When the Big Guns Fall Silent...

…we roll out the other big guns!

Summer returned again after a brief hiatus the previous weekend and basked Riddlesden cricket club in beautiful sunshine once more. And this week it would be shining on two in form teams as Embsay visited our reverse oasis (greenery surrounding a patch of desert), with both the sides firmly in the mix for promotion.

In something of a turn up, Zain lost the toss and Embsay took advantage of this by electing to bat first. Given some of the mammoth scores we've racked up by batting first this season, their tactics seemed sound. But Zain had a masterplan up his sleeve. Danny Kernan as an opening bowler! And it worked beautifully, Danny (1-29) picking up the first wicket with the score on just 7. The second wicket partnership took the score up to 47 but that proved to be the only real impact on the score for Embsay. Once Shanny (1-26) had ended that partnership, Zain (2-20) and the ever reliable Qaddy (4-13) tore the heart out of the batting line up. Towhid Ali mopped up the tail with an impressive 2-1, and Embsay's innings subsided to 107 all out. Jamie took two more catches behind the stumps, and Mick Cryer continued his recent run of catches with two more.

Now could Riddlesden chase down a relatively low total? It started well enough with Steve Kernan (6) and Qaddy (21) putting on 31 for the first wicket. But then came a most unusual wobble. Shanny out first ball - to a delivery described by umpire Steve Bailey as probably the best he'd seen all season! Then just a few balls later Akeel was also out for zero! Unbelievable scenes were underway - Riddlesden were struggling on 32-3 and both our top scoring batsmen had departed. Enter the new gun, Towhid Ali, who firstly alongside Qaddy then with Mick, scored his third half century in four innings for us, finally out for 51 off 51 balls and leaving just 11 runs required to win. Ibrar and Mick saw the team home safely for our 10th win of the season!

With Crossflatts, Bingley Congs and Skipton CI all losing, this has put is into a clear second place in the table - still 5 pts behind Barrowford but 3pts ahead of the chasing field. There's six games left - starting against a much improved Bradley side at home this weekend. The win is essential to keep up our promotion charge. We're at the business end of what's been a fantastic season to date - let's keep the wagon rolling.