Arthington 1st XI – 161/6 17.4 overs	160 all out – Scarcroft 1st XI 36.3 overs
Himanshu Satyawan: 107* Sajid Hussain: 17	Rahul Khode: 10-1-40-4 Syed Javaid: 3-2-1-2

 

Arthington’s 1st XI had victory on their minds as they travelled to Scarcroft in a bid to extend their unbeaten start to the season. In what is a rare occurrence these days, Arthington ended up fielding first having lost the toss and had the opportunity to test themselves chasing a target as opposed to setting one.

Proceedings got off to a less than ideal start for the visitors as the Scarcroft opening pair amassed 64 runs for the first wicket. The change bowling of Rahul Khode brought about the first dismissal, in the 14th over, via a catch by Sajid Hussain and this was swiftly followed by a second wicket in the same over, this time by virtue of Syed Javaid’s safe pair of hands. With both openers now gone, the momentum of the innings had shifted.

Regular wickets soon followed as a run out from Ritankar Chakraborty preceded wickets by Naveed and a further two from Khode who was causing all manner of problems for the hosts, assisted on both occasions by Himanshu Satyawan behind the stumps. Umar Farooq then got in on the act, as is his habit this season, to remove the number five batsman and after Syed Javaid had taken two wickets in an incredible spell of 3-2-1-2, the curtains had almost been drawn on the home side’s innings.

To their credit, however, the final pairing dug in and formed a fine partnership of 55 runs with the free-scoring number 11 scoring the majority in a 39-run knock including 5 fours and 2 sixes, no doubt leading to questions being asked about why he was batting in such a position to begin with. Inam Piran finally made the breakthrough for his first and only wicket of the match when the defences were breached and the Scarcroft top-scorer was bowled. The innings ended in the 37th over on 160 all out.

In reply, Arthington lost last week’s half-centurion Ahmer Sadiq to an LBW early on, but Sajid Hussain seemed to be scoring nicely and had already placed 4 fours beyond the boundary in the early stages. Himanshu Satyawan joined him at an elevated number three position. At 40/1, disaster struck the away side’s batting line-up as a hat-trick of dismissals sent three batsmen back to the pavilion and turned a reasonable start into a poor one as Hussain, Hari Krishan and Umar Farooq all found themselves unable to make further contributions.

 

A rebuild came about with the arrival of Rahul Khode who made 17 runs in a 39-run partnership with Satyawan, all but doubling the Arthington total but when he was caught out, it ignited something in Satyawan who single-handedly took 44 runs from the next three overs to increase an already healthy run-rate. Arthington’s captain Naveed Andrabi was, unfortunately, run out in the midst of the carnage but that was the only other wicket to fall as Satyawan continued his onslaught towards the Scarcroft total.

A further 21 runs were taken from the penultimate over and another 12 from just 4 balls of the last. These were of particular significance as with a boundary, Satyawan brought himself to the brink of another century before a two took him over the line. With the fourth ball of the over and last of the innings, the victory was sealed with a six. The unbeaten innings of 107 contained an astounding 98 runs worth of boundaries including 14 fours and 7 sixes. Amusingly, Ritankar Chakraborty was only able to contribute a single to the highest partnership of the innings, of 48.

The 1st XI continue to set the pace at the top of the Division 1 Ebor table with the win but they still cannot afford to slip up as they have several teams still in touching distance behind them. Next week, they continue their travels for a game against Thorp Arch & Boston Spa.

 

2nd XI summary – Home against Bishop Thornton

Arthington 2nd XI – 153/1 16.1 overs	151/7 – Bishop Thornton 2nd XI 40 overs
Umer Khan: 66* Alex O’Neil: 65	Riaz Piran: 8-1-32-4 Joe Seaborne: 10-1-29-2

 

Arthington 2nd XI managed to turn around their four-match losing streak in spectacular style when they put on a dominant display against fellow strugglers Bishop Thornton. After setting a sub-par total the previous weekend, Arthington captain Luke Seaborne opted for his side to be the ones doing the chasing this week when he won the toss and chose to bowl first.

 

After a first over finding his range, Joe Seaborne was able to bring about a wicket in his second via a well-held catch by Gareth Meredith at mid-on after the ball was launched powerfully at him, at chest-height. At the other end, Riaz Piran then produced a stunning delivery that clipped the top of off-stump. So surprised were several players with the deviation, including the bowler, it was assumed at first that an edge had evaded the cordon. However, disappointment turned to elation once the bails had been located on the ground.

 

Piran struck again in the ninth over to remove the Bishop Thornton captain, just three balls after being hit for a six over long-on. Bringing his length back slightly did the trick and the number four batsman’s attempts to guide the ball into the off-side resulted only in a thin edge through to Steve Potter behind the stumps. That was the last of the wicket-taking for some time, however, as a stubborn and steady partnership was formed for the fourth wicket between the remaining opener and the left-handed number five. Together they took the game from the ninth to the twenty-ninth over without a wicket falling.

 

After the opening bowlers had completed their spells, Dougie Jones and Luke Seaborne had their turn at trying to uproot the pair with limited success. The latter started with four wides in a row, in fact, one of which even found its way to the boundary in a more unusual start to a bowling spell than most. After the bizarre first over, however, both Seaborne and Jones found a formula that resulted in very few runs being scored and the pressure of scoring on a good wicket began to build.

 

Ultimately, it was the return of Joe Seaborne in the second over of his second spell that broke the partnership. Many fielding positions had been tried at this point but the one that brought success was Alex O’Neil at short mid-off who found a drive hit firmly towards him, on to which he was gratefully able to cling. Several overs later and with the door slightly ajar, Zaid Anwar booted it open when he removed the remaining opener just three runs shy of what would have been a well-made fifty, via a catch behind. It would be easy to criticise the young all-rounder for his 34-over vigil but he was starved of the strike in the middle overs and had played some lovely drives into the off-side during his innings, which included 7 fours.

 

The returning Riaz Piran doubled his tally in the 38th over firstly after a mistimed shot into the off-side found its way to Umer Khan in the covers, before he zeroed in on the stumps for a fourth wicket of another fine outing with the ball from the youngster. No more wickets fell in the first innings, however, and Bishop Thornton finished on 151/7 from their 40 overs.

 

To say that the 2nd XI have been struggling with the bat in recent games would probably be an understatement. It was therefore a welcome surprise to see the new opening pair of Umer Khan and Alex O’Neil playing with a freedom and confidence that has been missing for a while. After a couple of overs to settle in, the pair launched an assault on the away side’s bowling that saw them amass 122 runs in just 13.2 overs.

 

Khan had the majority of the strike and favoured shots through mid-wicket and into the covers whilst O’Neil mostly targeted the field beyond the playing area behind the bowler with a barrage of sixes along with a few less-bludgeoned fours including an elegant steer through backward point. Both openers reached their fifties and there were no real chances to speak of that threatened either wicket until O’Neil’s dismissal when, clearly unhappy with only hitting a four the previous ball, attempted to go two better and precisely picked out the fielder at cow corner, a yard in from the boundary line to be well-caught. The new Arthington opener managed 65 including 6 sixes and 5 fours.

 

Following the dismissal, the hosts needed just 30 runs to win and Steve Potter took up where O’Neil left off striking 4 fours in his hastily constructed and unbeaten innings of 17. Khan continued serenely at the other end and between them they saw Arthington over the line in just the 17th over, Khan finishing on 66 not out including 11 fours and a six. An outstanding innings.

 

Despite the win, the 2nd XI still find themselves in the bottom two and further victories will be required if they wish to salvage their season. The next opportunity comes next week when they host Goldsborough at the ACG.