Arthington 1st XI – 189 all out 40.5 overs	188 all out – Church Fenton 1st XI 42.4 overs
Hari Krishan: 61 Himanshu Satyawan: 49	Umar Farooq: 12-4-34-4 Inam Piran: 12-1-37-3

Arthington were involved in a thriller against Church Fenton, which saw the visitors secure victory by a solitary run to extend their unbeaten start to the 2025 season to five matches. Captain Sajid Hussain won the toss and elected to bat first but things quickly got worse for the stand-in skipper as he was caught behind without scoring.

Useful partnerships for the second and third Arthington wickets got the score to a healthier state as Ahmer Sadiq contributed 25 to a 49-run stand with Hari Krishan before he also edged behind, which allowed Himanshu Satyawan to join Krishan at the crease and amass 49 of the 58 runs that their combination provided, adding 7 fours and 2 sixes before he was bowled just one run short of a quickfire fifty.

Wickets then fell at regular intervals with nobody other than Krishan able to endure for any great length of time. The Church Fenton bowlers kept things tight and bowled with great accuracy at the stumps as the next three dismissals proved: Two bowled and one LBW. After Rahul Khode rewarded the Church Fenton wicketkeeper with his third catch, Krishan was swiftly running out of partners, but his attempts to add to the total as the supply of overs ran thin ended in his demise: A caught and bowled to the home side’s Andrew Kelly, to complete his five-wicket haul. Krishan’s knock of 61 included 9 fours and had provided a solid base for the rest of Arthington’s batsmen to work around.

Only three runs were added for the final wicket to see Arthington bowled out for 189, no doubt some way short of where they had hoped to be after electing to bat first. 

There was immediate elation for Arthington in the fielding innings, however, as Umar Farooq removed the opening batsman with his very first delivery, thanks to a catch by Kamrosh Khan. Only a few overs later, Farooq struck again, this time Naveed Piran providing the safe pair of hands. After the opening spells of the pace bowlers were concluded, spin was introduced and Brahm Singh continued his bountiful season with the ball to break an emerging 31-run partnership for Church Fenton’s third wicket; Piran again with the catch.

The chase continued to ebb and flow. Wickets certainly did not fall at regular intervals, but they did enough to keep the home side in check. Partnerships of 29 runs for the fourth wicket followed by 35 runs for the fifth were both brought to a close by Inam Piran via a catch off his own bowling before adjusting the batsman’s furniture behind him. There was then a significant moment, provided by the returning Umar Farooq when he induced an edge behind to Himanshu Satyawan to remove the remaining opener, Martin Charlton, who had just reached a determined half-century via a six. 

At the end of the 32nd over, the visitors realised that they were going to have to bowl out their hosts to stand a chance of victory. The equation necessitated that Church Fenton score 56 runs in 13 overs: not an impossible task by any means. 35 runs later, no further wickets had fallen and it seemed the home side were cruising to the finish line. Inam Piran brought Arthington back into contention via a catch behind and after just three more runs had been scored, Umar Farooq unseated the bails for his fourth wicket of the afternoon. 17 runs to win with two wickets remaining; the overs remaining were almost an irrelevance at this point. There was plenty of time. 

An ill-judged piece of running brought about the ninth wicket as a quick thinking Satyawan threw down the stumps but some fine control of the strike meant that the home side’s number eleven had faced only one delivery in the time that number ten Chris Foxton had struck another two balls to the boundary to bring Church Fenton within one run of a tie. Then, the decisive moment, delivered by Brahm Singh as the ball was struck back towards him and he held on for a good catch. The hosts all out for 188, giving Arthington the victory by one run. A superb match. 

The victory gives Arthington a bit of breathing room at the top of the Division 1 Ebor table, as the only unbeaten side. The games come thick and fast though, as they faced a home fixture against Drax CC just two days later on Bank Holiday Monday. 

1st XI summary – Home against Drax 

Arthington welcomed back their captain Andrabi for the match against a mid-table Drax CC. The home side’s skipper lost the toss, however, but likely got his desired outcome when Arthington were put in to bat. 

Ahmer Sadiq and Rahul Khode, promoted to number three, were early victims, but Sajid Hussain at least improved on his duck two days prior, by making 15 runs at the top of the order. After his dismissal, however, it was time for a masterclass in hitting from Arthington’s two left-handed run-getters. It seems odd to describe Andrabi’s innings, at a strike rate of 114, as the anchor role of a 163-run partnership, but he really did play second fiddle to Himanshu Satyawan who, after a steady start, bludgeoned his way to a century in fewer than 70 deliveries, including several overs of more than 20 runs. The Arthington number five hit 8 fours and 9 sixes on his way to another batting milestone before he was bowled by the impressive Tom Spetch, who had already helped himself to the first three Arthington wickets. 

Andrabi then took over the scoring mantle in partnership with Umar Farooq. The pair added 45 more runs to the total before Andrabi was bowled for 88 runs from his 77th delivery. His innings included 9 fours and a modest 4 sixes. His dismissal sparked a minor collapse as 256/4 became 257/7 but Farooq and Brahm Singh picked up the tail-end of the innings with more boundary striking. 

Singh seemed like a man possessed as his 18-ball cameo netted him 38 runs: 3 fours and 3 sixes included in his effort. After Naveed Piran and come and gone for 16 after another two sixes, the Arthington innings ran out of overs. The final score: 334/9.

 

Sadly, that was the end of proceedings, as the rain came down during the tea interval and continued, preventing any further play. The match was abandoned and both teams received 4 points.

Arthington still sit on top of the table, but some ground was lost to the chasing pack due to other teams being able to complete their matches. Next week, the 1st XI travel to 7th place Hensall.

2nd XI summary – Home against Newby Hall

Arthington 2nd XI – 125 all out 37.4 overs	168 all out – Newby Hall 1st XI 36.4 overs
Joe Seaborne: 43* Martin Hings: 18	Joe Seaborne: 8.4-1-29-3 Luke Seaborne: 7-2-29-3

At the ACG, Arthington’s 2nd XI suffered another defeat at the hands of Newby Hall. With rain in the air and a wicket that was a bit damp in places, Arthington captain Luke Seaborne opted to bowl first.

The decision seemed vindicated in the early stages after a Joe Seaborne delivery held up slightly in the pitch and was driven gently by the Newby Hall captain to the waiting hands of Luke Seaborne at mid-off. However, there followed a period of toil for Arthington’s opening bowlers as the visitors amassed 57 runs for the second wicket. Luke Seaborne eventually broke through via a catch by Riaz Piran at mid-on and he struck again in his next over, this time hitting the stumps.

Drinks was reached with the score 99/3, but importantly for the away side, their remaining opening batsman was still at the crease and going along nicely. Seaborne and Martin Hings kept things relatively tight in the overs that followed, so much so, perhaps, that the opener, having passed his fifty felt obliged to take some risks and only succeeded in giving Seaborne his third wicket as the bails toppled once again.

Hings then got in on the act via a good catch at long-on by Joe Seaborne, who ignored the distractions of his skipper converging from cow corner to effect the dismissal but there was then a brief flurry of runs as Hings’ spell ended in expensive fashion, conceding three successive fours in his tenth and final over. 

In a possible farewell appearance, Mohammed Faiyazuddin then had the chance to take a wicket which he duly accepted, again assisted by a superb catch at deep mid-wicket by Joe Seaborne, scooping up the ball just before it hit the Arthington turf. The remaining wickets then fell at regular intervals to conclude the innings. Joe Seaborne and Riaz Piran helped themselves to two each, three times hitting the stumps either side of an assured catch by Will Sparling. Newby Hall were bowled out for 168. 

What optimism Arthington might have had at reaching that total, with a required run-rate of just over four per over was quickly eradicated by a devastating spell of bowling from Newby Hall’s Grant Sievers, who removed all five of Arthington’s top-five batsmen for single figure scores, assisted on three occasions by the wicketkeeper following edges, or indeed gloves, behind, along with a bowled and an LBW. Arthington had little in their armoury to counter the hostile barrage, which also caused a number of injuries along with the early departures. 

Either side of the drinks interval, Joe and Luke Seaborne had the task of rebuilding a collapsed Arthington innings and there did follow a brief period of nearly 8 overs without a wicket as the pair put together a 33-run partnership, the highest of the innings. A loose shot to backward-point from the captain ended what little hope remained and from that point, despite an 18-run cameo from Martin Hings, Joe Seaborne found himself rapidly running out of partners and ultimately, as the last wicket fell, he was left stranded on 43 not out, the only real positive from an otherwise disappointing chase. Arthington all out for 125, losing by 43 runs. 

Next week, the 2nd XI come up against Lofthouse & Middlesmoor at the ACG, which is already shaping up to be a bit of a relegation scrap if early form is to be believed.