Arthington 1st XI – 256/4 36.2 overs	251 all out –Beckwithshaw 1st XI 49.4 overs
Himanshu Satyawan: 101* Hari Krishan: 42	Naveed Piran: 13-4-35-3 Rahul Khode: 8-1-33-2

 

Arthington 1st XI had entered the latter stages of the 2026 season in an excellent run of form that had seen them win their previous four league matches ahead of a match against league leaders Beckwithshaw at the ACG. As has been the case in recent weeks, when faced with sterner opposition, captain Naveed Andrabi opted again to field first upon winning the toss.

 

The Beckwithshaw openers began tentatively, to put it mildly, but their attempts to see off the new ball unscathed failed in the eighth over with the score on just 13 when Sourav Chandolia got one to turn between bat and pad to hit the stumps. The scoring rate did slowly increase but only after Naveed Piran had been given a break from his economical first spell that included four maidens.

 

Rahul Khode continued his excellent form with the ball as Arthington’s leading wicket-taker and supplied the next breakthrough when a slog-sweep to deep mid-wicket was intercepted by Javaid Hussain on the boundary for a catch. 40 runs later and just before the drinks break, he struck again, this time via a terrific caught and bowled when the return catch was likely hard to judge as it came quickly over the head of the non-striking batsman who was taking evasive action.

 

Beckwithshaw are the league leaders for a reason and rebuilt again following the loss of top-order batsmen, adding 35 runs for the next wicket before Naveed Andrabi effected a run out at the non-striker’s end in what was a very tight call that could have been given either way, such were the margins. A change of ends from Naveed Piran then brought about a stunning catch behind the stumps from Harsh Patel, moving sharply to his right, to complete the dismantling of the away side’s top five and put Arthington in the ascendancy. Two balls later it got even better for the hosts when the new man to the crease missed a clip into the leg-side and was adjudged LBW.

 

Yet again, however, the recovery effort from the visitors was commendable and fifty more runs were added before another wicket fell. Key to the revival was the number six batsman, Sam Moore, who began his innings scoring at a run a ball and guided the lower order into the final ten overs. He was forced to look on, however, as his captain was caught at mid-wicket by Owais Khan, which kicked him into a higher gear as he quickly added another 43 runs, reaching 65 in the process including 9 fours and a six, before he attempted one lusty blow too many, this time down the ground, and was caught on the boundary by Abdul Saboor.

 

Beckwithshaw eked out nine more runs but lost two more wickets to run outs from Saboor and Himanshu Satyawan leaving them all out for 251 with just two balls wasted from their fifty overs.

 

In reply, Hari Krishan opening the Arthington innings with Harsh Patel and quickly began to reel in the target at the required rate of five runs per over. Having scored a four and a six in his brief innings, however, Patel then edged to first slip for the first wicket. 74 runs were added for the second, as Krishan combined nicely with Owais Khan, taking the innings beyond twenty overs and into the Beckwithshaw change bowling. Krishan, batting nicely on 42, then lost his discipline for a single delivery and a rash cross-batted shot ended up in the hands of the long-on fielder to end his stay at the crease.

 

With the hosts well-positioned, Himanshu Satyawan entered the arena, looking to add another significant contribution to those he has already achieved this season. He was fortunate, perhaps, in the early stages, to survive a significant LBW appeal that appeared to be just tailing down the leg-side. The moment may well have spurred Satyawan into action, as his runs scored quickly overtook his deliveries faced and would remain that way for the remainder of his innings. At the other end, Khan brought up his fifty but in the very next over guided a simple chance into the leg-side for a catch, which greatly upset the batsman who could not quite believe what he had done.

 

All that was achieved by the away side, however, was to light the fuse beneath the two most explosive batsmen in the Arthington squad as Abdul Saboor joined Satyawan at the crease. It takes a special aggression to outpace the league’s top-scorer Satyawan these days, but Saboor managed just that with a barrage of boundaries, following on from his fifty last time out. He scored 35 from just 13 balls in the four overs he spent at the crease, adding 3 fours and 3 sixes to the 62-run partnership.

 

The almost reckless aggression was always going to be hard to sustain and ultimately proved to be Saboor’s downfall as he was caught at long-off, despite connecting sweetly with a length ball outside off-stump. However, significant damage had been done in the chase and Satyawan was still at the crease poised to make another big score of his own.

 

Sourav Chandolia was the next man in but played a spectator’s role at one end as Satyawan belted the Beckwithshaw bowling to all parts of the ACG from the other. In the space of just 14 deliveries faced, the Arthington number four went from 43 to 89 as the visitors had no answer to his ball-striking that saw the ball dispatched behind square on the off-side, over cover, down the ground and there was even an audacious slog-sweep that went for a maximum over square-leg to bring up his half-century.

 

Satyawan was quickly nearing another century, with the only obstacle seemingly the runs remaining for victory. The equation got even less likely when five wides were speared down the leg-side in the 36th over, beyond a helpless wicketkeeper, to leave the batsman on 89 but Arthington just eight runs from the win. Yet, Satyawan was still able to bring up three figures, belting a full-toss from the first ball of the 37th over down the ground before stepping into a half-volley and depositing it over the sight screen for back-to-back sixes to reach an unbeaten 101 and secure the win in the same single flourish of his bat. Another incredible century brought up from just 41 balls and including 14 fours and 5 sixes.

 

The victory for Arthington makes the top of the Championship West table extremely tight with just ten points separating the top four teams. Beckwithshaw now sit level with Colton Institute at the top, ahead only by virtue of their head-to-head record but Colton happen to be Arthington’s next opponents, setting up another pivotal clash in the race for the title. Things may be clearer once the dust settles in a week’s time.

 

2nd XI summary – Away against Rainton

Arthington 2nd XI – 159 all out 35.4 overs	207 all out – Rainton 1st XI 39.2 overs
Ahmer Sadiq: 50 Nirav Patel: 33	Ahmer Sadiq: 3-1-7-3 Javed Akakhail: 5-1-24-2

 

Arthington’s 2nd XI were on the road again when they travelled to Rainton looking to make it eight wins from eight. In the reverse fixture at the ACG, they had managed a ten wicket victory against the hosts but even the most optimistic Arthington player probably realised that it was unlikely to be as comfortable the second time around, particularly as their opponents had been doing well in the league and had the opportunity to overtake them in the table with a victory of their own. 

 

Arthington captain Luke Seaborne won the toss and chose to bowl first hoping to try and restrict the hosts and then chase down a manageable total with a depleted batting line-up due to several absences from last week’s 140-run win over Bishop Thornton. The opening batsmen played in contrasting styles with one taking risks and favouring shots down the ground while the other dug in and refused to play a shot in anger throughout his innings. It was some surprise, then, that it was the latter who lost his wicket first when a full, straight delivery from Joe Seaborne pierced his defences.

 

A number of half-chances came and went and the away side’s fielding left a lot to be desired as runs were leaked in the first half of the Rainton innings. At drinks, the hosts had built a solid platform from which to propel themselves to a very imposing first innings score. After the break, the second bowling change to Javed Akakhail brought immediate success as the remaining opening batsman finally succumbed to a sharp caught and bowled having made 73. The number four batsman then targeted boundaries only, striking three from five deliveries before being dismissed with his sixth, again caught and bowled, to give Naeem Arab his first wicket on his first Arthington appearance.

 

A more sedate partnership of 38 runs was then compiled for the fourth wicket, broken again by the impressive Akakhail via a catch in the infield and where, up to that point, it could be said that Rainton had the upper hand, the latter stages were dominated by Arthington who clawed their way back into the game with several late dismissals to bowl out their hosts.

 

Ahmer Sadiq’s introduction was initially to make the overs add up to 40, but such was his effectiveness he bowled a couple more and made three breakthroughs, firstly by knocking back the Rainton captain’s middle stump after he had just reached his fifty. At the other end, Joe Seaborne in his second spell had the ball barely glance the off-stump, just enough to unseat the bail, before Sadiq struck twice more via a catch and a remarkably similar delivery to that of Seaborne that just made enough contact with the stump to remove the bail as several players and the umpire initially thought the ball had gone for four byes.

 

Luke Seaborne, also in a second spell having bowled economically but without reward finally got one in the wickets column via a catch behind by Dave Howard and then turned provider to end the innings to give Nirav Patel his first wicket as well following a catch at mid-off. Rainton all out for 207 with four balls left unused.

 

With several batsmen missing, Arthington needed to get off to a good and wicket-free start but were unable to do so as Umer Khan lost his wicket cheaply to a caught and bowled. An unsuccessful promotion up the order by Arthington captain Luke Seaborne was short-lived as he attempted a rash shot down the ground but succeeded only in looping the ball to cover for a simple catch.

 

In-form Ahmer Sadiq and Nirav Patel then built a good partnership for the third wicket, but with the visitors already running out of recognised batsmen, the pair really needed to bat for most of the innings, something that Patel’s patience would not allow as he holed out to deep mid-wicket for a run-a-ball 33, leaving the score 98/3. Just after passing his fifty, Sadiq then ran himself out calling a single to square leg that was never on and after a couple of sharp bits of fielding from fielder and wicketkeeper he trudged back to the pavilion, unable to make any further contributions.

 

Zaid Anwar has not had many opportunities to bat from his usual number six or seven position in recent weeks due to the top and middle order’s success, but he could not make the most of this chance at number five and his dismissal for just 15, caught at cover again, signalled the start of three wickets without reply for the hosts as Malcolm Barraclough was given out LBW before Naeem Arab played to the hands of a fielder as well for a duck.

 

Overs were slipping away and the required run-rate had reached ten per over by the time Joe Seaborne walked past a ball to be stumped and another run-out following a mix-up saw the unfortunate end of Javed Akakhail’s innings after he had struck his first and only delivery back over the bowler’s head for a boundary. Dave Howard then missed a straight ball and was given out LBW to end the innings. Arthington bowled out for 159 in the 36th over.

 

The 2nd XI’s incredible seven-match winning fun that began in June finally came to an end with the defeat and saw them drop two places to fourth in the division four table, but with every chance of still finishing in the top two if they can bounce back well in their next match against South Kilvington, against whom they had a narrow win in just the second match of the campaign.