2024 begins - just 4 weeks late!

At last, a cricket match! In the fourth week of the season, the ground has finally dried out enough to play on following one of the wettest winters and springs in history. That's not to say it was dry, just drier...

And what a game to begin with. Riddlesden against our tenants Eldwick & Gilstead, so both teams effectively starting their league season at home. Riddlesden won the toss on a beautiful sunny day and chose to bat (Eldwick's skipper had indicated he would have bowled first had he won it so no matter really) and play finally got underway. It was slow going. Good bowling from Eldwick's openers AJ and Sharpy, in conjunction with a slow outfield (as I said, drier - not dry) led to just one run from the first four overs. With 17 on the board we lost the first wicket, quickly followed by another on 26. The latter brought new batsman Omar to the crease and his first shot, a textbook forward defence, made everyone coo - this guy can bat. Meanwhile Ehsan at the other end was looking composed, going on to top score with 25 with apparent ease before holing out to Eldwick's secret weapon - more on that shortly. The slow pace of the pitch led to Omar's dismissal as he looked to be through his shot early causing the ball to go ariel allowing Sunil Yadav to make up a lot of ground before taking a fantastic diving catch. Then Sunil came on to bowl - he was the secret! His slow, looping spin bamboozled the batsmen who were unsure whether to attack, defend or leave it to sail by without risk. In the end he picked up 4 wickets for 16 runs (receiving fines from his team mates for avoiding a five-fer and being ther man of the match - it doesn't pay to be good in Eldwick's team ...) as Riddlesden crumbled to 95 all out.

We knew we needed to apply pressure. The playing surface wasn't conducive to a high scoring game so there was still a chance, but control was important. Eldwick also knew that they didn't need to chase the game so could bat sensibly without risks. Who would blink first. The second ball had Eldwick's hearts in their mouths as Deependra had a wild mow at one, despite all their 'calm, sensible, no risk' talk of about 3 minutes earlier. He survived that one, but not a few balls later as Coach bowled him. 14-1. Rob Unsworth only faced 4 balls before Zully trapped him LBW and the game was on. But with an obstinate Carberry at one end and Sharpy hitting boundaries with ease, the game seemed to be slipping away, until Sharp slapped one to the gleeful Zafran who took the catch bringing an end to his 24 run spree. Tom Conneely, batting for the first time in 2 seasons, was bowled for a duck after 2 previous LBW appeals (he assured me he was quite pleased as at least he hit all 4 balls - even if 3 were inside edges onto pads and stumps...), then Carberry went 2 overs later with just one more added to the score. Suddenly Eldwick were 44-5 and the game was slipping away. Captain Arnie joined the fray and played the solid, sensible innings that had been discussed earlier, but had to watch as first AJ , then Sunil were dismissed. With the score on 64, Arnie's 47 ball knock (the longest for either team) came to an end at 64-8 the writing seemed to be on the wall. Mark Roach defied the bowlers for 32 deliveries but only added two runs in that spell before being bowled, which left just last pair Bhusan and an injured Jordan to try to score 30 runs for the victory. It got tense. On just one leg, Jordan had little option other than to swing the bat, and in doing so he picked up the only six of the match! As the score crept up, the tension ramped up further. Slowly but surely the score went through the 70s and 80s. Finally Zullie cleaned up Bhusan's stumps with his penultimate delivery and Riddlesden won by 6 runs.

A hard fought but good game showing that low scoring games can be some of the best. The tension was high at the end. Both teams looked rusty at times, but it was good match to watch. Whilst there wasn't much to write home about batting-wise, the bowling from both teams was good. Sunil for Eldwick's 4-16 was more than matched by Ishty's excellent 5-17, and 'Mr Dependable' Zully returned a 4-30, unusually bowling a spell from the carpark end too!

Next up we're away at Gargrave - they were a major rival last year though we managed to best them 3 times. This will be an early marker for how this season may shape up. At home will be Eldwick vs. Cowling, Cowling were runners up in the league last year so another strong contender - can Eldwick do us a favour?