AirTag or tails? Menston defeat Harrogate in Archer Cup

Another one of those days where I arrive way too early for a game, which isn’t a problem if I haven’t been to the ground before, or certainly haven’t been there in many years. However, this was Harrogate Cricket Club and a ground that I know intimately.

Parking up on the grass bank that overlooks the first team pitch, I headed to The Balcony to grab a cold drink, and in doing so noticed that there was a game still in progress on the second pitch.

After a quick chat with Andy behind the bar, I headed out the back of the pavilion and realised that the early morning fixture between Harrogate CC Superchargers and New Rover CC Girls Under 15 was in the final few overs.

New Rover CC were batting and looked to be scoring runs quite easily. I sat on the grass at the end of the line of parents with my diet coke and enjoyed the excellent bowling and batting on display by both teams.

I hadn’t moved around the boundary enough to see the scoreboard, so was unable to work out which team had the upper hand. However, a couple of overs gone, and a wicket fell and the game was suddenly over, with the players shaking hands and walking back towards their parents.

I picked up my phone and took a quick look on Play Cricket; Harrogate had won by 70 runs, having posted a fantastic total of 145 in their 20 overs.

I had intended to cover the two games being played at the ground that afternoon – the first one being Harrogate CC Women v Menston CC Women, and then later, Harrogate’s game against Pudsey St. Lawrence CC Women’s 1XI.

I found out that the second game had been postponed due to Pudsey not being able to get a team together, which was a real shame [I was looking forward to seeing them play again].

Harrogate are top of the West Yorkshire Women and Girl’s Cricket League, Archer Cup Group B, with Menston in third place. They play in the same league as St. Chad’s Broomfield and Pudsey St. Lawrence – two sides I had seen play a couple of weeks ago at Adwalton Cricket Club.

I took a walk across the outfield to judge how well it was drying and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was in brilliant condition – the grounds people having done a magnificent job over the past month.

Before the game started, I got chatting to Liam Cope – the match umpire; this was his first time umpiring at Harrogate and seemed to be impressed by the set up. He told me about his cricket heritage, where his dad had played and where he has been umpiring this season.

I think it is all too easy to forget about the officials who make these games possible to go ahead, or scowl and complain when decisions go against an individual or team. Liam was articulate, full of passion and ambition, and it was a real pleasure to chat with him.

As the captains chatted with Liam about the game ahead, they went to do the toss to see who would bat and who would field. A slight hiccup as no one had a coin…hearing this, I offered my Apple AirTag that was in the car keyfob as a surrogate.

The Apple logo was heads, the white side tails. Menston won the toss and elected to field. 

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Perhaps one of the weirder starts to a game – and using an AirTag as a coin for the start of a cricket game…possibly a first?

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Harrogate have a young team with all bar one player being under 18 years old, and I understand they are new to this league. I was really surprised at how well they batted, standing strong against some really accurate bowling by the visitors.

Harrogate’s captain Louisa Hill and Tijana Metcalfe got the home side off to a good start, but it was Holly Garton who top scored, retiring not out having posted 32 from 23 balls.

Caitlin Metcalfe (14 from 41) and Chloe Pipe (11 from 23) contributed to the home team’s total of 112 for four from their 20 overs. A good score and one that they could potentially defend.

My attention wandered as it was time for something to eat. The Balcony had put on the outside grill, and the wonderful aromas of various things cooking drifted across the grass. I opted for the Halloumi pita and fries – waiting eagerly for the little white pager to beep so that I could collect my food.

I am happy to report that it was [as usual] worth the short wait! I sat on the grass in the sun, enjoying my lunch and cold drink.

Suitably refreshed, I took up my place on the boundary rope once more as the players re-emerged. The Menston players were obviously just a little older than the Harrogate team, and their experience was to tell, as they chased the total.

Opener Sarah Woods looked calm and confident at the crease, and it wasn’t a surprise when she reached 33 and retired not out. Harrogate’s Holly Thompson and Kiran Sahota bowled really well, managing to pick up the wickets of Jane Campbell and Jasmine Duncan for one and seven runs respectively.

Menston’s captain, Natasha Sunderland, played brilliantly, hitting six boundaries to reach 30 from 21 balls and retired not out. It was left to Menston’s wicketkeeper, Rachel Holder, and Jeanie Lee to bring the visitors’ home, hitting one final four to reach 115 for four, and deservedly win the game by six wickets.

Menston look like a really confident and skilled team, excelling with the bat and I am sure will be vying for top spot in the Archer Cup Group B this season.

This was Harrogate’s first loss in the league, but ignoring the result, they can take plenty of positives from their performance. Even though they have such a young team, they competed for everything, and the best thing is, that given time, they will only get better.

Despite this setback, Harrogate remain top of group B with six points, sharing that top spot with St. Chad’s Broomfield. Menston CC are third, with just one point less.

Having seen four of the teams in this league this season, the county has a large pool of talent developing at grassroots level. I’ve said it in previous match reports, the future is bright…and Sunday’s game reaffirms that.

📸 MATCH PHOTOS

Want to read more?

Thanks to Mark for his snapshot of West Yorkshire women and girls’ league cricket at Harrogate.

Here are all of Mark’s articles and photos on Cricket Yorkshire.

To see more of his photography, you can visit caughtlight.com or he’s @caughtlight on Twitter/X.

There’s also the Caught Light Photography Facebook page.

I also highly recommend his blog called Leica Moments that include days out at grounds around North Yorkshire.