Studley Royal Cricket Club Blog

Batting first, against Barnsley U-15 league leaders Upper Haugh, Studley Royal had an off day hitting only 113 runs for 9 wickets off 20 overs.   The Studley innings was steadied by an excellent workman like 30 from U-14 Elliott Oates coming in at number 5.   Words of encouragement were spoken by Studley Captain George Lamb and reinforced vocally by Vice Captain Angus Shaw in the changing room between innings.  Yorkshire U-15 opening bowler Ben Coad then came steaming in and showed the large crowd of supporters that had gathered  his class with a withering display of fast bowling returning figures of 2 wickets for 3 runs off 4 overs  including 2 maidens.   U-14 Rob Lowe supported Coad from the other end with figures of 1 wicket for 4 runs off 4 overs again including 2 maidens.    Nick Kimber was rested from the attack but his presence was felt taking 2 first class close catches.   The spinning duo of Lamb and Shaw then entered the attack returning figures of 4 wickets for 6 runs off 3 overs and 3 wickets for 3 runs off 2.3 overs respectively.   Upper Haugh were all out for 19 runs off 13.3 overs and left Studley for the safety of South Yorkshire  in a state of shocked bewilderment after the withering assault from Coad and Lowe followed by the spinning wizardry of the dynamic duo of Lamb and Shaw.    Studley now progress to the Semis and Final day of the Yorkshire Region at Hartshead Moor Cricket Club in West Yorkshire on Sunday the 28^th June.

Harrogate Strays 188-8 (45 overs)

SRCC 2s  191-8 (45 overs)  WON by 2 wkts

Yet another tight and dramatic finish for the 2s in front of the returning victorious 1s who had just put Ripon in their place.  Skipper won the toss and stuck them in.  They were a good batting team and wickets were hard to come by.  Ben Crewe shifted their classy looking opener with a beautiful yorker.  Doc wheeled away for 3-32 off 12, with 7 bowlers used.  For many, highlight of the innings was the skipper’s vociferious appeal and plea to the umpire for a run out, not knowing that the batter was 15 yards away in a total mix up.  This was not our best performance in the field and we probably gave them 15 more than we should with fielders on the backs of their feet allowing some 1s that should have been dots, and 2s that should have been 1s.  At the end of the day, this could have easily cost us the game - we need to up this next week.  They ended on 188-8.

Lorry was out to the best catch he had ever seen - a superhuman effort (it was pretty good - but I am caught by better ones most weeks Mark). 

Lewey and Simmy put on a fair few until Simmy went for a good 20.  Lewey scored a typical Lewey 51.  Choppy went before the skipper made double figures!  Gary kept things going with a cultured and controlled 31, but when he went it got tougher.  The two Bens kept us in it but the rate rose.  Doc replaced Crewey and then Binxy (with a “y” - apparantly “ie” is girlie and he doesn’t like that).  28 needed off 3 overs came down to 15 off 1 over.  Binxy played a big shot that just went over the despairing leap of the fielder at long on for six.  A good edge from Coady went for 3.  It came down to two off the last ball and Binxy connected to bring us home to another famous victory.  MiniCoad finished on 31 and Binxy 16 (off not a lot!).

Ouseburn away next - and a big focus on upping our game in the field if we are going to keep on winning.

The Studley Royal U-15 1^st XI secured their fourth round place in the ECB National Cup (Yorkshire Region) with a solid win over West Yorkshire side Northowram Hedge Top at the Deer Park on Friday night.   Studley won the toss and opted to bat putting on 139 for 3 off 20 overs.   Kimber was the pick of the Studley batsman retiring on 50 off 41 balls.  For Northowram Hedge Top Cole and Mellor produced a wicket a piece.  In reply Northowram Hedge Top managed 120 for 8 off 20 overs with Mellor and Cole top scoring with 22 and 29 out respectively.   Ainscough produced an excellent bowling display with 3 for 15 off 4 overs with Coad and Kimber also in the wickets. Studley now face South Yorkshire side Upper Haugh in the fourth round at home this coming Sunday at 2.30pm (to be confirmed).

Glasshouses  128 all out (38.5 overs) 0pts

SRCC2  132-1 (20.2 overs)  6pts       WON by 9 wickets

A very strong SRCC2 team took the field at picturesque Glasshouses.  Skipper, awash with bowling options and keen for a first 6 point win, stuck in the opposition on a ground where you never know how many runs are enough.  Runs were hard to come by for the opposition as Bully & Binxie opened up.  Every so often Binxie found some extra pace, the first time nearly rearranging the keeper’s nose.  Binxie got the first breakthrough but after 19 overs they were 54-1 with wickets hard to come by.  Skipper had a hunch and put on Choppy Lamb who took 2 wickets in his first over.  From that point on, wickets came regularly, mainly to the Chopper with classic leggie wickets (bowled/stumped).  Spin Tim chipped in with a wicket and miniCoad shifted no 11 through a good slip catch from Lorry, leaving Choppy with 7-54 (career best).  Special mention to Ben Crewe who bowled a fantastic spell but went unrewarded.  Skipper reckons he has put on another yard in pace since April when he last played 2s.

Decent tea during which Gary won the beer raffle.  Lorry and Choppy opened and tucked into easy offerings.  The first six overs went for 48 before Lorry, doing a good impersonation of Chris Gayle, was run out for 31.  He spent the next 15 minutes checking out his strike rate (124.0) as he reckons he has a 20/20 career ahead.  Choppy kept going with Simmy.  Tension mounted as George was on 48 with 4 needed to win and Simmy facing (skipper reckoned it wouldn’t bother the Chop whether he got 50 or not, Choppy2 (scorer) said it most certainly would).  Mark played a big shot, but only got 1.  That left Chop to pull the next ball for 6 to wrap up the win and bring up a well deserved 50.  Game won with almost 25 overs to spare.  Choppy finished with 54 and Simmy with 30, with Simmy determined to get a few and stay not out as competetion for places continues to hot up at the club.

A straightforward 6 point win and a great day for George Lamb.  With Pannal only getting 5 points, we are now only 4 points behind the leaders.  Next week it’s a big game against Harrogate Strays who were just 2 points behind us this morning.

On a cold evening at Galphay Road Studley Royal defeated Harrogate in a finish that went down to the penultimate ball of the match.   Winning the toss Harrogate opted to bat and knocked off 117 for 5 in their allotted 20 overs.   Griffin was the pick of the Harrogate batsman with 50 retired with Singh and Hammond hitting 18 and 19 respectively.   For Studley Kimber was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 22 off 4, Ainscough 1 for 17 off 4, Shaw 1 for 22 off 4 and U-12 Harry Lamb a creditable 1 for 19 off 3.   Studley keeper Thompson only had three runs recorded against him in a fine display.   Turning round Studley went into bat and proceeded to unsettle their loyal supporters when Kimber fell cheaply to an excellent delivery from Wetherald and then Shaw attempting to come back for 4 off an over throw was run out.  George Lamb proceeded to steady the ship building an excellent partnership with opener Robinson who again showed what excellent form he is in with bat retiring on 51.   Lamb eventually was run out while pushing the runs along with some very quick singles.   Oates then came to the wicket and proved his place in the side with an excellent fast 16 not out and was supported in the last two overs by Ainscough who showed his immense strength hitting the winning 4 off the penultimate ball of the twentieth over.   Mention should also be made of Nabarro who saved atleast 10 runs in the field for Studley with his speed and arm.   Nabarro and Evans also bowled economically and Stuart was his usual tower of strength in the field.      The next round of the ECB National U-15 Cup (Yorkshire Region) sees Studley playing either Northowram Hedge Top or Scholes from West Yorkshire.   This match will see the return to the side of Studley’s Yorkshire U-15 seamer Ben Coad who was absent from the Harrogate match on county duty.

The Studley U-15a side completed the first half of the season with a conformable home win over Knaresborough on Sunday at the New Ground.   The beautiful sunny weather brought out a good crowd of both Studley and Knaresborough parents who enjoyed the match.   

Sunday again proved the great strength in depth of the junior section at Studley as for a second week U-15 skipper Angus Shaw fielded a team that included five under twelve and one under thirteen players.   This selection came about as both the Lamb brothers and Ben Coad were absent on Yorkshire duties for the second weekend.   Opening bowler Joe Ainscough, keeper Paul Flintoff and all rounder Jack Illingworth were still to return after the half term holiday and finally Josh Crewe is still recovering from a serious hand injury.  Knaresborough at full strength bar one player won the toss and decided to bowl.   Studley scored 120 runs for the loss of 5 wickets off the allotted 22 overs with Nick Kimber retiring on 36 and Nick Stuart showing his full potential on 38.   From the Knaresborough bowlers Cutts took 1 for 12 off 3 overs, Gates took 1 for 15 off 3 overs and Tattersal 1 for 24 off 5 overs.   Studley then proceeded to bowl Knaresborough out for 85 runs with a little over three overs to spare.   Knaresborough opener Jonathan Tattersal got himself well established but fell on 28 to an extra fiery delivery from Kimber (caught by Ed Robinson) who finished on 3 for 22 off 5 overs.   Shaw took a further 2 for 26 off 5 overs and Simon Evans 2 for 2 off 2 overs.    It was good to see U-13 Charlie McGiven establish his credentials at this age group level with the new ball and his figures of 0 for 15 off 4 overs were a credit to him.   Special mention must also be made of U-12 Finn Hassall who cleaned up the tail with 3 for 6 off 1.4 overs and of fellow U-12 Tom Bailey who took the gloves this week and only had 4 runs marked against him. All in all a very encouraging first half of the U-15a league season.   Next week sees the second round of the ECB National Cup being played at the New Ground on Thursday evening starting at 6.30 and then the next round of the Bob Mellor Cup,  in which we still have both our U-15a and U-15b sides,  on Friday.   With all but one of the senior Under 15s available this week for the Cup matches we look forward to another good week for the U-15s.

Pannal 2  168-1 (45 overs)  1pt

SRCC2  169-8 (40.5 overs)  5pts   WON by 2 wkts

After a week of tough decisions on the selection front, a very strong XI turned up to play unbeaten, top of the table Pannal 2. Bionic & Mrs Bionic put in the hours preparing the wicket (very much appreciated) with Chris away on holiday.  Skipper won the toss and stuck them in with the hope that (a) they may underscore not knowing what a good score was and (b) we would know exactly what we needed.  The wicket played well, and they batted well.  We stuck at it and it was great to see the young spin twins in tandem for a long time.  All bowled well and kept them down to 168-1, which we felt was someway short of a winning total.  Bionic only needed one toilet break, although sadly no portaloo had been placed under the tree – come on committee – give the old man a break!We made a poor start as Pannal, who are not top for nothing, bowled well.  At 51-6 after 23 it looked a long haul.  The umpire asked the departing skipper to check what the 2/3rds total was (for the point), but skipper said the target was 169 and we would get it as we bat all the way down.  Gary Nic came in and had a go.  He built a crucial partnership with mini-Coad who scored 28 off 29 in a partnership of 72 in 8 overs!  Gary kept going and was joined by Bionic batting at 10 with 38 still needed.  They saw it home with Gary finishing with 75 off 60 balls. This was yet another epic victory for the 2s that has pulled Pannal 2 back at the top of the table.  This is a tough division and we have now had 5 very tight matches of our 6 completed games (but we won 4 of those 5).  We are still not in a promotion position but if we keep winning it will happen.  We are on track for 88 points at present which would surely be enough.As the tension had mounted, skipper received an important phone call from the 3s skipper who had news to report from Marton.  Once the call was over, he jumped in Mrs Jacko’s Merc convertible to come and share his news further.  With a grin like a Cheshire cat, he talked us through his 12-7-17-7 career best bowling figures.

   Well Mrs Jackson, at least the Cheshire Cat will be 300 miles away in Taunton for most of the week and will not be able to talk you through every ball all week.

This weekend the Studley U-15a side were without the services of Ben Coad and George Lamb who were both away on Yorkshire duties.   Keeper Flintoff, opening bowler Joe Ainscough and all-rounder Jack Illingworth were also away for the half term holiday leaving Angus Shaw leading a very young side in the local derby against Galphay and Winksley.   Shaw won the toss and opted to bat first putting on 157 for the loss of 1 wicket off 22 overs.   Three batsman retired: Kimber on 39, Robinson on 36 and Stuart on 31.   Shaw was well caught on 19 and Glatman was also in the runs with 19 at the end of the innings.   Rowe bowled economically going for only 25 off his 5 overs.   In reply Galphay and Winksley scored 116 for 4 off 22 overs with Taylor the pick of the batsman retiring on 35.   Shaw used eight bowlers with young Tom Bailey achieving the best figures with 2 for 12 off 2 overs.  Harry Lamb and Finn Hassal had a wicket each and Joe Pearman, Will Shaw and Ben Evans also bowled well.   Next Sunday sees the final match of the first half of the season at home to Knaresborough.

Markington 84-8 (16 overs)

SRCC 2 88-1 (9.6 overs)

WON by 9 wkts

An easy win for a strong 2s team in the cup.  Bowling and fielding was tight, with top Doc (4-26) and miniCoad (3-14) taking the headlines.  Lewis and Choppy got us off to a good start, and when Choppy went for 18, Phil (17*) saw it home with Lewey (40*).  Next round is Darley or Blubberhouses away next Tuesday in the last 16.

SRCC2s  101 all out (43.3 overs)  5pts      Newby Hall 2s  92 all out (43.1 overs)  1pt     WON by 9 runs  Skipper lost the toss and we were put in on a horrid track that was doing all sorts for the first couple of hours.  Early wickets fell but Choppy Lamb played a very mature innings to hold it together with 33.  He had a good partnership with our legal adviser (playing in regulation kit this week) taking us from 28-4 to 52-4.  More quick wickets fell and by the 33rd over we were 85-9.  Marsie, holding a bat for the first time this season, hung around with Tim who batted very well and took the score to 101 before the last wicket fell in the penultimate over.  Skipper was confident that 100 was defendable as we ate a hearty tea. Mini-Coad and Lewey opened the bowling, but they were 39-1 after 15 overs, and 56-3 after 20.  The Bionic Man (with glued up knee) held up an end and skipper called for Marsie after their no 3 had hit two consecutive 6s over long on.  Josh, fielding in his black socks with a bad foot, said he would catch him.  First ball he launched Marsie and Josh took a great catch having to run in.    The next 14 overs went for just 18 runs as Mr Bionic and Marsie used their experience to tie things up.  74-6 off 34.  Mini-Coad replaced Bionic and took a decisive wicket with a jaffer that came in to bowl their man.  Bionic, having very narrowly avoided being hit on the head as the ball came down from a top edge, picked up the ball to avoid total embarrassment to run out a stubborn Gilly (“ex” SRCC).  Overs were starting to run out for Newby as well as wickets, and mini-Coad bowled another jaffer for the 9th wicket with just 10 to win off 3 overs.  Marsie, who had bowled beautifully took the last wicket with a sky-er to Bionic who decided hands were better than skull.   Having looked in 2nd place for much of the day, we never gave up and the spirit and tenacity of SRCC2 came through for a joyous win and keep up in the promotion race.  We had the worst of the conditions as the wicket eased massively during the game.  Choppy played an excellent innings, with Tim also playing a vital knock.  It was a great team effort in the field, with tight bowling and good fielding with key catches held.  Special mention to miniCoad (10-0-16-3), Bionic (12-8-8-2) and Marsie (11.1-2-21-3), plus good catches from Olly (2), Bionic, Josh and mini-Coad with a diving  effort. 

There is one problem for the club to consider following this epic victory – despite the cost of his body update, Mr Bionic has not had his aging bladder replaced.  Once while batting and once while bowling he had to leave the field to pop to the loo (as did Marsie & our legal adviser).  Perhaps the club committee should consider a nice addition to the New Ground under the tree.

   Tuesday it’s the cup at home, and then top of the table Pannal 2 at home on Saturday.  1s and 3s also won (4s play Sunday) for another great day for SRCC.