KMCC top order maintain fine form
With the ground again looking a picture and local rivals North Stainley the visitors, a capacity crowd of three (Groundsman Ernest Ellis, Chief Supporter John Peacock and the newspaper photographer) eagerly anticipated another great day's cricket at the KMCG. Both sides were nervous as the captains prepared to toss, each team keen to have first batting use of Ernest Ellis's lovingly prepared "Test Match" strip. Nick Robson called correctly for Stainley and with three key Kirkby bowlers, Nattrass (swollen knee), Armer (injured shoulder) and Hooks (weak heart) all unavailable, he was confident that his batsmen could put their recent poor form behind them and do the pitch full justice. Things went initially to Robson's plan and after 10 untroubled overs, openers Scrope and Donaldson had taken the score beyond 30 without loss. A double bowling change quickly changed the game around as Simon "Tufnell" Blackburn and Duncan "The Sheffield Express" Fraser removed both openers in consecutive overs. This double strike brought Stainley's danger men Dewi Winkle and Andy Ord to the crease. In his inspirational pre-game team talk, Kirkby's astute captain and master tactician, Bradley Atkinson, had instructed his bowlers to target these players in particular. Fraser, inwardly seething at having been relegated to first change bowler (and at not having had the opportunity to bowl while the photographer was present) stormed down the hill and carried out his captain's orders to the letter. Winkle and Ord had all on just to survive, but having done so, both players will have been disappointed to get out to good catches just when they were looking to accelerate. However. Skinner (31) and, in particular, Raynard (34) then gave the innings some much needed impetus and at the close they had made a respectable 147-5.
To be fair this never really looked enough and Kirkby made a bright
start in
reply. However the fall of their talismanic run-machine Chris Nattrass
with
the score on 37 brought North Stainley fresh hope. It turned out to be
false hope as Irish opener Alan Brownlee, insulted at having been
called a
Scotsman, took out his anger on the bowlers and made an unbeaten 65.
Aussie
"Gun Bat", Kenny Fielder (53*), now fully at home on Yorkshire pitches,
joined Brownlee in an unbroken century partnership to see Kirkby home
by 9
wickets. With the top two sides in Division 2 meeting, this win
ensured
that Kirkby moved up a place to second spot. In the celebrations that
ensued it was noted that whilst Kenny Fielder has now mastered
Yorkshire
pitches he is not yet man enough to master Yorkshire beer!!
| Kirkby Malzeard v North Stainley(Nidderdale League Division 2) | ||||||||||
| Played at the KMCG on 25 June 2005 | ||||||||||
| KMCC (5pts) beat North Stainley CC (1pts) by 9 wkts | ||||||||||
| North Stainley won the toss and elected to field | ||||||||||
| N Stainley innings (45 overs) | Bowling | O | M | R | W | |||||
| H Scrope | Caught | b | S Blackburn | 18 | P Goldsmith | 9 | 2 | 40 | 0 | |
| K Donaldson | b | D Fraser | 12 | P Kirk | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| D Winkle | Caught | b | S Blackburn | 18 | D Fraser | 12 | 3 | 30 | 1 | |
| A Ord | Caught | b | K Fielder | 15 | S Blackburn | 10 | 2 | 23 | 2 | |
| J Skinner | Not Out | 31 | K Fielder | 6 | 1 | 15 | 1 | |||
| D Raynard | Run Out | 34 | R Pickles | 3 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |||
| S Easy | Not Out | 9 | ||||||||
| N Robson | ||||||||||
| S Mason | ||||||||||
| R Camplejohn | ||||||||||
| D Slack | ||||||||||
| Extras | 12 | |||||||||
| TOTAL | 149 | |||||||||
| Fall of Wickets | ||||||||||
| 1-32 2-33 3-68 4-68 5-114 | ||||||||||
| KMCC innings (28.2 overs) | Bowling | O | M | R | W | |||||
| Chris Nattrass | Caught | b | N Robson | 19 | N Robson | 7 | 3 | 28 | 1 | |
| Alan Brownlee | Not Out | 65 | D Raynard | 8 | 0 | 32 | 0 | |||
| Kenneth Fielder | Not Out | 53 | D Winkle | 4 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |||
| Iain Fraser | S Mason | 4 | 1 | 17 | 0 | |||||
| Duncan Fraser | R Camplejohn | 3 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |||||
| Brad Atkinson | K Donaldson | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |||||
| Peter Kirk | D Slack | 0.2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||||
| Rodney Pickles | ||||||||||
| Simon Blackburn | ||||||||||
| Paul Goldsmith | ||||||||||
| James Marston | ||||||||||
| Extras | ||||||||||
| TOTAL | 88 | |||||||||
| Fall of Wickets | ||||||||||
| 1-37 | ||||||||||