MORTON BACK TO WINNING WAYS ON A SUNDAY

TEVERSAL 109 ALL OUT V MORTON COLLIERY 111 FOR 3
MANSFIELD AND DISTRICT LEAGUE SECTION 1
6 AUGUST 2017 --- 1.30PM AT CARNARVON ST

MORTONS MATHEWS ON HIS WAY TO A HALF CENTURY

Morton returned to winning ways with this comfortable win over near Neighbours Teversal in this Nottinghamshire v Derbyshire battle.  Having skittled the home side out for 109 a total only made achievable by a remarkable 75 from Billy North Morton set about reaching their target in the 25th over with 7 wickets to spare and Blair Mathews to thank on 50 not out.

TEVERSAL CRICKET CLUB BETWEEN THE TREES

A short Sunday hop to Teversal is a convoluted public transport affair but its worth it for a pleasant ground which is sadly now minus its clubhouse, demolished, which also featured its changing rooms aloft a balcony position giving excellent views over the surrounding countryside famous of the D H Lawrence novels.  The site of course features the start of the Teversal trail, Teversal FC and the local bowling club.  The visitors centre was still open so allowed for a few provisions for the afternoon, sadly now the club are housed in two Porta cabins which are smart and functional but don't have the same feel as  the clubs former home.  The outfield is massive and although the wicket was very green it has to be said the whole area was smart and very well kept indeed on talking to the grounds man during the afternoon once again its is a pride and joy of the gentleman how clubs are so grateful for volunteers like this.  Around the ground there are new trees and little plantations with seats amidst them to watch proceedings.

HARRY WILMOTT GIVES IT PLENTY OF AIR

A short blog intended today was made all the more so by the game finishing at 5pm, Teversal were struggling away at 30 for 4 but thanks to a swashbuckling performance from Billy North who hit 75 they secured 109 all out losing their last 5 wickets for 3 runs thanks to a late display from Jordan Crowder who secured 4 for 5 in his 3.5 overs.  Lee Mathews had earlier returned 3 for 14 with a glut of dropped catches of his bowling sadly 2 that were caught came from no balls who knows how low Teversal's total may have been.

TEVERSAL HANG ON

With tea taken Morton set off in response but had soon lost 3 wickets thankfully though Blair Mathews steadied the ship and ended with a half century ably supported by Ollie Truswell who also finished not out on 22 as the visitors recorded a 7 wicket.

TOM NICHOLSON STRIKES OUT FOR MORTON

A nice little ground sadly just lacking a permanent building for this homely little club something that hopefully all the sporting facilities on site can come together to re build not too far in the future.

BLAIR MATHEWS ACKNOWLEDGES THE APPLAUSE FOR HIS 50

There is a danger of the blog becoming a Morton supporter, isn't it already [?], with the amount of their games covered and now a lift home with Morton player Harry Wilmott's grandad.

ANOTHER ONE TO THE TOTAL FOR MATHEWS AND MORTON

A short fixture but some entertaining batting from both North and Mathews in a lovely little setting for a game of cricket.

SKELMANTHORPE WIN THE BATTLE OF THE BOTTOM TWO

SKELMANTHORPE 169 FOR 2 BARKISLAND 164 ALL OUT
DRAKES HUDDERSFIELD PREMIERSHIP AT LIDGETT LANE
5 AUGUST 2017 --- 1PM

SKELMANTHORPE CC BELOW THE EMLEY TV TOWER

In the word of Selwyn Froggitt 'magic our......Skelmanthorpe' after the Bill Maynard character in the famous 1970's TV comedy Oh No Its Selwyn Froggitt filmed around the streets of the village.  This game featured the battle of the bottom two with the result going to form.  It was a slow burner of a match with plenty missing the bat and generally the ball was not clearing the square to often with the Halifax based visitors bowled out for 164 in 37 overs.  The reply from Skelmanthorpe was at times just above 2 an over but with wickets in hand it was a cautious approach that secured victory thanks to a sensible 63 from Allan Greenwood.
So much time am I spending in Yorkshire there may be a requirement soon to apply for citizenship of the great ,so the Yorkshire men tell me, county.  Todays journey was a slightly longer method than normal due to rail engineering work stopping all trains south at Penistone.  On arrival at base station it was clear that football was back in swing with police, football fans and a fair amount of alcohol in presence at just short of 10am.  Normally the blog goes back to football as soon as the season begins but this summer the cricket as been enjoyable and there has undoubtedly been a pull to the Huddersfield League and its picturesque grounds.  Back to the journey with the usual change at Sheffield and there was time to become acquainted again with platform 1b soon arriving in Penistone and off in search of the rail replacement bus service.  I say bus service it was more of a mini coach that officially seated 2 people per seat row but believe me it was one and a small hamster, not that I had one to measure this criteria.  The delights of contracted in JM Coaches of Barnsley get me to the heights of Denby Dale station just in time for the Yorkshire Tiger Huddersfield service that would take me to todays destination.  The great thing about Yorkshire Tiger is the orange tiger strewn buses and the liveried seats in tiger camouflage.  Climbing towards Skelmanthorpe you cold spot the non local as I stared out of the window at the imposing Emley Moor TV tower, now seen from probably all angles, while the locals just looked at their phones and papers oblivious to this engineering achievement.

SKELMANTHORPE MINUS THE HOT DOG WAGON

Fast foot onto the streets of Skel and with an hour to go a little wander around the back streets brought me back onto the main business area Commercial St and the chance to take a picture from the opening scenes of Series 1 of Oh No Its Selwyn Froggitt where our hero [?] cycles down the series village of Scarsdale past the miners welfare towards the Coop when he spots his brother Maurice in The Blue Lagoon Café with female company so taken aback is he that he crashes into the back of an unlikely placed hot dog van.  As he extricates himself from the tangle wreckage Froggitt declares to the hot dog seller 'I will have a nice big one with onions please'!  Scene relived there was time for a wander around the notice boards and further research although the village seems to have made little of it so far I discover that the new and first female Dr Who Jodie Whittaker was born and raised in the village.

CLUBHOUSE AT LIDGETT LANE

The Coop was to be my part home today a couple of visits before the climb to the ground saw me purchase a pack of pens, much needed but dour I know but follow the tale.  Off to Lidgett Lane and the ground is surrounding by a variety of modern and older style stone houses and the delightfully named Ponker Nook Lane which really should be its home name.  The approach drive way gives up at the top end a bungalow style clubhouse with changing rooms to the right hand side in a lofted position and to the left a small separate building for the Umpires.  The bar is a comfortable area with the usual collection of historical additions from the clubs successes and with a selection of green tip up seats around the front and veranda positions it gives for a homely feel for the locals.  Sadly today the electronic scoreboard has a problem and positioned in the corner aloft the grounds mans garage it will not be in action so we make do with a manual scoreboard efficiently operated by our home scorer.  As ever thank you to todays umpires and scorers for your assistance its much appreciated.  the ground then is pretty flat except for a slight slope towards Lidgett Lane and with a wide selection and indeed variety of seats there are plenty of viewing points at this ground.  Most people seem to favour the top side by the clubhouse and it certainly offers protection later on as the wind literally howls across this lofty position.

SKELMANTHORPE KEEPER LUKE WEBSTER TAKES THE CATCH

As ever there is a true Yorkshire feel to this ground with a white washed wall denying a selection of cows access to the ground as well as acting as a sight screen extension for the facing batsman..  Having nearly proceeded with a few pictures it was during the opening overs that I discovered the replacement batteries were struggling so thankfully off to the Coop for some more indeed there would be one more visit at the tea interval for eats.

ABBAS AHMED BOWLS DARREN ROBINSON

Barkisland had been put into bat and to be fair were doing pretty well when their second wicket fell at 80 in the 19th over.  However they soon fell away to 89 for 5 and as the wickets fell away they finally succumbed to 164 all out losing their last 2 wickets without adding a run and leaving home bowler Aizaz Khan on a hat trick next time out.

JAKE FINCH LOSES A BAIL TO AHMED

The saving grace for the visitors was a measured 51 not out from Ben Westbrook who made the total something to defend.  For Skelmanthorpe Khan finished with 3 for 21 and Abbas Ahmed 4 for 60.

SETH ODDY IS OUT LBW TO AHMED BARKISLAND 124 FOR 7

Tea interval allowed the store visit and a perch on one of the Lidgett Lane seats to enjoy eats and the surroundings as the wind got up in strength its was time for the home side to start their reply.  During their innings it was good to meet up again with Josh Ingham's grandma who had sold me some raffle tickets in the first innings and was now collecting admission money which came with a folded 4 page programme for £1.50 this was the first ground I had been asked for this but had previously been made aware a lot of clubs do this in Yorkshire and indeed after a programme at Hoylandswaine last week it was good to see most people supporting the club by contributing to its running.  Josh will probably be playing his last game this season because he will now be off to the base of the TV tower to play for Emley in the NCEFL.

BEN JOBSON BOWLED BY AIZAZ KHAN

Todays game was also punctuated with a couple of conversations with Alan a former player and league umpire whose partner was doing the scoring for Barkisland as aver a pleasure to meet you.
Steady progress was being made by the home side the first wicket falling at 64 for 1 and the second at 109 in the 37th over was giving a little hope to Barkisland but with wickets in hand Skelmanthorpe had to favour their chances.  The fall of the second wicket had seen the dismissal of Allan Greenwood for 63 an innings that set up what was to be victory when overseas player Liam O Dea 29 not out and Michael Kitson 46 not out saw them over the line the latter finishing with a mighty maximum taking the score to 169 for 2 in the 45th over.

ALLAN GREENWOOD 63 FOR SKELMANTHORPE

Timely finish chaps at just gone a quarter to seven it was a steady march back over the country lanes through Cumberworth into the station approach at Denby Dale through the new estate and in record time of 22 minutes there was time to spare for the rail replacement bus service which turned out to be Andrews of Tideswell a little out of their Derbyshire territory.  With connection back to train at Penistone and the next service made in Sheffield base arrival was just after 9pm.  A fairly long day out in Yorkshire today after last weeks truncated effort at Hoylandswaine but overall a good trip.  Overall I say because those pens mentioned earlier one decided to leak in my coat pocket and then when I thought the same thing couldn't happen again the second one drained some of its contents into my bag aarrgggh.

HOYLANDSWAINE TITLE CHARGE CONTINUES

HOYLANDSWAINE 61 FOR 3 CAWTHORNE 57 ALL OUT
DRAKES HUDDERSFIELD CRICKET LEAGUE PREMIERSHIP @ HAIGH LANE
29 JULY 2017 --- 1PM

HOYLANDSWAINE C C

This Barnsley derby was all over just after 3.30pm with Hoylandswaine brushing aside their near neighbours Cawthorne thanks to a devastating bowling spell from Adnan Ghani taking 7 for 31. For the visitors just Australian Ayrton Dehmel could put up any resistance with 26 as his team mates wickets clattered all round him.
A blog to Hoyalndswaine had been on the cards for the last few weeks and a further journey along the Sheffield to Huddersfield, Penistone line beckoned always a pleasure plus of course the chance to Watch some Huddersfield League Cricket again.

PENISTONE AND ITS VIADUCT

The start out from base station met with a change at Sheffield before arrival in the market town of Penistone with 40 minutes to journey the 2 miles to Hoylandswaine. with the one an hour bus timed to leave the same time as the train arrives into the station the option was clearly by foot.  A walk through a local park by the River Don and then the busy A628 Barnsley Rd saw the climb to the summit and Hoylandswaine, mind you this was not before a few 'look backs' towards Penistone and beyond and the impressive railway viaduct that brings the line into the town.

ARRIVAL

Having turned off the main road the view down to the ground gave up more sights of the surrounding area and way beyond on this clear day.
Upon arrival at the ground there was just time to seek out todays umpires Robert Gartside and David Haikings who were in their own little shed adjacent to the scorers accommodation of a similar variety.  Thankfully the officials were able to supply me with a quick photo of the team card and so we had a few minutes to take in the surroundings before the start of play.

THE VIEWS AND OH YES GHANI HAS DISLODGED THE BAILS

There was a little time to take a few pictures of this stunning little ground, with its clubhouse and changing rooms decked out with a superb display of wall and ground flower baskets you knew there was much love going into the club.  The club house was very well presented with a clean and tidy feel about it from bar to kitchen.  By the side of the business area is a standard electronic scoreboard which was well operated during this short game and a selection of smart and well maintained seats were also being well used today some had brought their own indeed one gentleman was in full reading mode for the Barnsley Chronicle something which I guess he didn't have time to get through today!  From this lofted position the ground offers commanding views back towards Barnsley and Darton and way beyond with the 3 power station of Eggborough, Ferrybridge and Drax all within view today.  Just behind the houses is our old friend Emley Moor TV tower but probably just out of view for most cricket scene pictures today.  The outfield undulates all over the places and with the wickets of course on a level from one side of the ground it is possible to see just a players head from the other side but of course this all adds to the wonderful feel to proceedings.  Also of note is a smart and well appointed bowling green behind the bowlers arm at the far end.  The opposite end as the community centres stone wall as a back drop.  Sadly today there would not be time to explore any of the village due to the curtailed nature of the encounter but apart from 2 pubs there appears not to be too many attractions in this farming village.

GHANI SENDS ONE DOWN AS HIS TEAMATES WAIT

Cawthorne won the toss today and decided to bat against the current league leaders and just over an hour later their innings was complete 39 for 3 became 47 for 9 and shortly after following too late boundary flourishes they had been bowled out for just 57.  Opening bat Dehmel had put up sterling resistance for his 26 but this innings had been about Swaine opening bowler Adnan Ghani with 7 dismissals.

ONE UP ALL UP

Let me caution all cricketers at present Ghani is injured and today he bowled fast and straight and had the pegs flying at regular intervals what will he be like when he is fit?  Last season he had turned out for Denby and on his debut took all 10 wickets for 20 odd and re wrote the record books at the club.  During his demolition job it was good to catch up with Derek a local supporter who had come up from nearby Darton and it was interesting to get in conversation about all things cricket, mining and a local contact to the blog John Lowe the former world champion darts player who he met in his dealings with clubs as a former brewery rep.  As ever nice to meet you plus todays scorers who were a friendly bunch and thankfully showed no displeasure to my steady requests for information thank you all.

PROGRAMME AND CAWTHORNE TOTAL AT HAIGH LANE

The first innings had amazingly not even seen me do a full circuit of the ground and indeed by the end of proceedings I had only been around once!  The club certainly showed a lot of forward thinking because after partaking of a Lemonade, it definitely was, I purchased some raffle tickets and a unique for local cricket match programme, great effort Hoylandswaine!
During the interval it was also good to meet Adnan Ghani and he joined in his afternoons success with a few pictures, thank you.

ADNAN GHANI HOYLANDSWAINE CC WITH 7 WICKETS V CAWTHORNE

There was a suggestion of going straight through but thankfully the tea ladies had nearly prepared their fayre so the break allowed me to have a little time here on this whistle stop game and when we restarted at 2.45pm I didn't expect their to be too much cricket left and so it proved with the winning run being score at just after 3.30pm.

SP SINGH HOYLANDSWAINE CC

 he first over produced 9 runs and the second doubled the total so things were not looking too good for Cawthorne testing the leaders, indeed the score had advanced to 27 before the first wicket in the 5th over.  SP Singh edged to the keeper and it was 39 for 2 could the visitors run through a few wickets?  Sadly not although Max Joice fell with Swaine just 2 short of victory it was all over a few balls later and a dominant victory for, I guess, the champions elect had been secured.

SINGH CAUGHT BEHIND OF THE BOWLING OF FAISAL HUSSAIN

Having expected this game to continue beyond last bus time, around 5pm in the sticks, I expected a walk back to Penistone but after consulting the bus stop timetable I was away from Haigh Lane at 3.45 on the way back to Penistone.  This was sadly too early and I look forward to re visiting Hoylandswaine to get a further intake of this wonderful little set up.
With just under an hour to wait for the train departure it was a late portion of chips from the 3 fryers by the railway station and a quick walk to the nearby Penistone Church to take a look at their ground and preparations for the upcoming appearance for the first time in the NCEFL Premiership. 
While awaiting the arrival of the Northern Rail service I had a look to check on a few other cricket matches on the way back with the intent of maybe calling in.  In Barnsley the Shaw Lane clubs game was very well advanced and so it was in Chapeltown for Thorncliffe.  Previously I had spotted Wombwell Main's cricket ground was about 1 minute from the villages station and they were at home today, well at least the 2nds were versus Whitley Hall 3rds.  It was only just gone 5pm and with no updates on either clubs social media I decided at the last minute to give it a go.  Unbelievably another one sided game with Wombwell posting 194 as I walked onto the ground the visitors reply was 17 for 5!  Anyway an hour was spent watching proceedings and upon leaving the visitors had approached around 50 for the loss of 8 wickets.  Nice new clubhouse being developed here with the Sheffield County Senior Football Club adjoining the cricket but this is one for another day.
An enjoyable day again in the Huddersfield Cricket League and an unfortunately short trip to a lovely ground in Hoylandswaine with views to match.

DEWSBURY RAMS CHARGE HOME

DEWSBURY RAMS 28 SHEFFIELD EAGLES 18
KINGSTONE PRESS CHAMPIONSHIP AT TETLEYS STADIUM
23 JULY 2017 --- 3PM

TETLEYS STADIUM DEWSBURY RAMS RLFC

Dewsbury finished the regular season in eighth place thanks to this, at times, testing win over the Sheffield Eagles who had lead 12-10 at half time.  But a second half performance of grit and character non more so than when the Rams were a man down sin binned for the final 10 minutes.
Once again the showery rain forecast finally put me off a cricket fixture and the rain and transport experience would add to this day.  The arrival at base station was by a late bus which had me worrying about the connecting train to Wakefield Kirkgate, my normally preferred choice of arrival in Wakefield even though the station is renovated there are still no toilets and the whole area outside is still a major work in progress that at last shows some 'work in progress' but not much.  Its a very poor first impression of Wakefield and I guess once the area is regenerated it will be better but it seems to be taking a very long time.

THE SMART NORTH STAND AT DEWSBURY

Arriva day ticket purchased the short walk to Westgate had seen me board the 268a towards Cleckheaton being on time I opted to travel into Dewsbury bus station for a further connection to the ground rather than hop off at Gawthorpe and walk the 10 minutes to The Tetley's Stadium.  Utilisation of the day ticket saw the 202 take me on the climb out of Dewsbury passing by the site of the former Crossflats ground.  Having alighted at Shaw Cross Industrial Estate the ground is in sight.

LARGE TERRACING OFFERING A COMMANDING VIEW

The banking from the road side offers a nice view of this smart modern stadium and I wont re describe to much as it was covered in July 2015 since then a nice 4g rugby pitch has been added adjacent to the ground.  Everything else seems pretty much the same with a good public address system and the large open waggon food van which served an excellent chip cob, its a nice atmosphere and ground to watch some rugby.

ROGER RAM ALWAYS UP FOR A PHOTO OP

Early greetings were friendly and never one to miss a photo opportunity I managed to collar Roger Ram the mascot who I have to say always comes over as one of the better sporting mascots.  This would be the last game of the regular season before the league splits and Dewsbury go into the super 8's a procedure that is probably not for the 'old uns' but does seem to create an interest until the end of the season much like The welsh Premier League in football.

A CLEAR AND VISABLE SCOREBOARD WHAT MORE CAN YOU WANT

As the atmosphere came to a peak in this crowd of 794 the teams appeared and believe me Yorkshire lads and lasses can make their presences felt when you've got old lasses shouting 'leg him e cant run wiout em' for the whole 80 minutes and hurling derision at referee Straw over most of his decisions this afternoon, although he didn't appear to help himself at times.

WARM UP FOR ROBBIE WARD DEWSBURY RAMS

Dewsbury started strongly and Josh Guzdeck went over with a conversion from Paul Sykes taking maximum points.  The home side were on top but disappointingly they allowed Gary Lo to go over the whitewash but with no conversion the home side held a 2 point lead extended to 4 with a penalty goal from James Glover,  during this section of play Sykes was sin binned the first of 2 yellows for Dewsbury.

NO WAY THROUGH FOR THE EAGLES

A second try for Lo on 28 minutes and up and under found no Dewsbury player fancying it and Lo collected well to dive over to level at 8 all.  A second penalty goal from Glover saw Rams edge ahead again before Sheffield took a 12-10 half time lead with a Menzie Yere try.

TOBY EVERETT IS HELD UP ON HIS PROGRESSION TO THE LINE

An increased tempo saw Dewsbury take a lead again in this game on 49 minutes with an exciting try in the far right corner with Lucas Walshaw diving for he line and Sykes converted wonderfully from the wide.  From excitement to the sublime a audacious dummy that even I fell for 50 yards away on the terracing allowed Dom Speakman to pass through the Eagles defence and Sykes did the necessary to make it 22-12. 
The second sin bin for the home side came when Jode Sheriffe saw yellow and Dewsbury would have to play out a man down.  They dug in and defended their own 10 metre line with real determination as Sheffield tried to break through first one way then the other.   During this passage of play though there was a superb breakaway sprint between Gareth Potts and 2 Sheffield defenders from his own 10 metre and frustratingly he was caught at the Sheffield 10.  Defend they did though and with 5 minutes remaining Glover dove over for Sykes to convert and put the game beyond the visitors.  More or less immediately Sheffield replied with a Reme Marginet try converted by Jack Owens to see the score finish 28-18 at the hooter.

TWO WAY RESPECT HERE

Always a pleasure to catch some rugby league and Rams coming from behind at half time to win with a man down in the latter stages made for an exciting game with a couple of lovely tries from Walshaw and Speakman to add to the day.
The dark clouds were gathering and with the 10 minute walk to Gawthorpe to catch the 5.15 service back to Wakefield the clouds burst heavily after 5 minutes of shielding under some trees with fellow spectators the downpour lessened and time was calling as well as a bus or so I thought.  Having made it to the stop with 5 minutes to spare of course there was no shelter and 2 more short downpours later I was slightly wet.  To add further frustrations the 268a decided not to turn up and after 20 minutes I made a short walk to a nearby stop to pop aboard a 127 that would travel back to Wakefield the long way through Ossett and Horbury.  The decision was taken to depart at Westgate and board the X Country express service to Plymouth, thankfully with the famous station newsagent chain open there was time for a hoppers delight of 2 bars of chocolate, crisps and pop coming in at just short of a fiver!
On a day of transport delays the service back to base was slumbered its way to Rotherham before stopping and then again south of Sheffield it meandered into base station just short of 15 minutes down.
Once again a good day watching rugby league the crowd today were very encouraging for Dewsbury Rams and generated much support for the home side and at the end acknowledgment from the Rams players showed their appreciation for being the extra player on the terraces.

HALLAM BEAT LEAGUE LEADERS

HALLAM CC 156 FOR 5 [43 OVS] V SHEFFIELD COLLEGIATE CC 167 ALL OUT [49.4 0VS]
YORKSHIRE SOUTH PREMIER LEAGUE @ SANDYGATE
22 JULY 2017 12 NOON [DELAYED START 1230]

HALLAM CC AT SANDYAGTE

Hallam upset the applecart by defeating league leaders Collegiate who suffered only their second loss of the season.  The home side were well on their way to victory when the rain came down but by this stage they were well ahead and secured victory by the infamous Duckworth Lewis method.  The methodical 167 from Collegiate looked to be a good total with most people thinking par was around 150 but Hallam thanks to captain Nick Dymock [54] were always ahead of the run rate and chalked the runs off calmly without losing their focus to gain a well deserved result.
All week the sport was cricket and this game until the lovely weather intervened and rugby league became an option but a late change on the BBC weather forecast around Sheffield highlighted the possibility of taking in a near full days play after all and so it turned out.

CRAIG MOFFAT RACES IN FOR HALLAM

Short hop on the train to Sheffield found the city waking up for its now famous Tramline Festival and although preparing for another day of music by the time I was to return things were in full swing with quite a few beverages being ordered for the evening when I made a hasty retreat to the station in the early evening.  First bus service 51 took the blog on the climb out to Sandygate through the bustling Broomhill and then Crosspool the village shopping area nearest to Hallam CC.  The further climb out to todays venue backs up the theory of Sheffield as the hilly city.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE BALL

The ground is shared with Hallam FC and of course this has been covered on the blog before but its a totally different experience watching the cricket here I'm not normally to keen on watching cricket on a football ground a bit like the latter on an athletics stadium but today was a must with its history.
Much of the back catalogue comes through The Plough public house opposite the ground, sadly now boarded up and up for sale with a local residents group hoping to secure it from the seller.  The football club was formed here and allegedly the rules of the game with the oldest ground adjacent but always, weirdly to me, the oldest club is fellow city team Sheffield FC.  Now cricket wise Hallam CC were founded in 1804 by the then Plough landlord and are the second oldest club in Yorkshire and the oldest club UK wise to play consistently on the same ground.

THE PLOUGH SADLY SEEN BETTER DAYS OVERVIEWS COLLEGIATE'S INNINGS

Most people will be aware of the famous slope at Sandygate and of course the cricket has the same through its outfield.  Sadly the pavilion and clubhouse are closed for first team games as the club awaits re development, the changing rooms are not big enough but thankfully on site are the football clubs that are and thanks to their generosity they are also able to use Hallam FC's clubhouse too.  The ground is nicely walled with a fair selection of the green stuff with a rare glimpse of moorland occasionally visible along the Manchester Rd area.  The scoreboard is of an old variety with minimalistic information provided but Hallam are a newly promoted club and obviously advancements will take time.

SHEFFIELD COLLEGIATE DEFEND

A small crowd had gathered by the time stumps were pitched and here I would like to thank todays umpires Ray Knowles and Carl Williams for their assistance with the team cards.  The visitors were without Billy Root, brother of England captain Joe, on duty with Notts and Azeem Raffiq also serving with Yorkshire CC.  For the home side a mid table placing so far is a good return but today they would be tested by a strong club in Collegiate.

COLLEGIATE'S CHRIS PURSHOUSE HITS SHANE SMITH FOR A MAXIMUM

The visitors won the toss and elected to bat with a slow start they were at 50 for 3 in the 19th with overseas player Australian Tom Rowley falling for 15.  Eliot Callis [41] and Chris Purshouse [39] rescued proceedings somewhat and it was 119 when the fourth wicket of Callis fell.  A handy contribution from Michael Simpson of 29 added to the visitors total before they were all out 2 balls short of their full compliment for 167.  The wicket had seemed to throw up a few balls that kept low there was also plenty in it for all the bowlers and runs off the square seemed hard to come by on a slow outfield that had probably had the pace taken out of it by overnight rain.  For Hallam South African overseas player Shane Smith returned 4 for 49.

HALLAM'S JOE COOPER STEAMS IN

Before the start of play it was good to catch up with quite a few in the crowd including Hallam secretary Richard who has just celebrated a recognition by the club of 30 years in the role, like most helpers he was busy all afternoon and saw little of the proceedings.  Thanks for an interesting chat and your enthusiasm for your club was self evident long may your help continue for Hallam CC.  Also during the first innings Hallam opening bowler Craig Moffat's dad was a very interesting visitor down from Workington to watch his lad whose now based in Sheffield.  Needless to say we had an interesting sporting chat including updating the Cumbrian football, rugby league and cricket scene.  There was also time to discuss former Workington player Geoff Martin, who now lives near by to the blog, and his time playing for the Cumbrian club in their football league days, good to meet you and later Craig a pleasure guys.

HALLAM'S MARK WILLIAMS FLYING IN

Tea interval saw a brisk walk into Crosspool, down the hill, to the big 'T's although in this case it was a small 'T's in the form of an express for goodies, with a good bus service the use of the day ticket for 2 stops avoided the big hill walk and saw arrival back at the ground in the first over of Hallam's reply.
A steady start by the home side saw them lose their second wicket at 53 in the 15th but they were nicely on target if heads could be kept.  Here into the equation rode captain Dymock who secured 54 in 87 balls to keep the scoreboard moving after his opening partnership he went onto have further pairings with Harry Bliss [20], Humphrey Emery [27] and Joe Cooper [26 not out] all who stuck to the task of keeping the run rate fed.

HALLAM CAPTAIN NICK DYMOCK ON HIS WAY TO A HALF CENTURY

The weather looked in the balance after a major darkening of the skies from 5pm it looked only a matter of time before the rains came even though the BBC were still saying no!  Finally at 20 minutes to seven the rain came sharply and with the umpires taking the players off there were just 7 overs to bowl and the game would be awarded by the D/L method to Hallam by 24 runs.

HARRY BLISS HALLAM CC

A superb win by the home side who measured their reply well while keeping ahead of the run rate all the way through their innings.  Its always feels like a disappointing way to win when it would have been more satisfactory to get over the line with the required runs but the often complicated D/L method produced the correct match result here and Hallam had beaten the league leaders from Abbeydale.
With the rain brisk now I was grateful for the arrival of this excellent bus service to arrive and whisk me back into Sheffield and soon out of the station to arrive back in base transport hub[?] just 7.30pm.
An enjoyable visit to an historic club in a lovely setting accompanied by a tight game of enthralling cricket.

MATHEWS MASTERCLASS FOR MORTON

MORTON COLLIERY CC 267 FOR 5 SHIPLEY HALL CC 266 FOR 9
DERBYSHIRE CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION 2 @ BACK LANE
15 JULY 2017 --- 1.30PM

SECOND SHIPLEY WICKET FALLS CAUGHT AND BOWLED TO TOM COXHEAD

In a game that produced over 500 runs and 2 superb centuries it was ultimately the three figures from Morton's Blair Mathews that guided the home side over the line to victory.  Have no doubts though this was a close game with Shipley Hall posting a large total thanks in the main to their South African overseas player Angelo Yiatses who hit 107, ultimately though this was surpassed by Morton with 13 balls to spare and 5 wickets in hand.  Games that go this close are hard on the side that just misses out but Shipley Hall should be proud of a tremendous effort and their part in an highly enjoyable watch.
Not too much travelling this week with a local game just 20 minutes from bases by the stripey boys 55a service slightly delayed due to the chaos of closing part of the bypass in Chesterfield.  So with a base county watch today there was no travelling to Yorkshire and beyond and many people thought I would not be able to arrive at the ground by train, how wrong you were.

ARRIVAL PLATFORM 1 FOR MORTON  WAS COMFORTABLE IF SOMEWHAT BRIGHT

Having covered Morton and their Back Lane ground a few times before I wont go into a ground descriptor if you take a look at June last year on the index its in there.  I started off today taking a few pictures in relation to the colliery link but in the end opted not to use them thanks to some steady game pictures even though we had an overcast day for much of play, mind you by the close of play and with cans out on the boundary the sun shone brightly!

TENSION RISES ON THE BOUNDARY

Its always funny how some clubs just score a success with any hopper and Morton, I'll say it again, do just that with their friendly welcome and homely facilities for the visitors.  Having spoken to a few of the Shipley lads and looked at their ground for a visit a few times I hope to sample an afternoon their this season given the chance.  The only downside to the village is the lack of a shop that opens after 1pm and although there is history if you look for it, former station and centre of England tree, its otherwise a sleepy former mining village on Saturday and Sunday visits I find certainly no chippy to sample.

STAR JUMPS COMPETITION HAS A CLEAR WINNER

The game today was a mid table affair with nothing much resting on it except for that old classic 'local pride'.  Morton looked pretty strong they were without Jordan Lemon who picked up a hand injury playing football for Spalding Utd the previous evening at Grantham.
It was a cloudy and overcast day with thankfully hardly any of the pre match rain forecast falling and to this effect the ball was moving around in the early overs and Shipley Hall were only just into double figures when their second wicket fell to a sharp caught and bowled from Tom Coxhead.  The visitors pushed themselves on to 85 for 4 and all looked to be going well for Morton to skittle the visitors out fairly cheaply.

MITCH ADLINGTON LOOKS TO GET HIGHER THAN SECOND SLIP

That was not too take account for the arrival of Yiatses who battled sensibly and then aggressively, admittedly Colliery failed to take a couple of chances offered, but the South African took advantage and went on to a devastating spell of hitting mid innings that saw his final total of 107 include 18 fours and one maximum.  The dismissal of Morton's tormentor came with an audacious catch from Harry Wilmott as Yiatses looked to clear the boundary the Morton player sprinted round from wide long on reached out a hand and the ball stuck to the palm for a remarkable take.

ADLINGTON SENDS THE BAILS FLYING

The visitors innings was supported by Ryan North who contributed 42 as at times Morton struggled to contain Shipley and in the end the total of 266 looked a big one.  For Morton captain Paul Holmes returned 4 for 61 in what had been a hard afternoon in the field.

ANGELO YIATSES ACKNOWLEDGES THE APPLAUSE FOR HIS CENTURY

Tea at Morton is always a special affair and today looked no different with an excellent selection of food prepared by the club for the mid innings get together.
Morton started their reply at a pace with opener Wilmott launching the ball all around the park while Ashley Caunt played the early cautious approach.  The reply was going swimmingly well until Wilmott skied a top edge and was caught for 42 including 7 fours and 1 maximum with h score on 61 for 1.

THE TENSION I CAN HARDLY LOOK

The score had moved to 74 when Caunt edged to first slip and this brought a sedentary passage in play which was needed for stability but appeared to see Morton fall behind the run rate.  When wicket keeper Jack Stone was out LBW the score was 108 for in the 23rd over and this would now be a big ask for the home side.

MORTON CAPTAIN PAUL HOLMES CAN ONLY WATCH NOW AFTER TAKING 4 FOR 61

David Greaves [37] joined Blair Mathews at the crease and the fightback started with some big hitting the former was out going for another big score and 179 for 4 soon became 183 for 5 when Mitch Adlington was trapped LBW.  Out strode Jordan Crowder and the ask was at around 7 an over but by this stage Mathews was well in his stride confidently picking the right ball to send to the boundary and with the support of his new partner the run rate came down.  In the 44th over as the total became nearer Crowder pushed a single, finishing on 29 not out, to allow Mathews the strike and he confidently went to his century with a massive maximum.

BLAIR MATHEWS RECEIVES THE APPLAUSE FOR HIS MATCH WINNING CENTURY

 Moments later the single required was achieved and Morton had overhauled the total posted by Shipley which at times seemed unlikely.  Everything had to go right for the chasers and today it did and although no consolation I'm sure for Shipley they take credit in playing their part in an excellent advert for Derbyshire County League cricket.  Both sides can look at dropped catches in this game and of course the old adage 'catches win matches' rings true but from a spectator point of view this was a superb afternoons cricket to watch from the boundary, well done both sides.
The return journey was an uneventful affair and base was arrived at around 9pm after another pleasant afternoons cricket at Morton.