1st XI
We entertained Sicklinghall on Saturday which was blisteringly hot! We won the toss and asked them to go first. For the first 20 overs the heat seemed to have got to the batsmen, as they only manage 40 for the loss of two wickets. Captain Charlie Whitehall-Sharkey joined the fray and the reins were loosened. He and opener Andy Wood attacked the bowling. The former made 58 before being run our and the latter made 50. The innings closed on 177-6 with Sam Arkwright taking 3-28, Hammaad Hussain 1-25 and Morgan Davies 1-13.
By contrast our innings was anything but pedestrian. Moshin Saghir hit a fine 62 (9×4 3×6) in an opening stand of 79. His opening partner, Joe Holt, made 34 as the score progressed to 106-2. Skipper Morgan and Sam took the side to the winning post as the former made 49no and the latter 32no.
We garnered 18 points which takes our total to 279. The victory was even better when news filtered through that Sharow had hammered second placed Sessay 3rds who are now 19 points behind us.
2nd XI
The 2nd XI game was called off as early as Monday because Knaresborough Forest 3rds were unable to raise a team! This was a shame as we missed the opportunity to see John “Spoff” Hillary in action. He and wife Wendy are over from New Zealand for a short visit, and he was really looking forward to putting the whites on again. So, 20 points to us. Second placed Pannal 3rds lost to Thirsk 3rds by 1 wicket, whilst Killinghall 2nds move into second place after beating Bishop Monkton 2nds. We are currently 28 points ahead of Killinghall.
Fixtures
Next Saturday the 1st XI make the daunting trip to Lofthouse and Middlesmoor who have good form on their own midding. The 2nd XI face 2nd place Killinghall at Shires Lane on Saturday in a match sponsored by Ann & Peter Horner and Ian Cranston Auto Technicians.
Trevor Coe – ECC Chairman
