Seconds lead by 130
Tue 14 Jun 2016
REPORT | By Pete Johnson
We arrived to a muggy but bright morning at Clifton Park, home of York CC, for day two of the SEC match between Yorkshire and Leicestershire. It was good to see an old Leicestershire and Yorkshire player, Jack Birkenshaw, at the ground. Jack being resplendently dressed in an England tracksuit.
I became aware of a few interesting facts about York following my meander around the city centre last night. Inbetween sheltering from the rain (just in case the wife reads this) in a couple of pubs, I saw that Guy Fawkes was born and educated in York.
Also, Dick Turpin was executed in York. The ‘Dandy Highwayman’ met his maker on 7 April 1739, according to the headstone on his grave.
I also walked past an Independent Secondary School where Dame Judi Dench was educated in her younger days. In her early days she was a Quaker (so it says on the sign). Anyway, enough of my Magical Mystery Tour and Historical Masterclass, let’s get back to the cricket.
Leicestershire resumed on their overnight 267-7, Harry Dearden 114* and Rob Sayer 58*. The new ball being available in five overs time. There was a sparse crowd on the ground when play commenced. Two of them were sitting adjacent to the sightscreen at the Pavilion End and the other seven beneath the Pavilion balcony.
Dearden and Sayer stayed together for the first five overs of the day, and saw the arrival of the new ball. Dearden took two runs from a vicious ’lifter’ from Rhodes and then confidently went forward to the next ball, guiding it for four down to long-leg.
Just prior to the new ball being taken we witnessed a ‘meteorological’ meeting between Yorkshire skipper Gale and seam bowlers Wainman and Coad (cold in Leicester speak). Dearden finally departed when on 132, caught at the wicket by Birkhead off Ben Coad. A lovely crafted innings that amassed 247 balls came to an end with Dearden and Sayer having added 167 for the 7th wicket.
James Sykes (4) was then caught at first slip by Will Rhodes off Coad, who now had a five-for. Chad Barrett (1) was next to go caught at mid-wicket by Ryan Gibson off Coad. The Harpenden Hot Shot looked down at the ground in anger with himself after hitting an inviting delivery straight down the fielder’s throat.
Sayer was cruising at the crease and smacked Coad over square for a textbook maximum. Sayer joining a chap in this area of York associated with fireworks.
The innings came to an end when Matt Wareing (2) was caught at slip by Rhodes off paceman Wainman. Sayer finished undefeated on 94 from 138 balls (13x4/5x6), a career best for him in the Second XI.
Sayer has a very upright and perpendicular stance at the crease, and holds the bat in a ‘Jonny Bairstow-esque’ fashion. In fact he stands so straight up at the crease that he would not look out of place in a line of Guardsmen with a bearskin on his head.
Leicestershire were all out for 331 from 89.1 overs. As well as Sayer, there were also career best Second XI performances from Dearden 132 (13x4/3x6) and Coad, who took 6-58 for Yorkshire from 23 overs.
Yorkshire lost two early wickets in their innings. Rhodes (2) was bowled by Barrett, steaming in from the Pavilion End, and Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale (1) was trapped bang in front by left arm paceman Matt ‘the Colchester Colossus’ Wareing operating at the Scoreboard End.
The home side were 7-2 from 7.3 overs and shortly afterwards Gibson dissected the slips with a fortunate boundary off Barrett, and was then spilled at first slip, again off Barrett.
During the opening salvo from Leicestershire I noticed that the three slips were in ascending order of height. Dearden at first, Matt Stokes at second, and Oskar Kolk at third. It reminded me very much of that 1960s sketch with John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, when the chap in the middle looks down on one and up to the other.
Yorkshire went into lunch on 53-2 from 16 overs, Callis 21* and Gibson 22*. After lunch Callis and Gibson set about rebuilding the Yorkshire innings. Charlie Shreck, who had overnight taken on the role of the non batter, joined the attack and had Gibson (36) caught at first slip by Dearden, leaving Yorkshire on 86-3 from 26.2 overs.
Callis went to his 50 (5x4) from 104 balls. In the penultimate over before tea when on 78 he pulled a Sykes delivery to mid-wicket and Irfan Karim snaffled the catch. Yorkshire went into tea at 177-4 from 55 overs, Waite 46* and Azeem Rafiq 0*.
During the tea interval I was personally pleased to person achieve the scorer’s equivalent of 1,000 runs or 50 wickets by the end of May. I have managed to put away 500 rounds of bread, half a ton of tuna, laced with cucumber, and 250 cups of tea by mid-June.
After tea Yorkshire progressed their score to 240-5 from 69 overs and then declared 91 runs behind Leicestershire. Waite went to his 50 (5x4/2x6) from 85 balls and progressed to 69 before being caught at long-off by Wareing off Sykes.
Barnes was spilled at first slip when on five off the bowling of Sayer and went on to make 14 not out alongside Rafiq (26*).
Very economical bowling figures were returned. Special mention to young Stokes, who had a mid-afternoon spell of 7-3-5-0. He was very well supplemented by Wareing, Barrett and Shreck.
County had 16 overs left in the day to bat with Dearden and Kolk opening up. Unfortunately Kolk (6) was bowled by Jarrod Warner, who combines bowling with running a York half-marathon; the batsman would benefit from binoculars to see him at the end of his run.
Cricket is a team game and can be very cruel at times. I am sure the lads all feel for Oskar, and he is the type of character who will bounce back. At stumps County were 39-1 a lead of 130, with Dearden 26* and Simon Lambert 6*.
The day ended as it started with Harry ‘Duracell’ Dearden still at the crease. If I saw him walking down the street I don’t reckon I would recognise him without a bat in his hand. Yorkshire 6 points, Leicestershire 6 points. If the weather holds we could be in for an interesting last day.
