|
The Airedale Junior Cricket League under 13 season came to a thrilling climax last Sunday, with the Norman & Jean Threapleton cup final contested by previously unbeaten teams Guiseley and Harden. It was also agreed that the match would double as the under 13 play off final, as both teams had won their respective East and West division titles the previous Friday. This made the match a "winner takes all" affair which only added more drama to an exciting contest.
Having won the toss, Harden invited Guiseley to bat on a slow and sticky wicket dampened by overnight rain. A combination of accurate bowling and mis-timed shots soon found Guiseley struggling on 16 for 2 with runs proving hard to come by. Jordan Thompson with 21 and Toby Mountain with 12 added vital runs, but the departure of skipper Mountain and top scorer Thompson sparked a collapse which took Guiseley from 44 for 4 to the challenging position of 66 for 8. A late rally from Tom Lester, who scored an invaluable 12 runs down the order, meant that Guiseley finished on 82 all out in 24 overs. A total that was below par but which gave the Guiseley bowlers a glimmer of hope if they could bowl to their potential.
After the interval, Guiseley came out with all guns blazing and after devastating opening spells from Jordan Thompson and Damon Reeve, Harden were soon reduced to 9 for 3 from the first 8 overs. Thomas Pratt and Toby Mountain followed suit, bowling tightly and claimed a wicket apiece to leave Harden reeling on 24 for 5. George Gill, the games top scorer with 30 was now at the crease, and with the help of Harden's lower order batsmen, began the job of clawing their way back into the game, with a little extra help from the Guiseley fielders who contrived to drop him on 3 occasions.
As the game entered the crucial last 10 overs Guiseley's bowling became a little less accurate and the extras column started to fill with a concerning number of wides and byes. 25 more runs were added for the eighth wicket to take the Harden total to 67, just 16 required for victory with 2 wickets remaining. Finally, Gill's luck ran out when he was caught in the deep by Jordan Thompson off the bowling of Lester and the Guiseley celebrations illustrated the importance of the wicket. There was one last twist in the tale however, as Harden's last man cover drove a glorious boundary to reduce the required runs to single figures and a last gasp victory was on the cards. By this stage the crowd were almost silent and both coaches were pacing the boundary edge. Toby Mountain's next delivery however, was a perfect leg stump yorker which sent the bails flying and victory was won with only 9 runs to spare.
Brian Wheeler, chairman of the junior league, thanked the umpires, Harden cricket club for staging the game and in particular the ladies for a fantastic spread at tea time. Guiseley president and Harden resident Adrian Threapleton presented the trophies to both teams, umpires & scorers. To conclude proceedings, Brian Wheeler awarded the man of the match trophy to Jordan Thompson for his 21 runs and 2 wickets for 4 runs.
|
