Arthington 1st XI – 179 all out 43 overs	170/8 – Drax 1st XI 45 overs
Naveed Andrabi: 40 Ahmer Sadiq: 39	Naveed Piran: 11-1-24-3 Brahm Singh: 11-2-36-2

A close contest was expected between the league leaders Arthington and third place Drax, but on a good wicket and with pleasant conditions overhead, a relatively low-scoring and nervy thriller was likely not everyone’s first prediction. The home side won the toss and backed their bowlers, putting Arthington in to bat first.

 

The opening partnership reached 37 before the fall of the first wicket, that of Hari Krishan, with the pair easing the visitors into the innings. The second wicket partnership was more expansive and looked to be setting a solid platform from which Arthington would be able to build, as the score reached 113-1. Arthington’s captain, Naveed Andrabi, was the next wicket to fall to a catch having made 40, including 4 fours, but in effect, the away side had also lost Sadiq who retired hurt after being struck by a full ball onto his foot.

 

Wickets then fell at a consistent and worrying rate, with no batting pair able to string any meaningful partnerships together. Himanshu Satyawan managed a run-a-ball 21 until he was caught behind, but the usual high-scoring Umar Farooq and Brahm Singh both only achieved single figures before Drax continued their excellent work in the field with two more catches. After Rahul Khode was also caught for 14, Ahmer Sadiq returned to the crease but was quickly hobbling off again after being struck on the pads in front of the stumps for an LBW, having made an important 39, in the context of the innings, including 5 fours.

 

The Arthington tail wagged about as much as a bunny rabbit’s as the score was reduced from 177/7 to 179 all out; the remaining batsmen tried but failed to add a late flourish to a sub-par score.

 

In reply, the Drax top order was rocked by the opening spells of Naveed Piran and Umar Farooq as 17/0 became 17/3 via an LBW and two bowleds, but there was a substantial recovery before the fourth wicket fell, which had put on 64 until the important breakthrough by Inam Piran thanks to a catch by the walking wounded, Ahmer Sadiq. Three more Arthington catches contributed to the demise of the Drax middle order as Umar Farooq, having changed to bowling some fast leg-spin, first provided an assist for Brahm Singh to remove the home side’s captain before taking a wicket himself via a catch by Naveed Piran before Singh made it a brace for himself following a wonderful diving catch by Rahul Khode on the long-on boundary; the off-spinner sprinted full pelt towards the falling ball, dived forwards at full stretch and plucked the ball off the ground just inches before impact.

 

Watching the dismissals from the other end was the immovable object of Craig Piggott for Drax, who had passed fifty and who was now the home side’s best hope of securing victory. The 40th over turned out to be very significant as Piggott struck three sixes off Umar Farooq and forced him out of the attack then did the same to Brahm Singh in the following over, with another pair of sixes, taking 19 and 14 runs from the respective overs.

 

With four overs left, the score was 162/7, with 18 runs required from 24 balls, but the two Naveeds, Piran and Andrabi, bowled with great discipline and restricted the Drax batting pair to scraps. Five runs were taken from the next two overs, meaning the Piggott would likely need to reach his century to get his side over the line. Piran conceded a mere single in his final over, the penultimate of the the contest and also managed a wicket, his third of the match, via a catch behind by Himanshu Satyawan, which left 12 runs needed from the final over.

 

Despite his best efforts, the Drax number four was unable to score any boundaries in the remaining six balls and was refusing singles as well, meaning that only two runs were scored and Arthington won the match by nine runs. A fabulous display of death bowling in the final overs to bowl with pace and accuracy but also to keep the free-scoring top-order batsman off strike where possible. Piggott finished on an unbeaten 93 from 98 balls including 4 fours and 7 sixes.

 

After the disappointment of falling short with the bat, Arthington will be delighted with their bowling and fielding efforts, which helped them secure a vital win against tough opposition. Farooq and Piran’s opening spells set the tone with good economy and early wickets, but all the bowlers played a role in stemming the flow of runs and taking wickets at key moments. They retain their spot on top of the Division 1 Ebor table and thoughts shift to next week when they take on Hensall at the ACG.

 

2nd XI summary – Home against Harrogate

 

Arthington 2nd XI – 192 all out 37 overs	193/4 – Harrogate 4th XI 35 overs
Alex O’Neil: 46 Luke Seaborne: 40	Joe Seaborne: 8-1-44-2 Martin Hings: 9-2-26-1

The Arthington 2nd XI’s latest match saw their three-match winning streak come to an unfortunate end at the hands of an excellent, youthful Harrogate side. While the match was not quite as one-sided as the reverse fixture, which saw Arthington heavily beaten on Harrogate’s County ground, it was still a dominant display by the visitors.

 

As is tradition, Arthington’s captain Luke Seaborne lost the toss and the hosts were put in to bat. Umer Khan and Alex O’Neil began the innings cautiously and fended off some good early bowling spells from the visitors. While O’Neil began growing in confidence, the frustration of being tied down overcame his fellow opener, Khan, as he struck a wild shot into the off side to be caught at cover for the first wicket.

 

O’Neil had begun finding the boundary with regularity but Steve Potter had no such joy and was soon also heading back to the pavilion after picking out a fielder. Sixes were raining at this point, but the new aggressive approach became O’Neil’s downfall, just one scoring shot away from an excellent fifty, when he ballooned a ball high into the air but was well-caught at mid-wicket, who had had time to come in from near the boundary. The 46-run innings included 4 fours and 4 sixes.

 

Three wickets became four with the very next delivery when Malcolm Barraclough edged behind and only six more runs were added before Zaid Anwar also found himself a victim of Harrogate’s Andy Scurr, who took four in the innings, when he was caught in the infield. With the score at 86/5, Aditya Khatua was joined at the crease by the Arthington captain Luke Seaborne, with some task on their hands to repair the early inroads made by the away side.

 

The pair began the task well, with Seaborne striking only his second ball for six over mid-wicket and followed it up with a six over long-on in the next over. 20 runs were added before Khatua was trapped in front of the stumps and was correctly given out LBW. Martin Dickinson then hit his first two deliveries for boundaries, firstly via an edge through the slips before a more elegant cut shot between point and cover. However, though Seaborne continued his barrage of sixes at the other end, that was all she wrote for Dickinson and he lost his wicket without adding any runs to his brace of boundaries when he tried to cut a full, straight delivery off middle-stump and missed.

 

Wickets had continued to fall throughout the innings and when Seaborne lost his wicket, missing a straight ball whilst charging down the pitch to hit the young Harrogate seamer to the next village, the end seemed not far away. The Arthington captain made 40 runs, including two fours and 4 sixes. Credit must go to both Joe Seaborne and Martin Hings, however, for a ninth wicket partnership that got the hosts up to a competitive total. They were assisted by extras as several balls beat the wicketkeeper and reached the boundary; 28 byes were conceded in total in the first innings, though Seaborne and Hings also both managed double figures including several delightful shots through the covers played by Hings.

 

Unfortunately, he tried one too many and got under a shot into the covers and was easily caught. Riaz Piran then tried to batten down the hatches but lost his off stump to a very good ball by Harrogate’s Louis Ferris, who had returned for a second spell. Arthington were bowled out for 192 after exactly 37 overs. Joe Seaborne was left stranded, not out for 16.

 

In reply, the Harrogate openers got off to a fast start and soon reached fifty without loss. Riaz Piran’s opening spell was cut short as he struggled to come to terms with the strong wind blowing into his run-up, but Joe Seaborne’s persistence at the other end was finally rewarded by a caught and bowled when the Harrogate opener looped one back to him in his follow-through.

 

The score had reached 97/1 by the time the next wicket fell, thanks to a superb diving catch at mid-on by Zaid Anwar to give Martin Hings a wicket in his first over. Hings bowled an uninterrupted nine-over spell but was unfortunate to not see more wickets fall to his bowling as two catches behind were shelled and another edge deviated off wicketkeeper and first slip before ultimately landing safe.

 

Luke Seaborne removed the remaining Harrogate opener soon after the second wicket with a full and straight ball that unseated the bails but the fourth wicket partnership between two talented young players took the game away from the hosts as they put on 82 runs together to all but see their side home.

 

After the relative success of Martin Hings’ spell, it was decided that pace-off was the order of the day and Arthington turned to Malcolm Barraclough, in an effort to force the young batsmen to generate their own pace and possibly make a mistake. Though the run-rate slowed and chances were created either being spilled or falling agonisingly into gaps in the infield, something which frustrated the Arthington fielders on several occasions during the innings, no wickets fell and any bad balls that were bowled were ruthlessly sent to the boundary.

 

The plan to remove pace from the game continued when Joe Seaborne returned to replace Barraclough and turned to his little-used off spin, which delivered excellent results. After being audibly surprised that the Arthington opening bowler could turn the ball too, the Harrogate number five batsman then hit a ball up in the air and was easily caught by Luke Seaborne at mid-on.

 

With only 11 runs needed to achieve victory though, and plenty of overs remaining, Harrogate eased their way over the line. The impressive Harrish Mani of Harrogate finished on an unbeaten 60 runs, including 10 fours, meaning he amassed unbeaten fifties in both matches between the two teams. A real thorn in the Arthington side, though he did ride his luck more than most.

 

It is fair to say that Harrogate deserved victory, with the home side falling slightly short in all areas in comparison. With teams around them picking up victories, Arthington find themselves back in the bottom two in the league and face the prospect of playing league leaders Upper Wharfedale in their next match, who have only lost one match all season.