Morale Boosting Victories for 1sts and 2nds
Ovington may have been forgiven for thinking that the fates were against them in the last week of May as not one but two of their 1st XI bowling attack went down injured and could be seen hobbling around South Bank on crutches. However, this just provided opportunities for more players to step up and prove themselves heroes.
Saturday 31st May, Duncombe Park 1st XI vs Ovington 1st XI
Ovington: 203/7 (45); Lamb 61, Armes 46; Leckenby 3/38
Duncombe Park: 153/10 (36); Baum 35; O Garner Steel 3/34
Ovington won by 50 runs
Scorecard: https://ovington.play-cricket.com/website/results/6777252
Overlooking Helmsley Castle and featuring a winding meander through Helmsley town centre on the drive in, there are not many more pleasantly set cricket grounds in the league than Duncombe Park, nor are there many further away for Ovington. Such a journey should give players a nudge to perform to make it worthwhile, it is a long drive back to mull over a bad game. Ovington were badly in need of a win, against top of the table no less, having found themselves in the bottom half of the table following back-to-back losses over the bank holiday weekend.
Duncombe Park opted to bowl having won the toss and would have felt well justified in their choice after removing both openers in the seventh over. Alex Garner Steel (available to sponsor) had laced a fizzing cover drive for four just moments before he was pinned on the pads and given LBW, although he may have wished club cricket had DRS given his reaction to the decision. Two balls later, fellow opener Joe Whale (sponsored by York & Selby Tutors) drove aerially straight down the ground, where Henry Marwood stuck out a hand and plucked a stunning catch to send Whale back to the pavilion. At 14/2, Ovington will have felt uncomfortable, fearing a repeat of two subpar batting performances in the games before.
Jacob Lamb (sponsored Badger Elite Cricket Coaching) and Charlie Buckley (sponsored by Sam Pringle Prangnell) came together and dug in, weathering the opening spells from Jonathon Leckenby and Wayne Dawson. Runs did not come easily, but the pair stuck through it, trusting that scoring would be more manageable with the change bowlers once the shine had worn off. Sure enough, as the opening bowlers tired, a couple of loose balls were presented, allowing Lamb and Buckley to ease the pressure a little with welcome boundaries through the off-side off both front and back foot. When the leg spinner, Ethan Crusher, came on, Buckley tucked into some wayward bowling as Crusher’s lengths proved inconsistent: pulls and whips through the leg side settled Ovington’s nerves.
Crusher responded admirably though, pushing one through on a good length to beat Buckley’s defences, putting Duncombe Park’s noses ahead at 66/3 off 20 overs. Neil Metcalfe (sponsored by Tom Ashby) pulled Crusher over square leg for six, but fell, caught well on the boundary attempting to repeat the feat, Phil Rutter tossing the ball up just before stepping over the boundary and then stepping back inside to complete the catch. In came captain Tom Armes (sponsored by CDA Energy Services Ltd) to join Lamb, who was steadily anchoring the innings. Between them, they put on the most substantive partnership of the match, scoring 80 in 15 overs. Lamb accumulated well, nudging singles and driving anything overpitched, whilst Armes picked his moments to go big on the short boundaries to one side, taking on the role of aggressor.
Both had moments of fortune, as Armes top edged one straight above the ‘keeper who appeared to lose it in the sun and could only get one glove on it. Shortly after, Lamb reached his 50 in inauspicious fashion, top edging a pull to mid-wicket who shelled a simple catch, allowing Lamb to rather sheepishly raise his bat in acknowledgement of the milestone. Armes made good use of his life, accelerating the innings along before finally being caught on 46. Matthew Wright (sponsored by York’s Hidden History) came in and hit a lively 23 including a short-arm jab for six over midwicket in the final over, pushing the total to 203 and giving Ovington’s bowlers a meaningful total to defend. A pattern is emerging, too: when Lamb has reached 50 so far this season, Ovington win…
Duncombe Park’s reply was lively, with entertainment being offered by both batsmen and bowlers. Olly Garner Steel (available to sponsor) looked fired up with the ball, bowling quick and getting both openers hopping around. After a couple of boundaries off both the middle and edge of the bat, Garner Steel got his reward, as Scott Plowman tried to pull one and picked out deep square leg who had been sent back that ball. Kit Saggers and Wilf Baum then scored freely, as Baum stood up fearlessly to Garner Steel’s pace, pulling him twice over midwicket for four before launching him back over his head for six off the front foot. Saggers had previously used his feet well to target Owen Price (available to sponsor), driving him straight and through midwicket with good effect. However Saggers overbalanced, giving A Garner Steel a sharp stumping opportunity off Price, before Armes took a solid high catch off the same bowler a few overs later, leaving Duncombe Park 82/3.
The batsmen continued to play their shots, at times with reckless abandon. Ovington’s player of the match, Jordan McDonough (sponsored by Chris Bartlett & Family), was brought on to stem the run scoring and began what would turn into a tireless 12-over spell by taking out the danger man, Baum who sent one swirling into the skies over cover where Whale held on deceptively casually. Regular Ovington 2nd XI captain, Benjamin Busby (sponsored by Valentinos Italian Restaurant), came on to accompany McDonough and lured the batsmen into some big shots with his changes of pace. After Wright failed to hold onto a tough chance limping around the square leg boundary, he was presented with a far simpler offering at midwicket two overs later which he juggled into his wrists and chest, giving Busby and Armes heart palpitations, doubtless shortening their lifespans by a few years.
McDonough picked up his second wicket when Crusher smashed a drive hard at O Garner Steel at mid-on, putting Ovington firmly in the driving seat at 111/6, a strong recovery for the bowling side from a nervy 82/2 a few overs before. Wright then came on and, together with McDonough, squeezed the scoring. Duncombe Park’s batsmen were still itching to find the boundary, their patience wearing thin as Leckenby attempted to put Wright over cow corner, top edging one to give A Garner Steel a comfortable catch. Wright got a second shortly after as Alec Snowball picked out Lamb at mid-off, and would have had a third to follow but Lamb lost the ball in the sun and spilled a chance at long off.
McDonough finished his 12 over spell with stellar figures of 2/38, giving the innings control and picking up important top order wickets to stunt the run chase, continuing his good bowling form of recent weeks. Duncombe Park were not completely done yet, though: Dawson kept the innings ticking, showing more restraint than his teammates to wait for the loose ball and punish it. O Garner Steel was brought back after McDonough’s spell was finished to try and wrap things up, and in his second over got an edge off the back foot from Phil Rutter through to his brother Alex behind the stumps. Two balls later, O Garner Steel cleaned up the number 11 with a full, straight ball to finish the game, giving Ovington a relieving win by 50 runs.
Saturday 31st May, Ovington 2nd XI vs Drax 2nd XI
Drax: 194/9 (40); Edwards 56; Fern 4/62
Ovington: 195/9 (38.2); Everard 54*, Mason 34; Coultas 5/42
Ovington won by 1 wicket
Scorecard: https://ovington.play-cricket.com/website/results/6779522
Ovington 2nd XI’s game vs Drax on The Knavesmire had a familiar pattern to it to the 2nds previous match, all be it with a different outcome. In fact, it could be said that their match vs Church Fenton had been nothing but a dress rehearsal for the main event, which became a match to live long in the memory.
Ovington opted to bowl first once again with Spencer Fern (sponsored by DWUFB) and stand in captain Dom “Breadstick” Everard taking the new ball. It’s fair to say that Spencer initially struggled to find his line and length but none the less made the first breakthrough as a half tracker somehow ended up with a catch taken by Ashley Garner Steel at midwicket. Once he got on the board though, Spencer bowled really well, frequently beating the bat with his away swing and hitting good areas to make the batsmen work hard for their runs. He was rewarded with the wicket of the other opening bat, caught this time by James Mason in the covers.
At the other end, Breadstick bowled plenty of good balls and went for very few runs off the bat to give himself good looking figures. However, his young wicket keeper Oliver Craven (sponsored by CDA Energy Services) was not as enamoured by the captain’s bowling as a series of byes down the leg side unfairly impacted his own figures. Still, it kept Spencer down at fine leg active and involved in the game.
James Mason came on as first change bowler and immediately started hitting good areas to keep the batsmen working for their runs and Simon Rogerson came on at the other end to bowl his new found off spin. It’s always good to see young cricketers developing new strings to their bows. The bowling was tight and the economy rate low but as with the previous week, wickets were hard to come by. As such, as the match went on, the Drax players were able attack the bowling an accelerate the scoring in the knowledge that there were wickets in hand. James “Wilko” Wilkinson got through a few vital and well received overs of his own spin but other than a run out through Will Hampel and a couple of wickets to Rogerson, including another catch for Garner Steel, the Ovington bowlers found few victims. It required Spencer Fern coming back to provide the next breakthrough via a catch by Everard. Spencer then bowled a short ball that was hit to square leg at approximately 1001 mph only for Will Hampel to clutch the ball out of the air as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Will was later seen surreptitiously shaking out the pain in his hands but only when he thought he wasn’t being observed. However, runs kept coming including a couple of big sixes being smashed back past the bowler’s head. Breadstick did bowl a couple of the Drax batsmen in the final over of the innings but by then the away side had reached 194 runs for 9 wickets down, a good 30 runs or so above what the Ovo team were hoping to be chasing.
The race-day match had been rearranged with an early start and both teams agreed to get straight on with the 2nd innings to try and finish the game early and avoid the hordes of race goers and their hilarious, original and highly appreciated banter. Hampel was the first Ovington batsman to fall, his hands possibly still stinging from his earlier catch, but there then followed another good partnership between Kareem Baqai and Ollie Dodson. Both batsmen latched onto any wayward bowling to push their team’s score above 50 at a decent rate and put the bowlers somewhat on the back foot. The introduction of a leg spinner for Drax proved a major turning point as Dodson was bowled trying to launch him over Millthorpe and out towards The Minster. Garner Steel fell to an edge behind and Baqai was caught in the covers soon afterwards. Sharoon “Yes. No. Maybe” Shahzad was involved in his second run out in as many games, at least sacrificing his own wicket this time, and Craven played some nice shots before becoming the 6th wicket to fall with just 77 runs on the board. The situation suddenly looked even more dire than the previous match. In years to come, scholars will debate this match and may conclude that it was Wilko Wilkinson who changed the course of history. His cameo was brief, only 14 runs, and was played in his trademark unorthodox (even ungainly) manner but was played with such vigour it seemed to shift some momentum and give his side belief. However, once he was out, Fern followed soon afterwards to become the leg spinner’s 5th victim. At least Spencer was out to a good ball, in fact by his own telling the ball pitched three feet outside of leg stump before trimming the off bail. Captain Breadstick now strode to the crease at Number 10 to join James Mason with his team still 93 runs adrift and the 2 points on offer for getting 75% of the opposition total looking like a best case scenario. Mason and Everard (incidently the same name as the former 3rd largest department store in Canterbury) were determined that if they were going to get there, they would do it in style with Mason particularly strong on the drive and Everard punishing anything short. Runs kept coming and soon the 50 partnership was brought up alongside the 2 points. The crowds at this point were happy and impressed that the batsmen had managed to play so well for this reward. Immediately afterwards, Mason was bowled by a shooter for an excellent 34, one of very few balls to misbehave on the day. Rogerson came out at number 11 with 43 runs still required and neither batsmen moving particularly freely after their earlier bowling spells. Captain Breado though was still in charge and the 4 points for getting 90% of the first innings score became the next target. In years gone by the nightclubs of York could attest that Breadstick on the pull is a fearsome sight and with some of the Drax bowlers now struggling to hit their lengths, he was given plenty opportunity to play his favourite shot. He was even given a life being dropped on the midwicket boundary as his team’s total ticked ever upwards. The 4 points were duly achieved and from that point on things moved very quickly. There were a flurry of extras to bring the required total into single figures before two more imperious pulls to the boundary from Breadstick first brought his own total up to 50 and then brought the teams’ totals level. The field came in and Rogerson did gamely play out a few dots to keep everyone on their toes but the final sequence of play read – a slap through covers, a hobbled single and an eruption of cheers from the multitudes gathered at the pavilion. Breadstick, Mason and their team had pulled off what look impossible to win the game by 1 wicket.
A delighted but exhausted Dom “Breadstick” Everard leaves the field after his match winning efforts
The final word on the subject should go to one slightly wobbly spectator, who wished to remain anonymous, but was later quoted as saying “Watching Breadstick bat like that renewed my love of sport. It almost makes up for having to go all the way to Bilbao to watch my team lose a big cup final.”
Saturday 31st May, Ovington 3rd XI vs Hensall 2nd XI
Ovington: 122/8 (40); Smith 33; Haller 2/13, Kumar 2/18
Hensall: 124/4 (30.1); Woodward 43
Hensall won by 6 wicket
Scorecard:https://ovington.play-cricket.com/website/results/6780116
With Ovington determined to keep up their 2 wins from 3 every Saturday, it was up to the 3rd XI to fall on their swords as they were outplayed by a team that could compete at a higher level.
For the first team in a long time, the 3rds took the field not containing one junior cricketer. Hensall were the opposition and they were by far the best team to visit the Milthorpe Bowl this year. Sporting a very strong junior section along with the wise heads, Hensall bowled and fielded exceptionally well for a Division 5 team.
Graham Walton and Kush Sehgal got Ovington under way with a few solid overs of batting. Barry Steel on return to cricket looked solid for the time he was in until nicking behind. A wobble in the middle had the potential for Ovo to fall apart but as recent times have shown, the thirds don’t fold easily. Top scoring Luke Smith dug in hard, Khurram Jillani along with Will Ellis and Andrew Tomlinson provided backup and a respectable score of 122 was reached.
Picnic for 2 went down a treat and Ovo headed out to bowl / pray for a minor miracle. Unfortunately this week, all of Ovo’s divine help was being sent to a field further down at The Mire with Dom Everard providing the fireworks.
KJ continuing his excellent start to the season with the ball and was hard to get away, unfortunately the Hensall opening bat took a shine to captain Dave Warner (sponsored by Dunnington Landscapes) and thrashed him to all parts. Warner wisely took himself off and Steel came on. Still the Hensall opener managed to find boundaries. He eventually fell for a quick 43 and the writing was rather largely written on the wall. But, and a big but, Ovo don’t go down without a fight. 85/2 came 85/3, Warner with a runout and Ellis with an excellent delivery gave his team hope. The fielding was top notch and the game was dragged out. In the end Hensall proved they were the better team on the day. Steel took a late wicket, Warner stealing Will Stockton’s catch. Dom Carass went for another catch but instead took one square in the plums, a gallant attempt nonetheless. And with that, Hensall rather crawled over the line with 9 overs left.
Smith was a clear man of the match. A 50 with the bat is not far away for this man. We regroup and make sure that we are competitive next week.
Next week will definitely see the end of Ovington’s 2 wins from three Saturday record given that the 2nds do not play on Saturday but do have a cup match on Sunday.
Match reports by Matthew Wright, Simon Rogerson and Dave Warner. Photos by Benji Busby and Jed Fowke.