Arthington 1st XI – 107/3 16.5 overs	104 all out – Burn 1st XI 34.4 overs
Umar Farooq: 30* Naveed Andrabi: 23	Naveed Piran: 10-3-23-5 Inam Piran: 2.4-2-4-3

 

After two victories decided by spin, pace bowling was back in a big way for Arthington for their trip to Burn as they doused any hopes of a Burn victory on the field via a clinical display with the ball. Arthington’s captain Naveed Andrabi did not get his way at the toss as the visitors were asked to bowl first, nor did much go Arthington’s way for the first ten overs as both the captain and Umar Farooq were unable to take early wickets, though scoring was kept to a minimum.

 

The stage was set for Naveed Piran, whose entrance earned him a wicket in his first over when the opener’s stumps were splattered. There then followed a lull, lasting nearly ten overs again, where Burn’s second-wicket partnership was accumulating runs but this was undone by Brahm Singh, who took wickets in consecutive overs to bring the game back in the away side’s favour.

 

With the door very definitely ajar, Piran barged through it like an angry customer at the dealership whose new car had broken down after 50 yards, taking four wickets in the final three overs of his ten-over spell and conceding just four runs in the process. The remaining opener was first to go thanks to a catch by Ritankar Chakraborty, another catch by wicketkeeper Himanshu Satyawan assisted in the third, before Piran dismantled the stumps twice more to complete an outstanding five-wicket haul.

 

At the other end, Rahul Khode and Prateek Sangwan had each bowled two-over spells without affecting the wickets column, but the latter’s efforts would retain relevance upon completion of the match. With one Piran’s overs used up, what better than to replace him with a younger version, as Inam Piran took over from his brother and returned equally impressive figures, removing the final three wickets in fewer than three overs as the assault on the home side’s stumps continued: Two bowled and an LBW. Burn all out for 105 after 34.4 overs.

 

In reply, it could be argued that Arthington’s batsmen were a little complacent in pursuit of a small total. Hari Krishan lost his wicket with just three runs scored which allowed Himanshu Satyawan to come out swinging, striking two fours and two sixes for his 21 runs before he was caught in the outfield from just his twelfth ball faced. Naveed Andrabi adopted a similar approach, bludgeoning 4 fours and a six for his 23, before he, too, was caught for 23 with a strike rate well over 100.

 

Umar Farooq along with the calming presence of the remaining opener Ahmer Sadiq then combined for an unbeaten 45 runs to ease Arthington over the line in the 17th over. However, it seems Burn took exception to substitute fielder Prateek Sangwan being allowed to bowl his two-over, wicketless spell, complained to the league and the result is likely to be overturned in favour of the hosts as, ultimately, rules were broken in allowing someone a bit more of a game. Either way, Arthington are still top of the league but it may end up being closer than they would like.

 

Next week, the 1st XI host Church Fenton at the ACG.

2nd XI summary – Home against Spofforth

Arthington 2nd XI – 119/3 22.5 overs	118 all out – Spofforth 1st XI 28.3 overs
Alex O’Neil: 52 Umer Khan: 24	Joe Seaborne: 8.3-2-21-3 Luke Seaborne: 8-1-36-3

After the previous week’s washout, Arthington’s 2nd XI continued their apparent new-found form with a victory against third place Spofforth, marking the first time they have achieved back-to-back wins all season.

 

For the first time in five matches, Arthington’s captain Luke Seaborne won the toss and decided to bowl first. The opening bowling pair of Joe Seaborne and Riaz Piran soon got to work as Seaborne got a ball to move sharply in to the right-handed opener who shouldered arms, allowing the ball to crash into his stumps. Seaborne then had a hand, or rather two, in the next wicket with a terrific diving catch to his right at slip to give Piran his first dismissal. Two then became three as Piran unseated the bails and the demolition of the Spofforth top order was complete when another slip catch was held by Luke Seaborne to give brother Joe his second of the day.

 

The Spofforth middle and lower order did perform better than their top order teammates and managed five double-figure scores between them, but wickets still fell at regular intervals. Luke Seaborne managed his first via a catch behind from Steve Potter and Zaid Anwar’s return to the bowling ranks was rewarded with a wicket thanks to a well-held, high catch above his head by Gareth Meredith, who had run in from mid-off.

 

Seaborne’s luck was not particularly on his side as he saw two simple chances dropped at mid-off but he was able to make another key breakthrough with a leg-stump yorker to remove the batsman who had remained unbeaten in the earlier meeting between the two sides and had assisted in a Spofforth victory. Alex O’Neil was then pivotal in the next two dismissals, taking catches at cover from the bowling of Zaid Anwar and a catch at mid-wicket to give Luke Seaborne his third of the innings. The Arthington captain then turned catcher, again at slip, to help Joe Seaborne take the final wicket of the impressive Aidan Oliver, who top-scored for the visitors with 28. Spofforth all out for 118 in the 29th over.

 

In reply, Alex O’Neil, with a significant assist from extras, scored the bulk of a 70-run opening partnership between him and Umer Khan. O’Neil’s innings was calculated and satisfying mix of solid defence and powerful hitting and he reached his fifty after striking 7 fours and 3 sixes, two of which went a good distance into the field beyond the playing area. However, no sooner had he reached the landmark was he dismissed after mistiming a shot into the leg-side to be easily caught at mid-wicket for 52.

 

Steve Potter was undone by spin soon after to become the second Arthington wicket but Khan and Aditya Khatua combined nicely to inch the hosts towards the target. Khan had only been on three runs when the first wicket had fallen, but he got his scoring game going after that though ended his innings in unfortunate fashion on 24 when he chased a very wide ball, which he mishit horribly to provide a simple chance for the cover fielder.

 

Khatua and Gareth Meredith scored the remaining runs with no further damage and secured a much-needed 20-point victory for Arthington who still find themselves in the bottom two but have made good ground on the teams above. Next week they travel to Lofthouse & Middlesmoor, the only side below them in the table.