Arthington 1st XI – 93 all out 22.3 overs	310 all out –Knaresborough 2nd XI 26 overs
Hari Krishan: 36 Rahul Khode: 25	Umar Farooq: 10-3-26-3 Sourav Chandolia: 10-2-23-1

 

Arthington’s recent run of good form came to a spectacular end when they were soundly beaten at the hands of Knaresborough in a match dominated by the ball despite the hot and dry conditions of this year’s English summer.

 

Hoping to build on impressive batting performances in their latest matches, most notably from Himanshu Satyawan who had struck four consecutive centuries for Arthington in recent weeks, the Arthington 1st XI captain Naveed Andrabi won the toss and opted to bat first. The Arthington innings began poorly with Sajid Hussain offering little resistance for the middle order following a seven-ball duck after a catch behind and Abdul Saboor also fell victim to the same Knaresborough opener a few balls later when his stumps were splayed.

 

41 runs were added for the next wicket in a brief spell of promise for the visitors before the innings completely capitulated as the third wicket was swiftly followed by five more with just seven runs being added in the process as Arthington were reduced to 61/8. Naveed Andrabi was bowled, the previously dominant and near unstoppable force of Himanshu Satyawan was given out LBW for just two runs, Umar Farooq followed in the same fashion from the very next ball and Harsh Patel was caught behind off the next to give the home side’s Joe Sutcliffe a hat-trick.

 

The only real positive at this stage had been a gritty innings played by the returning Hari Krishan who opened the Arthington innings and had reached 36 until his stay at the crease was brought to a close by the Knaresborough captain and opening bowler Tom Baines for his fourth wicket of the match, following a catch. Mubashir Hamdani was then bowled for a solitary run to complete the dismantling of Arthington’s upper batting roster.

 

Two 16-run partnerships then followed for the remaining wickets, which does not seem all that special ordinarily but they were the joint second highest partnerships of the innings, largely thanks to a few boundaries from Rahul Khode who, after Knaresborough’s Joe Sutfliffe had brought up his five-wicket haul in an unbroken eleven-over spell to dismiss Jahahziab Rahim, was the last wicket to fall having reached 24 before an LBW signalled his demise and the end of Arthington’s innings: 93 all out from just 22.3 overs.

 

The away side’s hopes were thin at best upon the resumption of play after the tea break, but they were quickly given a real boost following a truly bizarre start to the home side’s chase that saw them end up on 4/4 in the seventh over. Umar Farooq did the bulk of the damage taking the first three wickets via a catch by Sourav Chandolia, an LBW and unseating the bails. Chandolia then took a wicket himself having been entrusted with the new ball.

 

However, that was the end of the wicket-taking from Arthington as the Knaresborough numbers five and six compiled a 94-run partnership between them including an excellent fifty from Toby Giddings, to see their side through to a victory which had seemed inevitable at the halfway stage but had been put in some doubt after Arthington’s opening salvo.

 

None of the away side’s change bowlers were able to have the same impact as Farooq and Chandolia and several of them proved quite expensive in their short spells in comparison. Knaresborough won the match by six wickets with 24 overs to spare. The defeat for Arthington sees them remain in fourth position in the table but significantly widens the gap between them and the top three, all of whom picked up victories. Any hopes of them securing the title and a promotion likely relies on them not only winning all of their remaining matches but hoping that the teams above them slip up too, both when they play each other and possibly against other teams as well. Though, as eighth place Knaresborough have proven, that threat is always there at the level of competition where the Arthington 1st XI now find themselves.

 

Next week Arthington host South Milford at the ACG.

 

2nd XI summary – Home against Sessay & Raskelf

Arthington 2nd XI – 274/6 40 overs	211/6 – Sessay & Raskelf 1st XI 40 overs
Luke Seaborne: 62 Ahmer Sadiq: 48	Dougie Jones: 5-0-41-2 Nirav Patel: 8-2-12-1

Arthington’s 2nd XI were in action against Sessay & Raskelf at the ACG looking to reach three consecutive victories for the first time this season, though they were wary of the opposition who had beaten them on the opening day of the campaign in the reverse fixture. Conditions amid a nationwide July heatwave were slightly different to those of early April, however, and although Arthington batted first on this occasion as well it was their own choice this time when captain Luke Seaborne won the toss.

 

Ahmer Sadiq and Aditya Khatua opened the batting for the hosts and got off to a brisk start. In the fifth over, however, a short-pitched ball caught Khatua in the chin causing an injury and he took no further part in the match. Though technically not a wicket, Arthington had effectively lost a batsman and with the very next ball they had lost a second when Steve Potter, eager to get bat on ball after a golden duck in his last outing, prodded at a full, wide ball and played onto his own stumps.

 

Martin Dickinson was next to the crease and there he would remain for nearly thirty overs as he anchored the Arthington innings. His partner Sadiq continued his fine run-scoring form at the other end and amassed the bulk of the runs in their 70-run partnership though the number of extras also contributed significantly and would do so throughout the innings.

 

Shortly after the first drinks break at the 15-over mark, Sadiq got a small amount of glove down the leg-side and was caught by the keeper, though after a half-hearted appeal and no movement from the umpire a less honest man might have gotten away with it. Sadiq made 48 including 8 fours and a six. Nirav Patel replaced him at the crease on the back of a quickfire 48 and an unbeaten 94 in his last two innings. Things did not quite go according to plan this time, however, as he skewed a trademark drive down the ground to cover instead for a simple catch.

 

Ritankar Chakraborty had more success and combined for 73 runs alongside Dickinson, hitting some nice shots along the way including two towering sixes to the shorter leg-side boundary on the pavilion side of the ground. An attempt to play a shot in a similar direction ultimately brought about his demise as he mistimed the ball and offered a simple catching chance to mid-wicket.

 

Luke Seaborne was the next batsman, arriving in the 33rd over and signalled his intentions by striking his first delivery for four over mid-wicket. The potent opening bowler who had taken four top-order wickets for virtually no runs in the reverse fixture was brought back for his second spell and greeted with a straight six from Seaborne. The batting pair had decided to try and elevate their score as much as possible in the remaining overs but Dickinson’s attempted late cut went finer than he intended and was guided instead to the waiting hands of the third-man fielder. Having entered the arena with the score on 28, he departed with the score on 222 and can be pleased with his efforts making 47 including 8 fours.

 

Seaborne, with a helping hand from Zaid Anwar, then took 52 runs from the final three overs via a series of leg-side blows. Two big sixes were belted over cow corner and a further two over mid-wicket along with several boundaries. With just three balls to go, his barrage was halted as another attempted hook shot over the leg-side boundary instead found a top edge and was caught by the back-pedalling wicketkeeper. Seaborne’s innings of 62 came from just 26 balls and included 6 fours and 5 sixes, putting his side in a commanding position.

 

A few more runs were then added and allowed Arthington to finish their innings on 274/6 from their 40 overs. Their innings was a real team effort with the bat firstly due to an excellent platform being laid which then allowed the Arthington captain, in particular, to cash in during the latter stages. Despite the excellent batting conditions, the home side were confident that their bowlers would be able to defend the total.

 

Joe Seaborne opened the bowling as usual but for the first time was paired with Nirav Patel at the other end and both Arthington bowlers were excellent in their opening spells. After ten overs and upon completion of their first spells, the score was just 22/1 and although Patel had a wicket to his name, it was actually due to a run out from mid-on when his rocket of a throw hit the base of the stumps to leave the batsman well short of their ground. At the start of the innings the required run-rate was seven runs per over but it had already climbed to nearly nine.

 

The change bowling of Dougie Jones brought about the next wicket though he will be the first to admit that it was not his best ball. A short ball that could and should have been hit to any part of the leg-side boundary was instead struck straight to Luke Seaborne at mid-wicket for a simple catch. Jones was responsible for the next dismissal as well and he needed no assistance from his fielders when the ball was played back to him via a leading edge for a caught and bowled.

 

Runs continued to be added at a fairly decent rate, but it was becoming increasingly clear that the visitors were unlikely to reach the target. The away side’s Barry Milburn was their one real hope of doing so, however, and his knock was the real highlight of the innings. While partnerships continued to be cut short thanks to wickets from Nirav Patel, Ahmer Sadiq and Nirav Patel, all bowled, Milburn remained at the crease and in the final few overs of the innings brought up an excellent century including 16 fours and a six.

 

The Sessay & Raskelf number four finished unbeaten on 103 but his team could only post 211/6 from their 40 overs, finishing 63 runs shy of the hosts. Arthington can be pleased with their efforts in their latest victory. At times it felt like a thankless task for their bowlers, as the wicket did them few favours. The opening spells went a long way to securing the win, however, and from that point it seemed as though the opposition were no longer convinced they could reach the target.

 

The 2nd XI now move up to fourth in the division four table against the mid-season front-runners of Killinghall, Walton Park and Goldsborough, all of whom handed Arthington defeats in the first half of the campaign. Next week they travel to eighth place Newby Hall.