Arthington 1st XI – 226/3 42.2 overs	224 all out –Studley Royal 1st XI 48.2 overs
Hari Krishan: 65 Naveed Andrabi: 46	Sourav Chandolia: 12.2-0-47-3 Naveed Andrabi: 12-2-42-2

After a couple of successive victories, Arthington’s 1st XI took their impressive form on the road where they took on Studley Royal in a 3rd vs 4th contest in the Yorkshire Premier League West division. Despite winning the toss, Arthington captain Naveed Andrabi opted to bowl first, clearly feeling like a chase was the best chance of victory, particularly as that was the winning recipe for their opponents in the reverse fixture at the ACG on the opening day of the season.

 

Sourav Chandolia struck early after a catch by Himanshu Satyawan and took the second wicket shortly after, via an LBW. The other opening bowler, Naveed Piran, then got in on the act to dismantle the poles and leave the hosts at 27/3. Studley Royal did see off the opening pair, but the change bowling of Usama Shahid had an immediate impact when the remaining opener also saw his bails hit the turf.

 

The score was just shy of three figures by the time the fifth wicket fell after a bit of a revival. Naveed Andrabi benefitted from a catch by Abdul Saboor. But the home side’s Ethan Roberts had played himself in by this stage and would go on to play an excellent innings from the middle order. While he got the better of the Arthington bowling, however, another wicket fell to leave the score 110/6 and with Studley on the brink of a meagre total. A 64-run partnership for the seventh wicket put the hosts back in the fight with Roberts doing the bulk of the scoring. The partnership was only broken by a run out by wicketkeeper Harsh Patel, with the bowlers unable to break through.

 

The dismissal was repeated a few overs later when Usama Shahid’s accurate throw also brought about a wicket with Naveed Andrabi given the simple task of removing the bails. The milestone of 200 was reached in the closing stages but immediately followed by a second wicket for the Arthington captain following a catch by Naveed Piran. A final flurry of runs brought the home side to 224 but Roberts finally lost his wicket, just three runs short of a century, to bring the innings to a close. Sourav Chandolia was responsible via a caught and bowled, taking him up to three wickets in the match.

 

Having scored over 400 in recent weeks, a different approach was needed to reach the target on this occasion, but perhaps not from Harsh Patel who played his role at the top of the order in predictable, explosive fashion, allowing Arthington to get off to a fast start. His 28-run cameo came from just 16 balls including 4 fours and a six but he was ultimately bowled with the score on 41.

 

Hari Krishan and Naveed Andrabi did then knuckle down and added 91 runs for the second wicket. There was very little pressure to score quickly, allowing the pair to take minimal risks but still putting bad balls away when required. Andrabi was the second Arthington wicket to fall, having made 46, when he was caught. His innings contained five boundaries.

 

Twenty runs later and with the league’s leading run-scorer Himanshu Satyawan at the crease, Krishan lost his wicket via another catch off the bowling of Ethan Roberts who was the star player for Studley Royal with bat and ball having also dismissed the Arthington captain earlier. Krishan’s 65 included 7 fours and a six. There was to be no more joy for the home side though as Satyawan’s 41 from 30 balls and a 33-run cameo from Abdul Saboor was able to see the visitors over the finish line in the 43rd over. with both players finding frequent boundaries. Arthington won by seven wickets.

 

With victory and following a defeat by Colton Institute at the hands of league leaders Beckwithshaw, the race for second place has gotten more intense. Realistically, Arthington still need to win all of their remaining games, including fixtures against the top two, but this convincing victory away from home was an excellent start to the run-in. Six games remain in the league season. Next week the 1st XI host Bolton Percy at the ACG.

2nd XI summary – Home against Pannal

 

Arthington 2nd XI – 164/3 33.1 overs	160 all out – Pannal 2nd XI 36.4 overs
Umer Khan: 65 Nirav Patel: 35*	Zaid Anwar: 6-0-22-2 Nirav Patel: 5-1-23-2

 

The Arthington 2nd XI have been enjoying a sequence of victories that has not been seen since the division seven and eight days, having recorded six wins in a row, the latest of which came against mid-table Pannal. Arthington captain Luke Seaborne won the toss and surprised his Pannal counterpart by opting to bowl first, so much so that confirmation was required upon their return to the dressing room.

 

However, despite the confusion, the decision was a good one as Nirav Patel struck early with the new ball, first via a bizarre catch by Ahmer Sadiq at cover who had appeared to drop the ball mid-air first of all but regained control of it as he fell to the ground before the ball could touch the floor. Patel needed no acrobatic assistance for his second wicket when an LBW was awarded as the ball was destined to rattle the timbers.

 

Not to be outdone, Joe Seaborne then took the next two Pannal wickets to continue his excellent run with the ball. His first came via a glove behind to wicketkeeper Dave Howard who did brilliantly well to hold on to a diving catch to his left following the redirected bouncer. Seaborne then breached the defences of the left-handed opener when an in-swinging ball crashed into the top of the off-stump. His two wickets in the match mean he becomes the top wicket-taker in division four with 25 so far this season.

 

The change bowling of Zaid Anwar and Javed Akakhail brought no relief to the visitors either, with Anwar taking wickets in his spell via catches firstly by Ahmer Sadiq, who seemed to be attracting the ball wherever he went in the field and secondly Nirav Patel, who had dismissed a batsman via a run-out from his position at short cover just a ball before. With Pannal seven wickets down, they were in need of a revival and though it came it was not without a huge stroke of luck when Anwar put down a simple catching chance at mid-on to ensure his bowling partner Akakhail remained wicketless.

 

Pannal’s middle order duo then amassed sixty runs at the crease helping themselves to a few wayward deliveries and keeping out the good ones. The partnership was broken eventually by Muhammad Ali who baited a shot to long-off where Ahmer Sadiq was once again positioned, still wringing his hands from the last catch, but he held on once more.

 

Ali struck again soon after via a sharp catch by Dave Howard behind the stumps and there was even time for captain Luke Seaborne to bring himself on towards the end of the innings. He struck with his fourth ball to remove the final Pannal batsman and end the innings, leaving the away side’s Andrew Tennant stranded on a well-made 43, his side’s top score.

 

Needing just 160 for victory, Arthington were confident, but they were forced into a re-shuffle of their usual batting line-up as Sadiq’s fielding exploits had taken their toll on his right hand. Martin Dickinson opened the batting in his place along with the reliable Umer Khan and the pair put on a faultless 114-run partnership at the top of the order.

 

At drinks, the score was 90/0 with the hosts in total control and Khan passed his fifty with one of several boundaries struck during his knock. An economical bowling change finally produced a spell of pressure which told for Dickinson having reached 32 from 79 deliveries. His defences were breached and his bails unseated. He scored 6 fours in his changed batting position. An admirable knock. 

 

His opening partner Khan soon followed him back to the pavilion for a superb 65. His attempted pull shot into the leg-side was mistimed and easily caught at square-leg. His innings included 11 fours and a six. There was one more piece of joy for Pannal as Steve Potter failed to keep out a stumps-bound delivery but the damage had been done early and allowed an aggressive Nirav Patel to smash the remaining runs to all parts of the ground during his 35-run cameo that contained 3 fours and 3 sixes.

 

Ahmer Sadiq, who had come out to bat at number five, was largely a spectator to the carnage as the hosts reached the target with seven overs to spare. The victory moves Arthington to 2nd in the table, scarcely believable after their initial record of 4 wins and 5 losses. Since that point they have not suffered defeat and will look to chase down league leaders Walton Park, against whom they still have a fixture in September. Next up for Arthington is a trip to Bishop Thornton, who proved a stern test in the reverse fixture that ended in defeat.