Romany WIN by 11 runs
Romany CC 277-2
F Read 100*
H Bruckner 104*
A Maiden 31
Lofthouse & Middlesmoor CC 266 ao
C Costello 150
P Solomon 33
R Smith 4-41
A Maiden 3-44
The term ‘village cricket’ has become synonymous with poor batting, sloppy fielding and wayward bowling but last Sunday at a sunny picturesque Lofthouse & Middlesmoor CC we ended up victorious in a village cricket game at its very best.
We arrived at L&M’s tiny ground with a reasonably strong side, but we realised that we were likely to be a seam bowler or so short with such short boundaries and a batsman friendly track where 6’s and 4’s are the most regular scoring shots.
Following a short discussion between Nick Hawkins, Romany’s skipper for the day, and the L&M captain, Romany batted first, and got off to a good start with father and son opening partnership Duncan and Freddie Read taking the score past 50 before Duncan was out bowled to a sharply turning off-break just as Freddie was starting to find his range and the boundary at regular intervals.
Freddie was joined by Hamish Bruckner and they proceeded to add over 100 in partnership, Freddie later retiring on 100 exactly (his first Romany ton and the first of many we hope!) Soon after joined back in the pavilion by Hamish who also made a century before retiring on 104, a century on debut!
Alistair Maiden then made a quick fire 31 before missing a straight one while trying to keep the scoring rate high. Romany closed on 277/2, which we felt was a good defendable score.
We enjoyed a great tea in the bijou L&M clubhouse, as a light shower passed over the ground, the weather timing it perfectly as the sky began to clear just as we were ready for play to resume after the tea break.
Steve Jackson and I opened the bowling, with Steve keeping things tight with characteristic accuracy and a nagging length, a good foil for my many ‘variations’ (inaccuracies) at the other end. The first couple of overs passed without drama and L&M struggled to get the ball away as we restricted scoring shots.
Early in my spell and thanks in the main to excellent fielding I was fortunate enough to collect a hat-trick! The first wicket from an overpitched ball fell to a Duncan Read catch at extra cover, then for the second the batsman pulled a short ball to mid-wicket and was unlucky to pick out our best fielder on the day Freddie Read, who completed a spectacular diving catch, which would otherwise have been a certain boundary. The dismissal that completed the hat-trick, however, I am claiming as a ‘proper’ wicket. Nick kindly agreed for me to bring the field in (even adding a second slip – take note Knighty) and the batsman, under pressure allowed a good length slightly inswinging ball to pass between bat and pad, dislodging off stump!
The fall of that 3rd wicket brought the L&M number 5 to the middle and I think we knew despite being ahead in the game that we could have a battle on our hands as he strode to the wicket smoking a tab and brandishing a specially shortened ‘mongoose’ bat. My first ball to him was a high full toss on leg stump and he proceeded to bludgeon his way to 100 and retirement in only around 10 overs.
We knew our bowlers may have a long afternoon and for spin bowlers in particular it was hard to prevent regular boundaries, Nick Hawkins and Charlie Read’s first spell were controlled but still expensive. Freddie Read and Alistair Maiden managed to reign the scoring rate back in and each picked up wickets (Read 2 & Maiden 3) and once Costello, their no 5 retired we regained control of the match. A special mention should be made to Duncan Berry who kept excellently throughout.
Both Read and Maiden bowled out, and the scene was set, with L&M running out of batsman, it seemed inevitable that Costello would return, and with around 70 runs needed and 7 overs left, the match could still be lost by Romany.
What followed was the perfect finish; I closed out the bowling with Charlie Read and we managed to get to the last over of the match with L&M requiring 21 runs and 9 wickets down. 13 year old Charlie proceeded to pull off a minor miracle, bowling to Costello he sent down his leg spinners without fear and restricted the scoring for the first 3 balls of the over, meaning that the batsman had to go all out to finish the game. On the final ball, Read tossed it up once more and Costello swung his Mongoose (once more) and the ball sailed high into the air, but only picked out Alistair Maiden who executed the most cool calm and collected parry and rebound catch to win the game!
After such a strenuous afternoon as would be expected we retired to the Crown Hotel in Middlesmoor for a quick pint before home, content with a superb game of village cricket in a great setting with superb opposition, in the very best sense of the word.
Romany CC vs St George’s CC Match Report
/0 Comments/in General, Match Reports 2021 /by Rob SmithBy Nick Hawkins, 7th June 2021
In good weather, we arrived at the lovely St George’s ground, to find that our opponents, with only about one exception, looked young and fit, which was concerning…(Later on, the skipper initiated a discussion about which of our many veterans was the oldest, and the consensus is H.Elgot has that honour…)
It was agreed between the skippers that it would be 35 overs a side, and Romany would field first. Marcus Robinson opened the bowling with our new player Adnan Taj (congratulations to Howard for recruiting him!). Marcus was steady and Adnan bowled very well – some very quick deliveries and some canny spinners, and St George’s could not take any liberties against him.
St.George’s openers made a steady start, and then made the mistake of underestimating Steve Hardy’s lightning speed racing from behind the stumps – a deadly-accurate throw as they tried to go for a quick single, and a direct hit ran out the striker at the bowler’s end.
Young Harry Abel bowled very well too (action reminiscent to your scribe of a young J.K.Lever, left arm round) and deserved wickets – near catches not quite going to hand. Later on, Steve Dobson tried his luck and got one of their established batsmen bowled.
Adnan got their other opener, but their middle-order was strong, and their number 4 went on to 50 and was retired by them. Matt Knight, as always, bowled steadily. Matt later dropped one chance, but caught a more difficult one, from Steve Hardy’s (as always) excellent bowling, once John Surtees had taken over the gloves. We got a second run-out (by Adnan). At the end, with overs running out, Howard bowled two very straight overs, but felt a recurrence of his previous calf injury and had to retire from the rest of the match. There was a final unusual incident, from your scribe’s bowling – batsman gave it a charge, missed, and the ball was going to hit middle – and did indeed do so, but unfortunately John S was keen for the stumping and his finger just caught a bail before the ball hit the stumps so the batsman, who was walking, had to be called back. St George’s finished on 203-6.
For Romany, Matt and Steve Dobson opened up, but Matt got a very good ball from their quite quick opening bowler and was bowled for 4.
Steve Dobson hit some meaty blows and went on to 16 before he too was bowled by the same quick. The next 3 in the order made most of our runs – an excellent partnership between Steve Hardy, who made 26 before he was caught-and-bowled and Harry Abel, who made an excellent 34 before he was caught. Adnan went on the offensive, with Marcus briefly, and then he had a partnership of 31 with your scribe, of which Adnan made 30 and there was one leg-bye…Trying to go for it, your scribe wasn’t quick enough going for the second successive 2, and was narrowly run out by a good throw.
Adam Bowen was also run out, Adnan was finally caught for 68, and our final player Richard Abel (who’d been pressed into service by Matt Knight as a last minute replacement for an injured youngster) made 1 before being bowled, leaving John Surtees not out- Howard being “absent hurt”
We actually finished on 165-9 from 33.4 overs, (from the copy of their scorebook).
An enjoyable game at a pleasant venue against good-natured opponents and we all hope this will be a regular fixture in future years for Romany.
2021 Fixture List
/0 Comments/in General /by Rob SmithOur fixtures for the forthcoming season are taking shape. We are very hopeful for a full season of cricket this year…
May
16/5 – Druids @ Goldsborough
23/5 – Hawks @ Bolton Abbey
30/5 – Bank Holiday
June
6/6 – St Georges Cricket Club @ Harewood House
13/6 – Chatsworth House
20/6 – Collingham
27/6 – Swinton Park
July
4/7 – Burnt Yates
11/7 – Lofthouse and Middlesmoor
18/7 – Yorkshire Gents
25/7 – Markington
August
1/8 – Yapham (subject to ground availability)
8/8 – Ripley
15/8 – Little Valley
22/8 – Leeds Caribbean
29/8 – Bank Holiday
September
5/9 – Crakehall
12/9 – Arthington
Romany CC vs Burnt Yates CC Match Report
/0 Comments/in Match Reports 2020 /by Rob SmithRomany LOSS by 94 Runs
Burnt Yates CC 195-6
Romany CC 101 AO
Match Report by Duncan Read
A Dales cricket club with beautiful views towards the Hambleton hills on a day when the country was basking in a heatwave – that certainly sounded appealing, and 11 Romany-ites arrived on time (!) for a 40 over match. There had been much liaising beforehand on the covid protocols and the reassurance from BY that there was a full fridge of beer and an honesty box!! A pre match conversation with their captain seemed to go well enough, and I explained we had the usual Romany mix of age, experience and talent, which he assured me was also the case for them.
BY elected to bat first and some post lockdown looseners were served up to their openers who quickly moved the score to 75 for no loss off 10 overs. This was looking like a long afternoon….. until Josh Walker (making his debut for the club) removed one of them, bowled with his first ball!! Sadly this meant that the Aussie from Darley came in however some tight bowling from Sam Smith and Josh pegged back the scoring rate. How Sam ended wicketless was bemusing! The opener retired when he got to fifty and then D.Read managed to hang on to a catch at mid-wicket to send the Aussie back to the hutch. Further accurate bowling from Marcus and Keith followed but somehow they managed to maintain their scoring on the small ground, regularly finding the boundary and pushing the total up. Charlie and Freddie Read bowled in tandem with contrasting styles – Charlie was unlucky not to pick up a wicket and Freddie found the outside edge for Steve Hardy to claim the catch. Josh and Steve Jackson finished off the innings which in the spirit of the pre-match conversation saw Romany use 8 bowlers. BY finished on 195-6 with the pick of the Romany bowlers being Josh on debut with 3-21 off 6 overs, great figures on such a small ground.
As the various styles of covid teas were consumed we thought sub 200 was very gettable, as the sun came out and our top order padded up for the challenge. Fresh from their partnerships in Sussex, brothers F and C Read opened the batting and looked comfortable defending and then putting away the bad ball. Charlie then unluckily got one that jumped on him and he edged to gully. Sam Smith came in at 3 in his usual swashbuckling way, and proceeded to take on the bowling with great effect – sadly though his preferred route was aerial and a mistimed one saw him back in the pavilion (well he would have been back in the pavilion pre-covid days….). Josh then entered hoping to add to his bowling heroics but again he was caught, as was Freddie who had looked comfortable and well set for a big score. A familiar tale of a Romany top order collapse…….
Steve Hardy was then the first of the three Romany LBW victims to be given out by their own team, but at least that was marginally better than D Read who was not only out LBW, but given so by his middle son! Marcus was bowled by a big turner and then Billy Read (another on full debut) held up one end whilst Rob Smith got in to the scoring with a couple of lovely pulls for four. Billy was done for by the quicker ball yorker, Rob was another one that didn’t get his pads out the way, and Keith was the final wicket to fall, leaving Romany all out for 101.
Few lessons learnt –
Anyway, the fridge was stocked with beers, the honesty box was just that and it was a lovely afternoon weather-wise in a glorious location – not a bad way to spend a Sunday despite the result.
Onwards and upwards to Mytholmroyd this Sunday to play Little Valley.
2020 Fixture List Finalised
/0 Comments/in General /by Rob SmithThanks to the efforts of our fixture secretary and tour manager we have managed to secure the following fixtures for the remainder of the 2020 cricket season.
02/08 Tour Match vs Petworth Park (2pm Start)
03/08 Tour Match – Romany Inter-squad Game (1:30pm Start)
04/08 Tour Match vs Hambledon (1:30pm Start)
05/08 Tour Match vs Chichester (1:00pm Start)
06/08 Tour Match vs Slinfold (2.00pm Start)
09/08 vs Burnt Yates (1:30pm Start)
16/08 vs Little Valley (1:30pm Start)
23/08 vs Leeds Caribbean (Start TBA)
06/09 vs Crakehall (Start TBA)
13/09 vs Arthington (Start TBA)
20/09 vs Druids (Start and venue TBA)
27/09 vs Hawks (Start and venue TBA)
Recreational Cricket Returns!
/0 Comments/in General /by Rob SmithFor all players attending Romany CC Cricket matches for the remainder of the 2020 season please see below guidance from the ECB:
2020 Pre Season Nets Cancelled
/0 Comments/in General /by Rob SmithIn light of the ongoing coronavirus issues and prevailing Government advice, following consultation with the Romany CC committee:
We have regretfully decided that all remaining pre-season net sessions are CANCELLED with immediate effect.
We will be in touch in due course to advise on any possible impact on the start of the 2020 season and effect on our fixture list.
2020 Pre-Season Nets All Welcome!
/0 Comments/in General /by Rob SmithPre-season nets for the 2020 season will be held at the Headingley Indoor School at 6pm on the following dates:
4th, 11th, 18th, 25th March and 1st April
All players welcome, current and potential future – there is no charge.
The address is: 43 St Michael’s Ln, Headingley, Leeds LS6 3BR
Romany CC vs Lofthouse & Middlesmoor CC Match Report
/0 Comments/in Match Reports 2019 /by Rob SmithRomany WIN by 11 runs
Romany CC 277-2
F Read 100*
H Bruckner 104*
A Maiden 31
Lofthouse & Middlesmoor CC 266 ao
C Costello 150
P Solomon 33
R Smith 4-41
A Maiden 3-44
The term ‘village cricket’ has become synonymous with poor batting, sloppy fielding and wayward bowling but last Sunday at a sunny picturesque Lofthouse & Middlesmoor CC we ended up victorious in a village cricket game at its very best.
We arrived at L&M’s tiny ground with a reasonably strong side, but we realised that we were likely to be a seam bowler or so short with such short boundaries and a batsman friendly track where 6’s and 4’s are the most regular scoring shots.
Following a short discussion between Nick Hawkins, Romany’s skipper for the day, and the L&M captain, Romany batted first, and got off to a good start with father and son opening partnership Duncan and Freddie Read taking the score past 50 before Duncan was out bowled to a sharply turning off-break just as Freddie was starting to find his range and the boundary at regular intervals.
Freddie was joined by Hamish Bruckner and they proceeded to add over 100 in partnership, Freddie later retiring on 100 exactly (his first Romany ton and the first of many we hope!) Soon after joined back in the pavilion by Hamish who also made a century before retiring on 104, a century on debut!
Alistair Maiden then made a quick fire 31 before missing a straight one while trying to keep the scoring rate high. Romany closed on 277/2, which we felt was a good defendable score.
We enjoyed a great tea in the bijou L&M clubhouse, as a light shower passed over the ground, the weather timing it perfectly as the sky began to clear just as we were ready for play to resume after the tea break.
Steve Jackson and I opened the bowling, with Steve keeping things tight with characteristic accuracy and a nagging length, a good foil for my many ‘variations’ (inaccuracies) at the other end. The first couple of overs passed without drama and L&M struggled to get the ball away as we restricted scoring shots.
Early in my spell and thanks in the main to excellent fielding I was fortunate enough to collect a hat-trick! The first wicket from an overpitched ball fell to a Duncan Read catch at extra cover, then for the second the batsman pulled a short ball to mid-wicket and was unlucky to pick out our best fielder on the day Freddie Read, who completed a spectacular diving catch, which would otherwise have been a certain boundary. The dismissal that completed the hat-trick, however, I am claiming as a ‘proper’ wicket. Nick kindly agreed for me to bring the field in (even adding a second slip – take note Knighty) and the batsman, under pressure allowed a good length slightly inswinging ball to pass between bat and pad, dislodging off stump!
The fall of that 3rd wicket brought the L&M number 5 to the middle and I think we knew despite being ahead in the game that we could have a battle on our hands as he strode to the wicket smoking a tab and brandishing a specially shortened ‘mongoose’ bat. My first ball to him was a high full toss on leg stump and he proceeded to bludgeon his way to 100 and retirement in only around 10 overs.
We knew our bowlers may have a long afternoon and for spin bowlers in particular it was hard to prevent regular boundaries, Nick Hawkins and Charlie Read’s first spell were controlled but still expensive. Freddie Read and Alistair Maiden managed to reign the scoring rate back in and each picked up wickets (Read 2 & Maiden 3) and once Costello, their no 5 retired we regained control of the match. A special mention should be made to Duncan Berry who kept excellently throughout.
Both Read and Maiden bowled out, and the scene was set, with L&M running out of batsman, it seemed inevitable that Costello would return, and with around 70 runs needed and 7 overs left, the match could still be lost by Romany.
What followed was the perfect finish; I closed out the bowling with Charlie Read and we managed to get to the last over of the match with L&M requiring 21 runs and 9 wickets down. 13 year old Charlie proceeded to pull off a minor miracle, bowling to Costello he sent down his leg spinners without fear and restricted the scoring for the first 3 balls of the over, meaning that the batsman had to go all out to finish the game. On the final ball, Read tossed it up once more and Costello swung his Mongoose (once more) and the ball sailed high into the air, but only picked out Alistair Maiden who executed the most cool calm and collected parry and rebound catch to win the game!
After such a strenuous afternoon as would be expected we retired to the Crown Hotel in Middlesmoor for a quick pint before home, content with a superb game of village cricket in a great setting with superb opposition, in the very best sense of the word.
Romany CC vs Bolton Percy CC Match Report
/0 Comments/in Match Reports 2019 /by Rob SmithRomany v Bolton Percy 2.30 pm Friday 5th July 2019– Match Report
35 Over Match
Romany 148 -6 lost to Bolton Percy 149 – 6
Match Manager’s Report
The Bolton Percy Cricket Festival is one of the great delights of the summer for those of us lucky enough to take time off work to play at Bolton Percy’s lovely ground. The match was played in near perfect weather, as you can see from the photo, and was enhanced by the pealing of the bells from the church tower at deep mid on.
Duncan and Freddie Read got us off to a great start and put on 55 together before Duncan was dismissed for 24. Freddie went on to make an elegant 32. Harwood Williams top scored with 36, but no-one hit the ball harder than Richard Reynolds who hit a quick fire 28, including at least one enormous 6, almost to the church tower.
Unfortunately we didn’t score quite enough runs.
After the best tea in club cricket (but no port this year) Bolton Percy got off to a fairly ordinary start as a result of some excellent seam bowling by Keon and Harwood Williams. Keon ended up with 2 for 21 off 6.3 overs. Unfortunately one of their openers made 70 and the game began to slip away from us in spite of Charlie Read proving that even at the age of 13 he is one of the best leg spinners seen at Romany.
Towards the end of the Bolton Percy innings Nick Hawkins threatened to run through the Bolton Percy batting order and finished with figures of 3 for 23, helped by 2 excellent catches behind the stumps by Steve Hardy. Harwood Williams also took 2 good catches in the deep, one of which gave a deserved wicket to Charlie Read.
A special shout out to John Surtees who turned up at very short notice when I had to pull out injured on physio’s orders. Hope my umpiring wasn’t too controversial.
Howard
Romany CC vs Yapham CC Match Report
/0 Comments/in Match Reports 2019 /by Rob SmithDeparting the Harrogate area in shorts, sunglasses and with factor 50 at the ready, the Romany boys rode in the East Riding looking to get things back on track after the shock defeat at Swinton, and to avenge the last ball defeat at Yapham 1 yr ago. Clearly none of us had looked at the weather forecast in the Yapham micro-climate and to find out it was a ‘two sweater’ day with a howling easterly wind off the north sea dampened the spirits somewhat!
Still not to worry, we had batting and bowling talents in our rank and all that we needed was the tactical genius of Knighty to bring that blend together to deliver a victory. This tactical plan started off with a lengthy discussion with the Yapham captain which somehow resulted in them batting in the agreed format of a 40 over match.
Romany opened with Matt Graham and Rob Beilby who both immediately put pressure on their openers. ‘Paddy’ their rather less mobile opener, had driven from Dumfries to take part in the match and when Matt clipped his off stump in the first over, it looked like a 350 mile round trip may have been in vain – however in keeping with World Cup trends, the bails didn’t tumble and Paddy stayed out in the middle to put on a useful opening stand. This stand was only broken due to an excellent run out by Marcus, the first of three in the Yapham innings (yes you read that correctly, Romany managed 3 run outs!). Matt and Rob were replaced with a father and son ‘pincer attack’ – the speed and aggression of Tom Edgerton at one end, and the guile and accuracy of Keith at the other. This lead to a mini Yapham collapse with good catches taken by Matt and Steve Hardy (along with a stumping) leaving Yapham reeling at 52-4. This is when tactical know how comes to the fore, and Knighty managed to rotate his bowlers, including a hostile spell of 3 overs from President Hockin, however due to the fact he can’t actually count, Knighty was left to bowl the last over himself. Their last partnership, of two lads from Pocklington School, showed us to pick up runs effectively, and also how to reverse sweep part time captain bowlers for 4! Towards the end the Romany fielding wavered slightly amongst the ridged and furrowed outfield, allowing Yapham to reach 180-8 at the close.
Tea lived up to its pre-match billing with hot pulled pork sandwiches being this year’s treat, along with exploding meringues that seemed to catch the Romany captain off guard whilst deciding on his batting order. However fuelled up, and with an extra jumper on for all the waiting batsmen, Romany began their innings with the Captain and Steve opening. Their bowling could be classified as gentle (at best) and so it was jolly generous of our Captain to dolly back a slow full toss to allow others to have a go – and have a go they did. Steve and Tom very quickly got to 50s with some excellent aggressive shots along with quick running and once they retired, Matt and Marcus contributed some valuable runs to bring us within sight of victory before Read and Howard took us past our target of 180 with 5 overs to spare.
Good to get the result after losing out for the last couple of years in the final over and a good all round team performance. Copies of score book attached for reference with the learning outcome of the afternoon being: ‘don’t stay up past midnight making hay, because if you do, you won’t make any hay off shite bowlers’