YG's play back to back Sundays at Ampleforth

YG’s in the field during a drinks break against Old Amplefordians

YG’s in the field during a drinks break against Old Amplefordians

YG’s V Emerit XI - 23rd May

Alex Bindloss sends in his match reports from the games. First up is the club’s game against the Emeriti XI on the 23rd May.

The Yorkshire Gentlemen travelled to Ampleforth to face the Emeriti this Sunday. It was a cold windy day up in the hills and a very damp outfield thanks to Saturdays rain. Runs were tricky to come by in this low scoring affair.

The Gents side was captained by David O'Kelly. The Gents batted first and the captain himself was forced to leave the field after being struck in the head by a sharp bouncer in the second over. Things didn't improve for the Gents as Rutter removed 3 in his opening spell leaving us on 22-3 after 11. Salman Syed and Pradeep Bas started a slow rebuilding job and survived to the 20th over. When Pradeep departed the score still only on 48. Syed fell for a top score on the day of 29, the next top scorer for the gents was extras (24).

Some useful contributions down the order from Dewi Winkle, Rich Exley and Alex Bindloss gave the gents a score of 125. A low total but one which the Gents captain felt could be defended on this tricky surface.

No batsman dominated at any stage of the day and this continued into the Emeriti innings.

Wickets for Alex Bindloss and Phil Holland in the 3rd and 4th over had the home side 4-2, just the start the Gents needed. The third wicket fell thanks to a very good catch from Charlie O'Kelly but the runs required were already in double figures. Bevan Fawcett was brought on and had immediate success with his first delivery taking a great one handed caught and bowled. He continued to take wickets finishing with 4 and the Emeriti slipped to 48-8. The ninth fell with the score on 69. This left the Emeriti final pair needing 57 to win. Thanks to economical bowling, the run rate moved just above 6 for the first time but the pair were playing well and both moved into the 20s. (The two top scorers for the Emeriti coming from their numbers 10 and 11).

Having guided themselves past the 100 mark they only needed 26 from the final 6 overs. But their efforts were in vain as the Emeriti captain perished, caught on the boundary by Exley off the bowling of Pradeep. An impressive final partnership, (the biggest of the match) shifting the pressure back onto the Gents in a thoroughly entertaining match.

YG’s V The Old Amplefordians - 30th May

The Yorkshire Gentlemen took on the Old Amplefordians this Sunday on seemingly the first true day of summer. It was a misty morning at Ampleforth and the dew stuck around on the outfield for a while despite the hot sun shining throughout the day. This was also the first timed fixture of the season. Hopefully as more restrictions are lifted we will have many more timed games as the season commences.

The Gents were asked to field and it took 15 overs before they first struck. The score was only on 24 thanks to tight spells from Alex Bindloss (6 overs for 3) and Kalpesh (5 overs for 9). It was Chris Stride who found the break through and he continued to cause trouble as he took 4 wickets in his first 4 overs, (including YG's member Bevan Fawcett for a first ball duck! Two further wickets fell and the home side were struggling on 55-6 when lunch was taken. A superb session for the Gents after being put into the field on a hot day. After lunch Fitzherbert and Maclellan rebuild the home sides innings putting on 61 before Bindloss removed them both in his second spell. They fell for 43 and 38 respectively. Good cameos from Prest (37) and Butler (23) took The Old Amplefordians to 197 before they were bowled out in the 61st over.

This gave the Gents a short 50 minute session before tea. One wicket fell in the 17 overs bowled, the Gents only making it to 17 with 11 maidens bowled in this period. After tea the Gents set about scoring the remaining 180 runs needed, while David O'Kelly went about building his innings, numbers 3 and 4, Rich Exley and Kalpesh looked to up the scoring. They both made 22 and 24 as the gents put their foot on the gas. Salman Syed came to the crease and with O'Kelly they took the runs required to double figures.

With 10 overs to go just 64 were needed with 7 wickets still in hand. 48 were needed when O'Kelly fell for 67. This slowed the scoring down but Phil Holland came and hit a mighty six while scoring well along side Salman. With 13 were requited of the final over, Salman reached his 50 but then perished in the boundary next ball. 10 were required of the final 2 balls but the YG’s could not get over the line, leading to the first drawn game of the season. The Gents falling 8 runs short of victory.

Thanks once again to Alex for his match reports. They are much appreciated. We hope you enjoy reading them. Great to see the sun shining at Ampleforth last Sunday.

YG’s V Collingham and Linton — Sunday 6th June Cancelled.

Sadly if you were hoping to make it to Escrcik for this Sunday’s match against Collingham and Linton - Sunday 6th June, it has had to be called off owing to the opposition needing to play a cup tie postponed due to poor weather last month. Fixture Secretary Bill Dalton had hoped to find a replacement fixture but to no avail.

The YG’s next play on Wednesday 9th June against York University. More warm sunny weather please.

Denied by the rain....maybe! YG's v The Hawks

A Yorkshire Gentlemen team managed by Jeremy Phillips took on The Hawks this Sunday.

Rich Exley bowling from the pavilion end.

Rich Exley bowling from the pavilion end.

On field captain David O'Kelly lost the toss and after some time deliberating the opposition decided to bat. This proved to be an error as Phil Holland tore through the Hawks top order securing 4 wickets in his 6 over spell. This was helped by some smart catching from Jack Cooper in gully and a spectacular catch by Rich Exley who looked to have badly misjudged it when the ball went high in the air but somehow managed to pull out a one handed diving catch, most definitely catch of the season so far and strong contender for the rest of the season too.

The Gents were met with some resistance from F.Scott (22) and Charlie Parker (38) but these were the only two batsmen to pass double figures for the visitors. Two wickets for Salman Syed and Dewi Winkle and a good run out from Alex Bindloss to remove top scorer Parker and the Hawks fell away, all out for 96.

The Gents reply only lasted 19 balls before the rain came down heavily and forced the game to be abandoned. An unfortunate end to a game which the Gents were favourites to win.

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The Hawks are a very sociable team and the early curtailment of the match was an opportunity for them to enjoy an extra drink.

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Congratulations to Salman Syed and James Van de Merwe who were awarded their club caps during the match by David O’Kelly. Both players have put in consistently strong performances since playing for the club and became full playing members from this season. The embracing of younger talent is an important part of the clubs ambitions. We look forward to them playing for the YG’s on a regular basis.

Sheffield Uni Staff match goes to the wire.

Sheffield University staff visited Escrick Park in a game which went down to the final ball of the game. The Yorkshire Gentlemen managed by Jeremy Phillips were captained by Jason Dale on the field.

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David O'Kelly and new member Callum Puttock opened the batting together, Puttock hit a flat six in a short but sweet innings and David was ran out for the third time in 6 games as the gents got off to a sluggish start. It was a warm day but with the huge amount of rain from Saturday and cloudy overhead conditions runs were not easy to score quickly. Joe Biggs (39) and Jason Dale looked to rebuild, the captain fell with the score on 52. New man Oli Arikichenin struggled to rotate strike but was able to occupy the crease alongside Biggs to take the score to 85. This brought in Salman Syed (38) who similarly to the previous week brought some impetus the the innings and shared a useful 68 run partnership. The innings ended on 158 for 6. Match manager Jeremy Phillips was satisfied with the total but would have liked another 12 runs to feel confident his side could bring home victory.

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Tight opening spells from Bindloss and Holland ensured SUS got off to a slow start. Dale was immediately rewarded with his first bowling change as Pradeep struck in his first over and in his third bowled a wicket maiden. Puttock claimed his maiden wicket for the club and then another bowling changed paid off instantly with O'Kelly getting his first wicket of the season. Biggs one of the main stays of the Gents batting innings contributed well in the filed with a smart run out and SUS were struggling at 71-5. Opening batsman J. Chisholm was still at the crease however and was proving a thorn the the Gents side, he passed 50 and after finding some support from B. Kidner (25) looked to be leading his side to victory. O'Kelly finished his superb spell of 8-1-18-1 which could have been better if Chrisholm wasn't dropped in his final over.

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Holland returned and once again the bowling changes worked as he immediately removed the opener for a well made 63. Luckily for the Gents the drop catch wasn't costly, it was in fact a brilliant catch taken by Biggs this time around. This was a crucial wicket but it didn't halt SUS charge for victory, 42 required of the last 5 overs meant anything could happen. 3 wickets fell in 3 overs but a series of boundaries from no.8 C. Ramsay (24*) meant 14 was requited from the final over. Holland started with a dot ball but a single off the second brought Ramsay back on strike, he was able to connect well with all the balls he faced but couldn't find the boundary. This left 6 needed off the final ball to tie the match. Ramsay was unable to achieve this and the Gents claimed a 3 run victory in a thoroughly enjoyable tense game of cricket.

Man of the match: Joe Biggs

Alex Bindloss

YG's beaten in season opener

The Yorkshire Gentlemen started their 2021 season with a 40 over game against Woodhouse Grange Academy. The team featured many regular faces from the previous season and was captained by Phil Holland.

The toss was won by the visitors who chose to bat. The Gents started off well, reducing Woodhouse to 43-3 after 11 overs. This brought J.Basson and J.Atkinson (31) together, the pair shared a 75 partnership finding the boundary regularly and at one point looked like taking to the score well past 200. Captain Phil Holland brought himself on in the 28th over and took 3-28 turning the innings around by claiming the crucial wicket of J.Basson (74). Woodhouse eventually posted 180-8 from their allotted 40 overs. A good all round performance from the Gents - 6 of the 7 bowlers used taking wickets and only 35 runs coming from the final 10.

The YG’s side against Woodhouse Grange Academy

The YG’s side against Woodhouse Grange Academy

In reply the Gents two leading run scorers from last season, David O'Kelly and Jason Dale, opened up but sadly couldn't replicate that form. They passed 50 in the 18th over despite being only two down the pressure to score runs started to be felt by the batsmen, the home side went from 65-2 to 79-7 in the space of 7 overs, a collapse they couldn't recover from. Eventually ending the innings on 114-9, with David O'Kelly top scoring with 30. A disappointing 66 run loss to start the summer.

Match Report by

Alex Bindloss

Let’s hope the YG’s can get back to winning ways in this busy start to the season. The team have three more fixtures this week, including Scarborough College - away on the 28th, Leeds University on the 30th (Home) and York Wanderers (Home) on Sunday - 2nd May. Whilst supporters are not permitted at Scarborough CC it would be wonderful to see some members down at Escrick to support the team over the bank holiday weekend.

Important Notice - Match v Scarborough College 28th April

The Yorkshire Gentlemen are playing Scarborough College this Wednesday - 28th April. We have just learnt that Scarborough CC is classed as a stadium and therefore they cannot allow any spectators in the ground under current COVID regulations. Many apologies if you were hoping to come and support the team as you will not now be permitted to attend. Please do pass this information on to all who may have been contemplating a visit. It would be a real shame for anyone to make an unnecessary journey. Good luck to the team as we look to record our first win of the season. We will make sure we give a full match report from the game.