YGCC vs Little Valley Match Report Sunday 12 September 2021
Match Manager Phil Holland lost the toss after trying extremely hard to convince the opposition we bat first, wink wink. Returning to the pavilion with his tail between his legs, the team did not fail to make their voices known in the usual YGCC spirit.
Little Valley made a good start with their opening batsman McCambridge dispatching YGCC at regular intervals in an unconventional batting style. Not conceding to the Little Valley batting attack, a change in bowling was the trick to dispatch McCambridge for 34 runs by bowling maestro Salman Syed. Little Valley continued to pile on the runs, notably Schofield 37 and Ackroyd 31 but regular bowling changes enabled YGCC to chip away at their batting order with James Van Der Merwe racking up 3/44, Harry Dunham 2/22 and Salman Syed 2/25.
Little Valley were eventually bowled out for 188 after 50 overs leaving YGCC a bit of a mountain to climb due to September daylight hours. David O’Kelly (82 Not out) and Geoffrey Barker made a slow but consistent start to the second innings when Geoffrey was eventually dismissed for 52. Prior to Jason Dale going out to bat, he warmed up with promising junior Devon Landy (Age 6) bowling at him. Psyching himself up to increase the run rate and his intense chant, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah” he managed a quickfire 21 running batting partner David O’Kelly ragged. Enter batsman supreme, James Van Der Merwe (11 Not out) winning the match with a well struck 4 in the last over, settling the nerves of his fellow players and spectators.
The afternoon was concluded with another “Braai” or BBQ to the unseasoned, raising a further £12.50 from the, not so honesty pot, making a total profit of £104.50. Special thanks to the organisers Phil Holland, Jason Dale and their families. Not to mention, Jeremy Phillips, Paul White, Gerhard Landy and all the other club members who offered their help and support to make the BBQs successful. Special thanks must also go to Paul White for another full season of scoring and managing the club, Nigel Bartram and Mike Apparicio for tireless ground and pitch maintenance and the YGCC committee for overseeing the 2021 season. Hope to see everyone again in the 2022 season.
Match Report by Phil Holland
Thank-you Phil for the wonderful match report. You were being far too modest about your writing capabilities. Great to finish the season on a winning note.
The YG 100 Club Lottery
Owing to the fact we are having no Sportsman Dinner this season Mike Apparicio conducted the second major draw for the club Lottery after the match last Sunday. The lucky winner were as follows:
July (18) Will Blackhurst - £30-00
Aug (21) Guy Brumfield - £30-00
Sep (44) - Will Hammond - £30-00
Oct (112) - Callum Puttock - £30-00
Nov (38) Richard Exley -£30-00
Dec - Bonanza (16) Geoff Barker. The Xmas Bonanza payment is £250.
Congratulations to all the above and to Geoff Barker who takes home the big one!!!! That’s a decent prize. The Lottery has proved to be a big success since its revamp. We look forward to additional members to it in 2022.
A full end of season report will be compiled and sent out with a newsletter in the coming weeks, but for now thank-you to all those who have participated, helped and watched the cricket at Escrick this season.