Upper Wharfedale claim the points at scenic Bolton Abbey

I had two potential destinations to choose from on Saturday, one being an Airedale & Wharfedale Senior Cricket League game, and the other in the Theakston Nidderdale League.

As I passed Blubberhouses’ ground on the A59, heading up to the recently re-opened Kex Gill pass, the discussion between Connor [my son] and myself was still going on as to which game we should watch.

Both had their pros, the only con being timing, as the Airedale & Wharfedale game was starting an hour earlier, and we would be arriving around 15 minutes before kick-off.

Crossing the River Wharfe, we looked across from the Bolton Bridge Bypass to see glimpses of Bolton Abbey’s ground bathed in glorious sunshine…decision made. Taking the third exit off the roundabout, we turned right into the grounds of The Devonshire and immediately right in the car park for the entrance to the ground.

Parking up, we headed around the pretty little pavilion to say hello to whoever was at the club and introduce ourselves. We’d seen someone wandering about, and was greeted with a smile from Rob Mayo, chairman of the club.

Rob told us he was playing for the firsts and was having to head off to the game at that moment, so we found ourselves alone for a few minutes before the majority of the two teams turned up.

---

The club is one of those absolute picture postcard grounds; nestled between the River Wharfe and the main road from Harrogate to Skipton, the club is next to the wonderful Devonshire Arms hotel and restaurant; and within an easy walk along the river to the ruins of Bolton Abbey.

---

For those that don’t know about Bolton Abbey – it is a monastery that was founded around 1154 and then suffered the wrath of Henry VIII, 400 years later. The area now attracts a huge number of tourists wanting to visit the village and walk through the Dales.

It is simply one of the most beautiful parts of the county, with views in all directions. If you are visiting the area, it certainly is worth a stop.

Connor and I had made the schoolboy error of not picking up our bottles of water from the fridge at home, so decided to head to one of the local shops to grab a drink, as it was shaping up to be a very warm day!

We had a choice, either the tearooms on the other side of the road from the ground, or to a farm shop signposted just by the entrance of the car park. As we had an hour and a half before first ball, we decided to walk the short distance to the farm shop.

The decision was also made easier because it would afford us a different view of the ground as we walked back along the road and over the small bridge. After a short five-minute walk, we stepped inside ‘A Good Idea’ farm shop and perused the food and drinks on sale.

Connor picked up two delicious-looking scones (how do you pronounce that?), I picked up a few slices of cake, and we opened the fridge to retrieve a couple of bottles of water. Mission accomplished, we headed back to the ground, this time stepping through a gate just the other side of the bridge and walking under the trees through the long grass to the far side of the ground.

By the time we approached the pavilion, both teams had arrived and were starting to warm up either side of it. We introduced ourselves to both captains and then let them get on with their preparations for the game.

Cakes eaten, [I was in a half mind to head back for another couple of slices], we got the cameras out and went for a walk around the boundary rope to take in the various views.

I’ve visited the ground about three or four times in the past 14 years; but, as you probably can guess, it isn’t one that I’ve been to since before the dreaded virus decided to disrupt everyone’s lives.

I won’t waste my time in trying to describe the ground – just take a look at the picture of it. I couldn’t possibly do it justice with any words I could write. It is in my list of five favourite grounds in Yorkshire…Blubberhouses and Glasshouses being up there too.

All I will say, is that the setting is epic…super epic…sorry, I’m butchering the description of the location when I promised not to!

The game we’d decided to cover was between Bolton Abbey 2nd XI and Upper Wharfedale 2nd XI in the Theakston Nidderdale Division Five. At the start of play, the visitors were near the top of the league, with the home team second from bottom.

Bolton Abbey won the toss and decided to bat first, but almost straight away, there was a problem. Despite nearly all the players arriving around an hour before first ball, one of the home team’s opening batsmen was running late, and there was a slight delay to the start of the game as he rushed into the changing rooms to pull on his pads and grab a bat.

---

Ironically, a few minutes after striding to the crease, the late running opener was walking back to the pavilion having been dismissed. Wharfdale’s young bowlers were showing some serious intent with fast and accurate deliveries, putting huge pressure on the home team’s batters.

---

Opener Mohammed Sami was looking solid at the crease, getting runs for the home team, managing to find the boundary on a regular basis, and helping the score along nicely.

Then a moment that injected a spark of something into the game…

Sami hit a delivery high into the air heading somewhere in the direction of deep cover/long off…with one of the Wharfedale players under it. The ball somehow slipped through his fingers (hitting his face – ouch!) and dropped to the floor, the opportunity for a third wicket seemingly gone.

Thinking quickly, he didn’t let the disappointment of dropping the catch linger and picked the ball up from just in front of him. The throw was superb…hitting the wickets directly and running the non-striking batsman out [he’d only faced one delivery].

The visitors celebrated and the batsman walked back to the pavilion seemingly furious at how he had been dismissed. I assume the anger was frustration with himself, rather than any controversial decision, as he clearly hadn’t got back to the crease in time.

---

Wickets continued to fall, with the main danger coming from Mohammed Sami as he continued to amass the majority of Bolton Abbey’s runs.

---

Then disaster as Sami was bowled and Upper Wharfedale celebrated, but as the team gathered to congratulate the bowler…the umpire called a no-ball! There were looks of disbelief and words were exchanged.

The umpire showed where the bowler’s foot had fallen – indicating that it was clearly over the line – and after a short pause, play resumed.

Wickets continued to fall, and Mohammed was eventually dismissed. Now it is customary for me to give you a summary of the scores, top scorers, and best of the bowlers, but there is a slight problem with me doing that.

You see…the electronic scoreboard didn’t seem to want to cooperate, but that wasn’t a problem because Play-Cricket was being updated and live scored…initially.

So as the final wicket fell the scoreboard said the home team had scored 88 runs, even though we knew they were into the 90’s…and Play Cricket was telling us they were on 36-1 after four overs (even though it had two wickets recorded as being taken).

In fact, at the time of writing this, the game is still in progress and Upper Wharfedale are yet to bat! The scorecard, ball-by-ball, and result are still in a state of disarray!

Either way, a score of around 100 isn’t enough to defend on this ground, with two relatively short boundaries to aim for from the crease.

And so it proved; with Upper Wharfedale hitting boundaries for fun and taking just around 15 overs to overhaul the total set for them. It wasn’t all plain sailing, Bolton Abbey did manage to claim a few wickets, but by and large, they were a few minor bumps on the road.

The game had been completed in around three hours and at the end of play, the visitors sit at the top of the league table, while Bolton Abbey 2nd XI find themselves at the bottom of Division Five.

What observations can be made from Saturday’s game?

---

Firstly, Upper Wharfedale 2XI feature a crop of excellent young players that are the future of the game. I have to give so much praise to the clubs that are featuring these players so prominently.

---

I know I have written similar words in previous articles this season; but this year, I have noticed so many more younger players finding their way into the first and second teams of many clubs in the region, and that is good to see.

Secondly, it’s impossible for me to comment on Bolton Abbey’s performance, as it clearly wasn’t their day on Saturday. I know that the cliché of “the league table doesn’t lie” can be voiced, but then again, from what I saw, the team have a few really excellent players who can bat and bowl.

The game did have passion and a few controversial moments, but that is sport, and that can be seen [rightly or wrongly] as the desire to win in the heat of the moment.

What I can say, is that if you love cricket, if you have a list of grounds that you must visit before you shuffle off this mortal coil…then Bolton Abbey, on a bright summer’s day, on a Saturday…is an absolute must.

MATCH PHOTOS

Want to read more?

Thank you, Mark, for capturing the highlights of Bolton Abbey CC 2nd XI vs Upper Wharfedale CC 2nd XI in Theakston Nidderdale League Division Five.

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.