Ovo Continue Winning Streak

With Ovington 2nd XI currently sitting in a promotion spot, the 3rds in a comfortable position and the 1st XI shooting further and further up the table, all seems somewhat rosey for the club as the season nears it denouement. Below is a round up of matches that took place in August with a high percentage of the results going Ovo’s way.

Saturday 9th August, Heslington 1st XI vs Ovington 1st XI
Ovington: 240/10 (44.4); C Buckley 70, Grenyer 30; Bashforth 3/31, Kankanamge 3/40
Heslington: 104/10 (26.3); Sherlock 36; Kitching 4/35, Wright 3/11
Ovington won by 136 runs
Scorecard: https://ovington.play-cricket.com/website/results/6777311

Treated to a green wicket, Heslington won the toss and bowled at the Outgang, believing
that they could extract some life from it early on. Coupled with three short sides and a strong
crosswind blowing towards the shortest of them, it suggested that chasing could be
favourable.
Early signs from the bowling hinted that there was some sound logic to the decision, as
uneven bounce and generous sideways movement made batting look challenging. The
downside was inconsistency from the bowlers as they struggled to find reliable lines and
lengths to maximise the support from the pitch, throwing in plenty of wides and byes (though
the ‘keeper was not really at fault for most of them). Nevertheless, when good areas were
found, batting looked challenging and Ovington’s top order faltered.
Joe Goldbacher removed the dangerous Tom Cookson (Sponsored by The Phoenix Club Bolton) who chipped up to the off side on 17, before Tim Owen trapped Joe Whale LBW, reducing Ovington to 50/2. Monty Grenyer dug in and mitigated the conditions, picking his moments to punish poor lengths, particularly driving well against anything over pitched. Owen and his captain, Graeme Sherlock, were still
getting plenty of assistance from the pitch. After Jacob Lamb (Sponsored by Badger Elite Cricket Coaching) and Grenyer had put on 40 together, Lamb lost his stumps to Sherlock before Grenyer popped one back up to Owen off his own bowling, leaving the innings hanging in the balance at 105/4.
Charlie Buckley (Sponsored by Sam Pananangle) was joined by Lucas Moore (Sponsored by Good Food Shop), and the pair began a busy partnership, dominated by Buckley. Moore proved the perfect foil for Buckley, looking secure and running hard, allowing Buckley to play a free-flowing knock. Buckley drove through the covers nicely and latched onto opportunities to target the short boundary, including launching a big slog sweep over cow corner for six, keeping the scoreboard moving freely. Moore was eventually trapped LBW by the left-arm spin of Kasun Katipe Kankanamge, the ball keeping low off the
pitch, ending the partnership at 97, but not before Buckley had reached his 50 on the way
through to a player of the match-worthy 70 off 60 balls. There then followed a flurry of boundaries and wickets as several batsmen came and went in quick succession, looking to finish the innings off with fast runs, the highlight of which was an audacious reverse sweep by Tom Armes (Sponsored by CDA Energy), shovelling the ball over backward point for four. The innings wrapped up on 240, which looked a strong total, especially after the liveliness of the pitch. Heslington would probably be left to rue conceding 47 extras, mostly in wides and byes, their waywardness with the ball proving costly.

Heslington’s innings started with a bang, as Olly Garner Steel bowled one of his quickest
spells of the season, finding plenty of lift and zip off the pitch. Unfortunately for him, it meant
that a number of edges flew to the boundary as Heslington’s openers flashed hard at the
ball. Steel did get reward for his threat, setting Matt Lockey up with a classic short-ball threat
only to follow up with a yorker and bowl him. From 42/0 and some early promise of challenging in the
chase, Heslington’s innings fell apart alarmingly quickly.

Dom Kitching (Sponsored The Everard Family) had started with some struggles to find his usual nagging line and length, spraying a few down the leg side and looking a bit off colour. Steel’s wicket seemed to kick him back into action. He got two LBWs in two balls (with an enthusiastic appeal for a third on
the hat trick ball), induced a chip up to midwicket from Sherlock, who had looked promising
when launching Kitching over long-on for six, and then won his own family battle by getting a nick behind from Tim Owen, where Tom Armes (‘keeping with a broken hand) parried the ball up before diving to catch the rebound.
42/0 had become 84/5, and there was to be no recovery for Heslington. As Steel and
Kitching came off, Matthew Wright (Sponsored by York’s Hidden History) and Jack Eckersley-Wilson were brought into the attack and offered no respite for the batters. Wilson found good bounce from the surface and got Matthew Dawson to top edge up to cover where Whale (sponsored by York and Selby Tutors) took a comfortable catch. Wright, bowling a heavy length, got an edge through to Armes before Wilson earned another wicket, this time edged up to gully where Moore held on.
The innings finished quickly, as Heslington’s lower order looked unwilling to get stuck in against Ovington’s seamers. Wright wrapped up the innings with two wickets in two balls,
yorking Toby Bashforth before Grenyer took a sharp, low catch at slip next ball to dismiss
Kankanamge, completing a comprehensive 136 run victory for Ovington.

Saturday 9th August, Hillam and Monk Fryston 2nd XI vs Ovington 3rd XI
Hillam: 101/10 (37.1); Carden 33; Baldwin 3/2, Smith 3/32
Ovington: 105/0 (13.0); Irwin 57*, Hampel 29*
Ovington won by ten wickets
Scorecard: https://ovington.play-cricket.com/website/results/6780176

As we motor through the season this Saturday saw the 3rd team back up at the Millthorpe Bowl to host Hillam & Monk Fryston. With a team sporting some Ovington legends, hopes were high.

Captain Warner as always lost the toss, this week using a coin from who knows where, but for any coin enthusiast one side was a lion and the other a horse. He did however feel it was a good toss to lose for once. Hillam stuck themselves in for a bat and after a quick apple stop with Luke Smith the boys were ready to roll. 

Opening from the houses end was our local postman Brandon Bishop (Sponsored by Black and White Cat) straight back from a stint delivering 2nd class main in Hungary. How he went wicketless truly baffles me but he bowled with beautiful control. Smith took the school end and made the difference. He firstly bowled their main man for a duck. Next was a good catch to Tom Irwin, snaffled with ease. And again a good catch landing in the paws of Andy Baldwin. 

Until this point runs just weren’t coming and Ovington were on top however the new man in and captain for Hillam did briefly threaten, hitting 25 runs from 2 overs of spin and at drinks they were 77/3. But after drinks the magic really happened. The return of the mighty Seth Young turned the game well and truly on it’s head. After a rusty first over he found his line and the pace certainly hasn’t left him. First he had captain Carden caught by Baldwin and 2 balls later rearranged the stumps of the new man in. Unplayable at times and bowling with speed to rival Luke Smith’s driving it was great to see Young return. At the other end Warner once more asked Baldwin to bowl into the wind. And his spell produced some miraculous figures. 7 overs, 5 maidens and 3 wickets for 2 runs. Unbelievable skills from our local legend. In the end it was left to Dave Warner (Sponsored by Dunnington Landscapes) and Jacob Mellows to hoover up the tail, who seemed intent on scoring no runs but delaying the picnic we had prepared for tea.

Tea came and went, Ovington now have a huge cool bag (courtesy of T Armes) so for once the sandwiches weren’t partially cooked and everyone had a good feed.

The run chase was done in 13 overs exactly. Irwin blasting it everywhere for an unbeaten half century, Will Hampel hitting the ball just as well and the pair running quickly throughout. Special mentions go to Walton who kept with great skill behind the stumps, a guest appearance from an Ovington hero in Adrian Stipetic who was lightning in the field and was raring to go with the bat and Will Stockton. After missing 2 team sheets Stockton still scampered across Northern England to complete 11 fielders and allowed us to tighten things up. 

Man of the match was close. Smith and Young certainly putting their names forward but Baldwin’s figures along with 2 sharp catches mean for the second time this season he goes home with the man of the match and a cheque for £1.17.

We go again next week.

Saturday 16th August, Ovington 1st XI vs Duncombe Park 1st XI
Duncombe Park: 96/10 (30.5); Saggers 30; Cookson 3/5, Wright 3/18
Ovington: 98/5 (32.3); Alex Garner Steel 34*; Leckenby 3/18
Ovington won by 5 wickets
Scorecard: https://ovington.play-cricket.com/website/results/6777318

With regular captain Tom Armes missing to recover from his broken hand, Dom Kitching took the reins for Ovington. Inevitably he lost the toss, leaving Ovington bowling first for the first time in six weeks. In
sunny conditions, that might not have seemed so bad, but the used wicket was to put
demons in the minds of batters on both sides and make for a low-scoring, challenging game
with a nervy chase.
Kitching opened the bowling up with Olly Garner Steel and the pair formed a good
partnership, posing differing threats from each end and testing the batters. Steel was testing
the back-foot techniques whilst Kitching found areas of inconsistent bounce in the pitch.
Kitching bowled Percy Marwood, fair reward for challenging the stumps persistently. That
was followed shortly by Jonathon Leckenby driving aerially to Tom Cookson at mid-off,
putting Ovington in a good position, Duncombe Park floundering at 29/2. Kit Saggers, batting
at three, looked rather more settled than most at the crease, playing positively to keep the
scoreboard moving, although a pull shot for four off Steel played when looking the wrong
way may have been more by fortune than design.
Matthew Wright and Harry Eckersley-Wilson replaced the opening bowlers and kept up the
pressure. Wright struck in his first over, getting an LBW as Joe Judge left a ball which kept
low and seamed back in. Wilson removed the threat of Saggers for 30, also LBW, trapping
him with a full ball. Then Wright took two more in consecutive balls either side of the drinks
break: the first one a length ball which barely bounced an inch off the ground to bowl captain
Henry Marwood; the second aided by a wild swipe first ball by Josh Lawson, no assistance
from the pitch needed. The hat trick ball was negotiated safely, but Duncombe Park were
68/6 at this point.
Wilson took another wicket with him before the end of his spell, then Cookson was brought
on to wrap up the innings, weaving a spell with his leg spin. First Louie Cook nicked one
through to Tim Burgess (sponsored by The Bartlett Family) behind the stumps, then numbers ten and eleven looked all at sea, chipping up to cover and missing a ball which clipped leg stump, finishing off the innings on 96.
Whilst it was not a high total to chase, Ovington were wary of the variable bounce in the
wicket. Cookson and Joe Whale got Ovington off to a slow but steady start, putting on 30
together to knock off a good chunk of the chase. Duncombe Park remained vocal and busy
in the field, and were rewarded for their efforts with a top order collapse for Ovington. 30/0
became 47/5 as Leckenby targeted the stumps with the low bounce, getting Whale LBW
before bowling Jacob Lamb and Lucas Moore. Leckenby finished with astonishing figures of
3/18 from 12 overs, bowling eight maidens and almost single-handedly keeping Duncombe
Park competitive in the match.
Ovington were at risk of falling flat on their faces, having had a couple of similar collapses
earlier in the season to concede modest chases. Alex Garner Steel and Tim Burgess had other ideas, though, digging in and demonstrating good resolve. Steel in particular looked a
class above the rest on his way to 34* and earning himself player of the match. He punished
loose bowling, with good footwork and balance to stay low at the crease and navigate the
awkward bounce. Burgess played a good supporting hand, remaining solid at the other end
to give Steel room to play with freedom as the pair slowly chipped away at the remaining
runs.
Somewhat aptly, the winning runs came when a ball stayed low and got through the ‘keeper,
going for four byes to take Ovington home, Duncombe Park perhaps a little cruelly denied
any points despite their admirable fightback. Five wins in a row had seen Ovington shoot up
the table, putting them firmly in the hunt, with opportunities to play top of the table rivals
Acomb in the weeks to come.

Saturday 16th August, Hensall 2nd XI vs Ovington 3rd XI
Hensall: 217/10 (36.5); Bristow 60, Woodward 48, Nicholson 41; Young, 3/23
Ovington: 96/10 (38.2); Smith 20; Woodward 3/20, Butler 3/21
Hensall won by 121 runs
Scorecard: https://ovington.play-cricket.com/website/results/6780187

This Saturday, Ovington 3rds visited Hensall 2nds. Captain Warner’s opinion, after the first half of the fixtures, was that Hensall were by far the best bowling/fielding side in the division. The return fixture did nothing to disabuse this belief.

After losing the toss (again) Ovington were stuck in the field. Simon Fricke and Luke Smith got us off to a good competitive start. Hensall have an aggressive opener and he continued in the same fashion, at least once an over he was playing a big shot and finding joy. The outfield was faster Luke Smith on the A19 so fielding wasn’t easy. Fricke made the early breakthrough and although Ovington were slightly expensive at times they fielded and bowled well. Smith and Fricke changed to Ranjan Bhattacharya and Seth Young and more breakthroughs came about. Ranjan took the wicket of the dangerous Woodward and that created space for Seth to tear into the middle order. Ball after ball young Master Young pinned the bowlers down creating problems, it’s a really impressive return to cricket after so long out and he finished with figures of 3 wickets for 26 runs off 6 overs.

Spencer Fern (sponsored by DWUFB) joined the attack and although unhappy at his own bowling, he created chances. On another day with sharper reflexes in the field he would have taken 2 wickets. He did however have an unneeded shy at the stumps allowing the batsman to cross for a quick single. I tell you this because Dave Warner scooped up from mid off and had an even more unneeded throw at the stumps. Only he didn’t hit the stumps. Instead he hit the old gentleman that was umpiring.

After this it all went rather weird. Captain Warner said the new lad in can’t bat and we can roll through these.

Unfortunately no matter who bowled he proved this to be wrong. 60 from 45 balls including 6 fours and 4 sixes made the difference. A contentious lbw decision when Hensall were 150 odd for 5 could have made it a different game but it wasn’t to be so. Ovington managed to lose 5 match balls on the day, mainly due to Warner, and it became tough going. Ed Bolt bowled a lovely little spell and bowlers came and went, in the end it was left to Sharoon Shahzad to remove the dangerman and Ovington bowled Hensall out for 217. 

Tea was exemplary and the boys tucked in. 

Batting was always going to be difficult. Bolt batted solidly from the off but no matter who went in runs were hard to come by. Graham Walton and Fern fell for not many. Sharoon was given out to what looked an incredibly poor decision for a first ball duck. Young, still making his way back into cricket, found his batting to be a bit rusty but will no doubt improve. Will Muskett batted well and looked very solid until he fell. Warner went in and leathered a 4 to cheer up his gteam. He then repeated the shot and set off for a run, his theory being if he had middled the ball then his team is in the running. Unfortunately Warner is an idiot and Ed Bolt had no chance, getting badly ran out by his captain (not the first time he’s done that this year). Warner and Smith ticked the overs off until Warner also got a rather debatable lbw decision. After that it become funday cricket. Smith on his fifth attempt in a row finally managed to ramp the bowler for 4 and finally reached his 1000th career run in Ovington colours. He eventually fell after playing another big shot. Fricke batted aggressively and had some great scoring shots. Unfortunately Ovington finished their innings at 96 all out. A tough afternoon but again Ovington refused to roll over. Andrew Tomlinson was again great behind the stumps, even taking a ball flush in the face. Luckily Sharoon was on hand to check him head to toe, stitch him back together and send him on his way.

Player of the match this week goes to Seth Young for a dynamite spell.

We go again next week.

Saturday 23rd August, Dringhouses 1st XI vs Ovington 1st XI
Ovington: 155/9 (45); Olly Garner Steel 32*; Nazeer 4/40
Dringhouses: 105/10 (31.4); Kitching 2/6, Olly Garner Steel 2/17
Ovington won by 50 runs
Scorecard: https://ovington.play-cricket.com/website/results/6777324

From playing against the most distant team in the league one week to their most local rivals
the week after, Ovington were flying high off the back of five consecutive wins. They say
winning becomes a habit, and Ovington were full of confidence and enjoying life in Division 1
having had a mixed first half of the season. Batting first at Dringhouses, they felt optimistic
that they could complete a second victory in the local derby in mild conditions, the high heat
of earlier summer having faded a little.
Any hint of complacency about the challenge they faced was quickly dispelled, however, as
Ovington made a ragged start. Nishad Nazeer bowled nicely to reduce the top order to 31/4,
although all four batters might take a bit of ownership of their dismissals. First, Tom Cookson
chipped one back to Nazeer who scooped it up low diving forward. Three balls later, Charlie
Buckley had a wild swish at one outside off stump to nick off. Jacob Lamb, Ovington’s
leading run scorer, was coming in off the back of a few low scores, and his lack of form was
apparent as he tried to cut a loose, wide ball without his usual balance and edged it through
to slip where a good catch was taken. Finally, Monty Grenyer, who had witnessed these three wickets fall from the other end, gifted a run out to Nazeer: driving one straight to cover, Grenyer charged off for a single which was never there, as Nazeer beat him in the race back to the stumps.
Alex Garner Steel and Tim Burgess, heroes of the chase the week before, came together
and started to rebuild the innings. Roles were reversed this time, as Burgess looked the
more fluent of the two, playing especially fluently against the spinners, whilst Steel played
steadily, looking to take the innings deep. Burgess used his crease well and swept
Dringhouses veteran Mick Kenyon beautifully for four. A stroke of misfortune came next ball,
however, as an inside edge onto his pad trickled onto off stump, leaving Ovington 59/5.
Steel partnered Neil Metcalfe (Sponsored by Tom Ashby) to continue the recovery, putting on 34 together as they steadied the ship. Steel was beginning to look more confident and expansive, sweeping the
spinners with good effect before he dragged a ball from Jacob Simpson-Rooke onto his stumps. Another mini collapse followed, as Metcalfe chipped a ball up in the air off the same bowler, before Harry
Eckersley-Wilson got a rough LBW decision against Kenyon, a big inside edge being missed
by the umpire to send Wilson back for a golden duck.
At 97/8, there was a real risk of a total below 120. Matthew Wright and Olly Garner Steel set
about ensuring Ovington had something meaningful to defend. The pair played patiently,
seeing off Kenyon’s final overs and targeting the other bowlers, taking boundaries off
Simpson-Rooke and running hard to keep the scoreboard ticking in between. Wright was
eventually bowled by Nazeer, a ball which barely got off the pitch, having taken Ovington to 128. Dom Kitching continued his knack of contributing useful lower order runs to accompany
Steel, whose vital 32 unbeaten runs helped Ovington past 150. They finished the innings on 155, which felt defensible on a pitch offering some inconsistent bounce and movement.

Olly Garner Steel took his good batting form into his bowling, cementing his player of the
match performance with early wickets. He bowled Andy Kenyon, beating him for pace, then
got Nazeer guiding the ball straight to Grenyer at slip next ball. For the third week in a row,
an Ovington bowler was on a hat trick, but Steel’s hat trick ball was a rather wayward full toss.
Having reduced Dringhouses to 7/2, there was a small recovery as Daniel Snaith and Patrick
Gaughan dug in a little. Kitching killed off the resistance, bowling Snaith who left a ball which
clipped the top of off stump, something Kitching had threatened all innings.
At 36/3, Ovington took control. Cookson came on to replace Steel and Wright replaced
Kitching. A horrible mix up between the batters saw Darren Avey walking back as he and
Gaughan ended up at the same end whilst O Steel had the ball in his hands at third man, the
accurate throw coming into Wright who took the bails off with Avey still metres short of his
ground. Cookson then trapped Gaughan LBW, before Wright induced an inside edge onto
the stumps from Charley Tompkins. Wright bowled with lively pace and bounce, producing
probably his quickest spell of the season and troubling the batters with movement off the
surface.
Another running calamity struck when Ben Thornton called captain Simpson-Rooke through
for a disastrous single after the ball passed Wright to Cookson at mid-off. Cookson threw the
ball into Burgess and Simpson-Rooke was a long way short. Dringhouses’ injured ‘keeper,
Joshua Lovely, had a short stay at the crease, slogging Cookson out to long on where Lamb
took a safe catch, leaving the hosts 92/8. Wright got his second wicket as Thornton pulled
him to fine leg where O Steel capped off his brilliant performance with a sharp catch, caught
at the second attempt.
The game was finished off when Kitching returned and M Kenyon gently knocked the ball up
to Buckley at midwicket, capping off a good all-round bowling and fielding performance by
Ovington. All four bowlers took two wickets and the fielders ably supported the efforts of the
bowlers, giving Ovington a comfortable win in the end by 50 runs, a sixth consecutive win
which took them to third in the table and challenging strongly for the title and promotion.

Saturday 23rd August, Cawood 1st XI vs Ovington 3rd XI
Ovington: 152/10 (38.2); Moore 41, Walton 41; Morrow 3/34, Camy 3/39
Cawood: 108/10 (35.3); Morrow 25; Warner 5/19
Ovington won by 44 runs
Scorecard: https://ovington.play-cricket.com/website/results/6780188

This Saturday the 3rds took a short picturesque trip to Cawood looking to cement a top 5 finish.

Winning the toss (finally) Captain Warner chose to bat and looking at the starting 11, confidence was high with a feeling runs would be on the board after 40 overs. 

Cricket, however, is played on the pitch and not the teamsheet. And the pitch for this game wasn’t an easy one to play on. Will Hampel fell early for 2 playing the wrong line and then Tom Irwin was the first to feel the wrath of the uneven deck. Several balls popping up became one too many and a flick off the glove left Ovington 10/2. Some might think Hampel and Irwin would have stormed back to the dressing room in anger but fortunately the nearby park provided adequate therapy. Irwin in particular with shades of glee as he flew back and forth on the kids swings.

In stepped Lucas Moore and Graham Walton. Moore at 3 lived dangerously at times but usually scores freely, he was aggressive as always and even managed to make his bat explode. At the other end Walton rolled back the years once more. Division 5 angry man Reader made a comment on Walton’s age which is surprising when Reader himself was commemorated for his bravery during the Boer War. This seemed to add focus to Walton who took apart the Cawood bowling, his running in particular was an obvious effort to show Cawood age is but a number.

Ovington reached drinks at 81/2 and early nerves had been calmed. From here on in though batting again became difficult. Moore and Walton fell and a dynamite spell from the reintroduced Cawood opener threatened to leave Ovington short. Ollie Dodson fell lbw, Sharoon Shahzad caught behind and Warner bowled playing a shot on the Friday when actually the game was on the Saturday. Fortunately for Ovington there is always someone ready to pull a rabbit out of a hat. In steps Luke Smith. A genuinely brilliant and attacking innings of 26 with help along the way took Ovington to 152 all out.

Although Cawood heavily rolled the pitch at the break, cricketing brain Irwin thought his team might have enough. Teas were great and the Irn Bru and corn beef sandwiches were well received. 

Out we went and after a terrible Scottish accent from village idiot Smith, Ovington got started. Khurram Jillani took the first over and looked dangerous from the start. Dom Everard took the other end and made an instant breakthrough, the ball ballooned up and an easy catch for Warner.

KJ was excited on and form and took a deserved wicket of the other opener with a solid lbw shout. The next few overs turned into the Will Hampel show. First a perfect throw from the boundary with Andrew Tomlinson doing the glovework had the batsman run out pushing for 2. Hampel then took a great catch at gully from the bowling of KJ. Starting around 5ft nothing he ended 11ft 6, stretching his arms into the clouds to take an unbelievable catch. From there it became a task of doing things properly and ticking off the wickets. The division 5 hoover Warner came on and bowled his anti-cricket slow nonsense, but more fool the batsman who keep getting out to it. 5 wickets, somehow, and Cawood were cooked and done. Good catches helped with Walton, Moore and Shahzad all pouching with ease. Dodson was outstanding riding the boundary and keeping everything to 1 rather than 4. Walton even had a go at two brilliant one handed dives, they didn’t stick but the effort set a high bar that others aren’t dip below. Smith had a handy spell with the ball and Shahzad replaced him. Incredibly unfortunate not to take a wicket, Sharoon had the batsman in all kinds of trouble. 

In the end Ovington turned back to KJ and Everard. KJ was that excited he made a noise reminiscent of James Wilkinson stepping on his 17 year old cat as the ball somehow bounced over the bails after hitting the batsman’s leg.

It was left to seamer Everard who showed his class to clean up the last man and give Ovington a 44 run victory.

Tomlinson again did a great job behind the stumps, certainly not easy on a day when the pitch threw up a lot of uneven bounce.

Another great team performance with all 11 players making a telling contribution. Player of the match was a tough call, Moore, Smith and Walton all putting their names forward. Unfortunately for Smith his poor Scottish accent was against him. It was also noted in the field at one point that his guide dog was half asleep and didn’t alert him to a catch about to fall on his head. So it falls to Moore and Walton, in the end Walton took the honours. Moore can feel unlucky but this week Walton really led the way with not just performance but also attitude.

We go again next week.

With three more matched left to come for all teams, their season’s outcome remains firmly in their own hands.

Match reports by Matthew Wright and Dave Warner. Photo by Luke Smith