KMCC struggle past Ripon
The KMCC juggernaut that was running so smoothly earlier on in the season has been misfiring of late, and once again against bottom of the table Ripon KMCC failed to impress but still managed to keep their title hopes alive with in the end a comfortable victory. Bradley lost the toss on a dry day with the KMCG looking hard and true - a long day in the field beckoned - amazingly the Ripon captain inserted KMCC much to the relief of their skipper. The Ripon bowling maintained a grip on the Kirkby batting for long periods and as regular wickets kept falling a shock could have been on the cards. Opener, Charles H-C (72) grafted his way for most of the 45 overs but it wasn't until the skipper strode to the wicket at 120-4 that the pressure was finally released - Bradley's burgeoning 42 from only four overs turned the match firmly in Kirkby's favour and despite never hitting the heights again KMCC eased themselves to the competitive 225-9 at tea
The second half proved to be a damp squib although for a brief period the previously runless Ripon batting started to make a game of it - however the exit of the top order eliminated their chance of a shock victory and the Kirkby bowling didn't possess the cutting edge to shoot out the remaining Ripon batsmen. 165-5 at the close. So although not a classic the Kirkby bandwagon rolls on with wheels still attached and at the half way stage an unhoped for position at the top of the table. If any sort of form can be maintained in the second half then promotion is a realistic prospect - but the long suffering Kirkby fans know that it doesn't take much for a rapid turnaround in form - at least relegation has been avoided for another season!!!!