Callum! As wickets tumbled from his end the seamers at the other were working tirelessly at keeping runs down with very tight bowling. Tommy Watson and Nathan Hodge both bowled great spells and were unlucky not to get wickets. However keeping runs down helped the spinners to pick up wickets as Owen Narey (replacing Callum) also bowled a great spell of flight and huge turn; picked up 4 wickets for 9 runs off 6 overs, with his left arm tweekers! In between the fall of wickets, one constant for Halifax was opener and Captain Jacob Whitehouse who finally fell to Narey for 54; so well done to him for batting so well in a high pressure environment with wickets tumbling around him. UAJCA Skipper Harris (usual Keeper) brought himself on to get through the overs as it had become very chilly! He picked up the final wicket before running off the field to get warm and have food!

After a very good tea from Oakworth, UAJCA openers Tom Starkey and u-12 Bradley Powell; strode to the crease full of confidence in chasing down the total of 100. However the innings did not start too well after losing Bradley to the third ball of the second over with only 4 on the board. After the early loss, a confident Owen Narey came to the crease and set out on a great partnership with Tom to take the score to 62 before the latter was bowled first ball after the cursed drinks break for 30; well done Tom and very impressive! Owen carried on with Harris and reached his half century with the same hit and the winning runs. He finished 51* and Harris 10* after a lusty hit for 6 making Owen nervous he would not reach 50; however after a quick conversation Harris allowed Owen to the landmark by blocking out the rest of the over. The run chase was a very impressive one as we knocked off the Halifax score in blistering style in the 17^th over! Well done boys and make sure we bat first next time!!

Festival Reports and Photos

Still bathed in Yorkshire sunshine the Pontefract ground at Fairburn CC hosted UAJCA who batted first. It wasn't the best of starts with early losses of Adil Modak [Steeton], Thomas Lothian [Settle] and Thomas Meakin [Steeton] for 5, 3 and 4 respectively. But things changed from then on, and how!!! Bradley's James Robinson and Ryan Hodgson [Upper Wharfedale] started a partnership which blossomed, flowered and then bloomed in full Technicolour. James was already settled and took the lead as the pair built impressively. The fifty partnership was passed and then the three figure mark for UAJCA became a distant memory. Up came James' half-century and it was clear that something special could be on the cards as the Pontefract bowlers toiled.

The partnership was a record-breaker when returning opening bowler Thomas encouraged a catch by Booth from the young Dales lad Ryan, who had scored a fantastic 67 [nine 4s]. UAJCA had already passed 150 and 200 had whizzed by with James now in full flow sharing good stands with first Joseph Holderness and then Bradley Gardner, both of Skipton. The final tally with James [pictured] on 143 not out [20 fours & four 6s] and Bradley still unbowed and only 5 wickets lost was another UAJCA u-13 record of 269. Our previous highest had been 232 way back in 1997 against the now defunct Bradford Central League and which featured 124 from James Wildman of Settle, the previous individual high score.

A terrific fight-back from Pontefract came from openers Newton and Murray in a 110-run stand. It was broken by 7th change Thomas Lothian as UAJCA used all bowlers to break their partnership. Newton as caught by Ryan for Thomas and the rot then set in for Pontefract. Sam Parry got in on the act with a couple of wickets and Thomas added another 2 in an almost unplayable spell. He also finally ended the stubborn resistance of Murray who had battled hard to 66. The 10-man Pontefract effort had collapsed to 143-8 with the last wicket falling to Bradley Gardner with Lothian claiming 4 for 6 in 5 overs.

The match will of course be remembered for the magnificent 143no by James, his transformational three-figure stand with Ryan and the record 269 score. But it should also be noted that after a first match drubbing, the team as a whole bounced back to a very narrow loss at Denholme and on to the Bradford League and then turned things completely round with this 126-run victory.

Our recent record against the much larger Bradford League has been excellent but on this occasion it was to prove a very close affair.

Our batting was initially patchy with opener Adil Modak soon out for 4. James Robinson [21] and Thomas Lothian [10] took us towards the first 50 but when Barker claimed his third UAJCA scalp, that of Thomas Meakin, some wondered if the drubbing by North Yorkshire had produced lingering loss of confidence. Joseph Holderness dispelled that thought with a typically gutsy 29 despite ducks for both Sam Parry and Frank Watkinson. Three wickets had fallen to left-arm spinner Joe Hall and UAJCA stood at 7 down for around 50. It was Ryan Hodgson from Upper Wharfedale who changed the perspective completely with a sterling rear-guard action with 44 runs at number 8. He and Joseph pushed our score almost to 150 when Allman ended his knock on 29. Ryan continued his attack with the help of keeper George Tidswell [12no] before falling for an innings-changing 44. We closed on a definitely defendable 167 for 8.

The Bradford League openers Priestley and Ammar produced a great start to wrest back the initiative, adding a 50 stand. Priestley fell to fifth change Bradley Gardner for 38 and his partner went for 29 caught by Hodgson for Frank Watkinson. Another Bradley player James Robinson had the scalp of Joe Hall for 12 courtesy of a first of three catches for Thomas Lothian. Hall's club-mate Danny Murphy fared much better with 25 but fell to Gardner again via Thomas. The score was around 125 for 4 with the Bradford boys sensing a victory. Whilst Mascheder remained solidly defiant, Gardner gave Thomas his third catch with the wicket of Scott for 8. Then a return by Sam Parry changed the scene with an lbw and a clean-bowled to dismiss the Bradford middle-order. Suddenly 7 wickets were down and UAJCA were on top. Two ducks followed with the intervention of Adil Modak, who removed Clarke and Allman. Nine wickets were down with Mascheder still in control of the batting. Despite a very confident lbw appeal in the 38th over Mascheder shielded Harry Barker [0 no] and Bradford crept over the line at 168 for 9.

It had been a magnificent match, closely and keenly contested which had just gone against our boys. But they could be really proud of their bounce-back after the mauling the previous day by North Yorkshire.

A very strong North Yorkshire side comprising a number of County A players arrived at Steeton CC on a scorching day. The visitors batted first and despite tight bowling from the UAJCA opening pair of Ryan Hodgson and Sam Parry, they got off to a rapid start. This rate was curtailed when Thomas Meakin removed both openers in consecutive overs, one bowled and one caught by Adil Modak.  Thomas returned the favour to Adil by catching the North Yorkshire captain Leech off his bowling. Adil followed with a further wicket to leave North Yorkshire on 121-4. Max Walker and Bradley Gardner each took a wicket with the score then 141-6.  This was a great recovery by UAJCA lads but a strong finish by North Yorkshire batsmen Tennant and Adamson resulted in a final score of 221-6 off 40 overs.

Chasing such a high score was always going to be difficult and so it transpired with the top order falling cheaply. Disciplined pace bowling by North Yorkshire prevented any home batsman from settling and whilst the lower order pitched in, Upper Airedale were all out for 56. A heavy defeat but early signs are that North Yorkshire would be contenders to win the tournament. Upper Airedale would need to bounce back against Bradford and Pontefract.

Festival Squad announced

Following a recent trial UAJCA team manager Keith Meakin announces 12 players for his under-13 squad for the Yorkshire Junior Cricket Festival at the end of July.  It is as follows: Thomas Meakin [Capt, Steeton], Adil Modak & Harris Rowlett [both Steeton], James Robinson & Frank Watkinson [both Bradley], Thomas Lothian [Settle], Bradley Gardner & George Tidswell [both Skipton], Sam Parry [Earby], Ryan Hodgson [U Wharfedale] & Joe Hall [Cullingworth] & Max Walker [Embsay]

Solid New Delhi middle

Visitors New Delhi were received at Denholme and batting first showed tremendous power from their middle order batsmen, five of whom retired not out. UAJCA Manager Keith Meakin had an opportunity to see some boys in action prior to the planned trial on 28th June at Steeton. The visitors tallied a challenging 161-2 in their 20 overs. UAJCA had Joe Hall, Adil Modak and Harry Farnell, from the 2013 squad, in fine fettle with a useful contribution from opener James Robinson. Farnell, Hall and Modak also put in tidy bowling spells.

Festival squad trial

The 2014 under-13 squad will be selected following a trial at Steeton CC on Saturday [morning] 28th June 10:00am till 11:30. Team managers Keith Meakin and Neil Robinson will be inviting around 20 trialists in the next few days.

Yorkshire Festival 2013

Match 1 away at Barnsley:

The home team were cock a hoop as early as the 3^rd over when usually reliable Cullingworth opening pairing of Louis Horsfield and Yorkshire player Billy Whitford were split when Billy was run out for just 1 run after a miscommunication with the score at 5. Tom Mawer joined Louis and eased the early pressure with a boundary before being caught on 5. Danny Murphy was next but again went for 5 when an edge to the keeper dollied up in to 1^st slips grateful hands. Meanwhile Louis was gradually building with a succession of boundaries and Adil Modak joined him,initially struggling. Louis was caught behind for 35 after hitting successive boundaries with the score on 52-3 in the 15^th over. Joe Heartfield returned to the pavilion without facing a ball, run out pushing for a quick single. Both Adil and new partner Ali Hasan Ahmed persevered and after drinks at 20 overs on 55-5 the runs started to flow for both boys pushing the total on to 104 at the 30 over mark. Ali departed with 8 overs left for 22 and James Robinson joined Adil, both progressed before rain stopped play in the 36^th with Adil on 46. Sadly the rain break ruined what would have been a hard won half century for Adil as he was clean bowled first ball after the resumption. This brought elder brother Aatif to the crease who proceeded to hit a succession of boundaries taking his team to a creditable 166 for 7 considering the initial faltering start.

With a target of 4 per over the home side would have been rightly confident at this level but fine opening spells from Lewis Middleton and Robert Harker kept UAJCA well in it at 21 after 10 overs. Louis Horsfield got the breakthrough running out No.2 with a direct hit from cover and Danny Murphy followed up with a wicket in his 1st over. The new partnership began to build and despite a lack of boundaries were free scoring in singles taking them to 64-2 at the 20 over drinks break. Ali-Hasan Ahmed separated the 3rd wicket partnership in the 23^rd over but the 4th began and with 10 overs to go things were looking grim for UAJCA with Barnsley needing just 43 with 7 wickets left. Aatif Modak followed up his big hitting by trapping Whitemore for 29 and then Heald for 0 in the 35^th over.  The last couple of overs were truly nail-biting for both sets of supporters, UAJCA had broken the back of the Barnsley batting but knew that anything loose would be punished. Robert Harker & Lewis Middleton bowled out, the latter not able to finish his final over after pulling up with a back strain as the tail began to self destruct, with just a handful of runs needed. Captain Billy Whitford needed control and threw the ball to Louis Horsfield who bowled Mann fro 4. When Adil Modak calmly lobbed a ball back to Billy to whip the bails off for a suicidal run out,  Barnsley needed 2 to win from the last over with 1 wicket remaining. Aatif Modak bowled it superbly with 4 dot balls before the batsmen attempted a quick single, the ball again was coolly lobbed to Aatif to whip the bails off and UAJCA were victorious by just 2 runs.

Match 2 Home vs Aire-Wharfe:

For the Second match at Silsden CC vs Aire-Wharfe JCA. Billy Whitford & Ali Ahmed absent with Yorkshire CCC. They were replaced by Toby Tidswell [Cullingworth] and Josh Yates [Earby]. Lewis Middleton had a sore back and Sam Mitchell [Wilsden] also joined the team.

Renowned opener Matthew Revis opened for Aire-Wharfe with C Robinson. But the pairing was soon broken as the latter was superbly caught by Sam Mitchell from a classic out-swinger from Aatif Modak. Number 3 R Williams, a very tall batsman soon played aggressively to compliment the steady accumulation from Revis. The stand, boosted by 21 from 2 0vers of unproductive Tom Mawer soff-spin,  reached its half-century as the run rate rocketed to over 7 per over. A declined lbw decision spurred on UAJCA bowlers and finally Williams was clean bowled by the impressive swing of Bradley's James Robinson for 34. Number 4 Smith scored much slower and Revis too was held in check. The tumbling run-rate heralded the dismissal of Smith for 15 lbw to Tom Mawer, who had reverted to seam-up swing bowling of a high calibre. Tom again was in the action with a catch for Dan Murphy to remove Slater for 8. The 100 mark was passed in the 18th over as Aire-Wharfe looked set for a huge total. That changed significantly with the wicket of Revis for 40 by a smart caught & bowled from Tom Mawer, now in full flow. A repeat dismissal by Dan Murphy and another scalp for Tom had the run-rate graph almost perpendicular. A late flurry from A Holmes 15 was a welcome boost for Aire-Wharfe who had fallen away alarmingly. Wickets for Sam Mitchell, Aatif and Josh Yates wrapped up the innings for 157 with over 3 overs un-bowled. The swing quartet of Mawer, Robinson, Yates and Murphy had been almost irresistible after the early onslaught. Tom's switch to seam up was a master-stroke and his personal tally was 3-34 [3-13 seam up] and 3 catches. Danny Murphy with 2 for 14 was a perfect foil with Aatif on 2-17 in a fine attack which had taken the last 9 wickets for 87 runs.

After the thrilling win at Barnsley, hopes were high but it soon became clear that Aire-Wharfe had a major trump card to play. Another tall fast bowler found late-swing to add to his high pace and G Powell is going to be a name to remember. His 6.1 overs brought him 7 for 22. He claimed the wickets of Louis [7], Sam [6], Danny [0], Rob [3], James [0], Toby [0] and stand-in under-11 Matthew Corkindale [0]. Only Adil Modak, again in fine form was able to resist with a second top-score of 41no. Tom was the only other batsman in double-figures [12]. Matthew Revis spin bowling accounted for him as perhaps the crucial wicket. Our final tally of 85 all out was a big disappointment but in the knowledge that Aire-Wharfe had lost to Scarborough, or pathway to the semi-final was clear in requiring a win at Flixton CC the following day.

Match 3 Away vs Scarborough:

A really hot sunny afternoon greeted our band of followers at Flixton although rain was confidently forecast for late afternoon. The home side batted first with Yorkshire youngster Seb Grace set to open. Steady batting at 3 per over gave way to a frantic run-out for his partner Hutchinson courtesy of our skipper Billy Whitford. With Harry Burnhill, Grace continued his steady if one-paced way to a decent score. Beyond 70-1, another mix-up had Burnhill also run out for 23 by a cracking direct hit from point by Joe Heartfield. Dan Ward, the no 4 was looking well settled when a fine spell of swing bowling from Josh Yates [Earby] was rewarded with an lbw decision. Unbelievably a third run out for Sam Baxby had Grace holding his head. He reached his fifty despite the loss of his partners. Will Bradley and Luke Balderson added 17 and 20 respectively, the former clean bowled by the pace of Rob Harker and the latter in the 2nd spell from Joe Heartfield. The Scarborough innings sailed passed 150 finally reaching a challenging 173-7.

The storm clouds were gathering and with news that the Aire-Wharfe vs Barnsley match at Ilkley CC had been abandoned, Scarborough were very much in the Group's driving seat. In light drizzle Ali Ahmed attempted a speculative pre-meditated helicopter-sweep and was clean bowled for 1. Soon after Sam Mitchell was out lbw for 4, a classy cover drive. Danny Murphy paired with teh previous days' hero Adil Modak and they took the score to 26. Batting in faster-falling rain Danny was also given out lbw immediately before the Umpire removed the bails to signal the tractor of wicket-covers to come onto the ground. The rain became quite heavy and Scarborough supporters were already talking of qualification for the semi-finals. Amazingly after only 10-15 minutes of interruption to play, the home Umpire declared the match to be abandoned!! There had been no consultation with either Umpire or Team management. It was a most unsatisfactory end to what had been an absorbing contest with our boys admittedly on the back foot. We had in cat been snowballed as all 3 wickets had fallen to David Snowball who ended with 3 for 20.

On the return journey the rain initially became heavier and then stopped.