Thorp Arch & Boston Spa Cricket Club

TABS start rejuvenating their season

To say the season has stalled more often than a learner driver on their first lesson is an under statement, but with the half way point of the season reached and the 1^st team creeping up the table to 6^th place all is not lost.

TABS won the toss and decided to bat. The wicket had a few demons in them and was looking like a wicket that you needed to be set on to score heavy runs. Hawkswell and Griffiths once again opened the batting but with Hawkswell not troubling the scorers it wasn’t the start the team were after.

Griffiths showed some grit and determination to put on 41 but as the team slumped to 70 for 4 things were looking gloomy. Coley started putting bat to ball and with the game seriously needing a big partnership Jim came to the party and between them scored 182 for the 6^th wicket.

Jim and Mike put on some well paced runs and brought the team in to a match winning position as Mike ended up on 79 and Jim a magnificent 94 not out. The partnership brought the team to 250 for 6 in their 45 overs.

In reply Joshi and Will opened the bowling, Joshi previously taken 8 in his last game we were confident of bowling them out. However it was to be the other half of the dynamic duo that was the shining light. A well planned attack of bowling short on a slow wicket with deep square leg on the boundary once again rescued Will from an embarrassing pull for 6 as it sailed nicely to the safe hands of Darren. I think he can thank his captain for that one.

Some big hitting form Harrogate’s number 5 who scored an unbeaten century brought them inching nearer to the total with balls flying over the houses, but should have been caught 3 times. With runs of plenty it was time for a much needed change of pace. The spin twins Griff and Ben with the flat quick off break from Griff and the loopy leg spin from Ben did the job to slow the run rate and build pressure on the Harrogate middle order.

Will came back in the attack to end up with 4 for 41 who was unlucky not to take his first 5 wicket haul for the Arch when Coley left a thin edge sail for 4! The cries of “Give Jim the gloves” came echoing around the ground (namely form the Turner family).

Harrogate held out with 2 wickets remaining giving TABS a well-deserved winning draw against 3^rd in the table. ONWARDS AND UPWARDS!

TABS first victory in several games was a great team effort - and yet it was really all about one man.

Saurabh Joshi grabbed TABS first 5-wicket haul of the season...and then added 3 more wickets to leave Bubwith wondering just what hit them.  The 1st team's leading wicket taker, now with 22 victims, spent the first half of the match as a spectactor, coming in for the last two overs to pinch a few quick runs that helped TABS post 194-9.  Considering the wicket was greener than the Jolly Green Giant, 194 was a healthy total, largely thanks to 69 from Mike Cole - supported by 47 from Ben Bartlett in a partnership of 111.

Bubwith's reply started in emphatic style, with the hosts racing to 45 without loss. Even at 60-2, TABS were a long way from victory - until Saurabh took over.  The Joshi-show left Bubwith staring at a considerable defeat.  With support from Will Bartlett who took 2 wickets for 23, Joshi finally put the home side out of their misery, ending their innings on 90 runs.  Joshi's figures in the 104-run victory were:

Overs: 11.1
Maidens: 5
Runs: 22
Wides: 0
No Balls: 1
Wickets: 8

The incredible spell of bowling is the best of any bowler in the Hunters League this season...and the best by any TABS player for many years.

Thorp Arch first XI bounced back from the disappointment of coming away with only a losing draw when well placed at Selby, with a morale boosting win against last season’s nemesis Hull YPI CC.

Overnight rain and close conditions saw the opposition win the toss and elect to bowl first. The Arch opening pair of Hawkswell and Griffiths looked comfortable against an under-strength Hull attack, with both batsmen getting off the mark with well struck boundaries before Hawkswell was well caught pulling to square leg. Griffiths soon followed, caught at second slip chasing a wide one. Not the start the captain had ordered.

Darren Shaw, often the saviour of TABS’s top order, looked in good touch negating an attack which, despite the two early breakthroughs, was strangely subdued. A fine partnership with Andy Heaps, elevated to bat at 4 after a watchful knock the previous week, laid the foundations for what was to become a show of power-hitting later on in the innings by the team’s lower middle order.

Both Shaw (66) and Heaps (20) departed having taken the score past the hundred mark, and whilst these wickets sparked a mini-collapse with Bartlett, B and Turner falling cheaply, the home team’s dominance was soon restored. In previous years at 5 wickets down, this team would have buckled, yet with spirits in the camp high, Chris Magee and overseas talent Joshi batted the opposition out of the match.

Magee’s 67, scored at over a run a ball, was the highlight of the afternoon and with several balls hit out of the ground, Hull’s captain was left to rue the simple chance that was spurned when Magee was dropped in deep during the early stages of his innings. Able support was offered by Joshi (27), who capitalised on some loose bowling and struck several maximums, with the home team finishing on a respectful 238-8, a 6 hit off the final ball of the innings rubbing salt into the wounds of a desperate Hull attack.

Following a fine lunch provided by Andy Heaps and Jill Sandwich, Hull started their pursuit of the 30 points in a hurry, with a 6 hit off the first ball of the match. Any hopes of what may have been a record run chase were soon dismissed with man of the match Joshi (4-22) removing both openers, leg before and bowled respectively.

Little resistance was offered by the visiting side, with a fine one handed catch at second slip by Griffiths, off the bowling of Bartlett, almost certainly already a contender for catch of the season. A mention must be saved for Ben Preston, whose impressive one wicket spell broke the only partnership of any note, opening the door for the home team to press on for the victory. This was duly sealed by Joshi during his second spell with some destructive wicket to wicket bowling.

A fine team victory for the lads and now three wins out of three at home. Not only does this victory confirm the dominance enjoyed at home so far this season, but highlights the strength in depth which will be needed on a weekly basis to ensure that the 1^st XI clinch promotion this season.

Author: A. Griffiths