Champions

It was a great day. The team's eighth win on the bounce, which is exactly what was needed to win the title from nowhere. Forrest hit a breezy and very good looking 58. A hundred looked to be his to throw away, which he duly did when he got bored! Roam bowled superbly for just the one wicket. He was swinging the ball too much for them to get a nick. He also managed to take possibly the joint best catch of the season. Forrest bowled equally well for five wickets, getting his due reward, finally. I was a very proud Dad. 

Forrest has been writing match reports for a while and it's occurred to me that it would be good to archive these on Blip, to bring back the memories far better than I could myself. These are really for my own amusement in the future. I'm not expecting anyone to read them - lots of insider jokes and definitely of a certain style.

The scorecard for the day here and the final table here.

BEN RHYDDING BAG BRACE OF TITLES ON HISTORIC DAY FOR CLUB

It’s a good thing I don’t drink these days because the words are not coming easily this Sunday afternoon. If this was the case every week, the match reports wouldn’t go missing only when we lose.

Where to start… words, come on words… both teams went into the day with destiny in their own hands. 19 points required for the ones and 20 for the twos, to be sure of things without having to make any sheepish phone calls to the depths of the Nidderdale valley.

Captain Six Fingers made a good start, winning the toss and batting first on another splendid ‘patch of grass’. Me and Moisty got off to a rollicking start, with both the opening bowlers going at over 8 an over. I quickly got carried away, lobbing one to mid on (thankfully the bloke there had apparently only played six games in his life and shelled it). Obviously I got my head down after that life and crafted a wel- ha! No, I crashed my way to 58 then lobbed one down long on’s throat and he made no mistake.

Nevermind, despite the spinners regaining some measure of control, Tatts and Moisty went about things more responsibly. Cricketing them off as we cruised past 200 for the full complement of batting points. Tatts got out in the same fashion as me then Lewis hit some monster sixes, showing the value of not having tiny clothes line arms.

Moisty had a late dash but with ten needed off the final over to reach his first Ben Rhydding hundred, unfortunately he fell just short with a single from the final ball to end 99* and the team a dominant 286-2. Pretty good. Unless you’re Biggy and you’ve sat there with pad rash when you’re in the form of your life. Weird sport.

So, 8 wickets needed to guarantee the title. Rob & Roam took one apiece early on. Worthy champions would be ruthless here, right? Wrong. My poorly head counts six dropped catches as we put in our worst fielding performance of the year.

Although the required rate had soared towards ten an over, we still needed the wickets. I do try to be modest in these reports (admittedly I fail more on that front than with the bat), but it’s tough when this writer is so often the one to take the big wickets. Breaking games open for others (cough, Rob, cough) to take the glory. Same story here as I opened up an end then got taken off so Witho and Dreamy could clean it up.

For once, it wasn’t all mould, sunshine and rainbows for Rob though, as he finished his 12 overs with a paltry 2-27 and I was brought back on to finish things up. I’ve often complained this season that I hadn’t got the rewards I’ve deserved with the ball but the cricketing gods (perhaps Woodsy’s Dad has been praying for me) made it up to me yesterday as I claimed my first 5fer of the season.

As the title winning moment crept closer, we did step things up a notch, Roam taking a brilliant one handed catch at gully and Moisty, well, taking a catch! The highlight (as I’m sure the rest of the lads will agree) was my caught and bowled to clinch the title winning wicket… the ball was launched maybe hundreds of feet in the air, wind swirling, as I took a steepling catch. Just how you’d want the winning moment to be. Could I be indulging my increasingly patchy memory from yesterday? Perhaps. Is anyone going to argue with me? Well then they can write up the match reports.

We walked off content to have held up our part of the bargain but were quickly informed the 2s had taken only one wicket after 16 overs. Defending over 300 after Charlie Hatton (finally!) scored his long awaited debut Ben Rhydding century, victory would need to come in the form of all ten wickets.

Going into the penultimate over, they still needed one more but who else than Sion Blears, dominant all season for the twos, to finish things off and cue bedlam in the field and back at the club as news filtered through.

I’ve mostly used these pages to mock myself and everyone else (god knows there’s been enough to go at, even in such a broadly dominant season) but allow me a few moments to reflect and dish out some praise.

This season has not been without its speed bumps, from points deductions, to availability issues to the collective amnesia of eleven lads on how to hold a cricket bat from April through June. One thing this team does not lack, though, is personality. I think it’s truly rare to go through a season and every member of the team is able to point to at least one (and in many cases, multiple) match winning performance.

Whilst it feels unfair to single out individuals, Woodsy’s hundred at Kirk Deighton and Biggy’s knock at Walton Park stand out, alongside Naeem’s five wicket haul with a bar of soap in the first game against our eventual title rivals. A word also for the consistent dominance of old Big Nose, it’s no coincidence that we had a 100% record with Witho in the team and our late season run of eight in a row coincided neatly with his increased availability. He ended the year with 39 wickets at 9.15. Will our next big winter signing have the same kind of impact…

On a personal note, it was fantastic to see so much support over the final weeks of the season with the nets often moonlighting as a creche/dog playcentre. It was a huge reason the vibes around the club have been so high the last few months. Of course, all the winning helps here too.

It goes without saying a wonderful evening was had by all. I kept my promise of a stein (two pints) of Guinness and I’m sure Tatts will keep his promise of a BRCC tattoo…

Thanks to all those who don’t get enough thanks for everything that goes on behind the scenes at this wonderful club and long may the effort of everyone to continue this momentum.

I’ve gone on long enough now with this train of thought exercise and I need to go lie down in a cool dark room for a bit. See you in six months. Up the Rhydding.