Bradford Park Avenue Ladies edge past Crossflatts at Windhill

Spoilt for choice on a Sunday that promised not to be chilly or wet for a change, I headed for women’s Premier League cricket in Shipley.

Deposited on Platform 1 of the rail station, the lights opposite McDonalds were out so traffic had backed up into other postcodes. 

An electronic sign advertised ‘Clean Air Day’ on Thursday 16 June, nudging motorists to have a car-free day, as a long line of exhausts coughed away.

Lunch became a functional burger stop; it was quiet inside with the sense of being in the middle of a bingo hall as they called out orders. 25? 6?

I alarmed my server by whooping with childish delight when 52 was announced. It’s the little things. When I first inhaled Maccy D’s as a child, you could get a burger for a quid. Now they do World Cup meals for a tenner and table-service.

Progress?!

The walk to the ground took in a local cultural landmark (according to Google) that’s well-reviewed. The ‘Jesus Hedge’ is as it sounds really, a hedge with the word Jesus in block caps and a cross cut into it.

It made me wonder if a former neighbour is also listed as a cultural point of note. The house in Bingley is decked out with enough Christmas lights to drain the National Grid each year.

It looks fantastic and they’ve now put up a QR code to allow astonished passers-by to donate to a chosen charity.

Windhill & Daisy Hill Cricket Club is a few minutes walk from the aforementioned fine example of religious topiary. Thackley Old Road took me past football goals, a playground and to the cricket club entrance.

A smoker’s shelter is on the left; so close to the appearance of a bus shelter that I thought that’s where the 612 into Bradford stops. I’ve only seen a smoker’s shelter before at Ackworth. I think that might have been more plastic ice hockey vibes than black and yellow public transport.

On the opposite corner of the cricket clubhouse is an array of potted plants and hanging gardens in colourful bloom.

Talking of history earlier, Windhill Cricket Club (the club resigned from the Bradford League in 2016) has had some stellar names through its gates in over a century. 

Crowds once flocked to this part of Yorkshire (1937-1941) to watch the great West Indies allrounder Learie Constantine in a golden spell of five Bradford League titles for Windhill.

After the club’s shock resignation in 2016 from the league, it is pleasing to see the benefits of the merger with Daisy Hill and there are obvious signs of more prosperous times.

Upstairs, the rugby league was on the telly as I stood for a short while and munched on crisps. Above the smart wooden bar, there are old bats fixed horizontally as monuments.

The ground, well looked after by Graham, is a very generous playing area surrounded by housing. The straight boundaries aren’t long but square of the wicket is a huge throw from clubhouse to stumps.

At the top end of the ground is the scorebox where our friends at Bespoke Scoreboards installed an electronic scoreboard in 2017 before the club added DLS and a Play-Cricket Scorer Interface in 2023.

It’s a giant whitewashed box but the large electronic digits were noticeably easy to read while I sat on the benches with the players outside the clubhouse.

Speaking of Cricket Yorkshire website partners, I can’t think of a ground that had the hat-trick like Windhill & Daisy Hill.

There were also two-lane outdoor nets, installed by total-play in 2020 and looking in good shape. A banner for ACS Cricket Equipment fluttered on the side of them, perhaps Richard Shaw had provided covers or sightscreens.

A wander out to the middle revealed a surface well looked after despite the wet weather we’ve had for weeks. Bradford Park Avenue Ladies were having a chat about whether to bowl or bat first.

In the event, BPAL’s skipper Kirsty Gavillet won the toss and chose to field, given it didn’t look particularly advantageous bowling conditions and they batted deep.

Crossflatts’ total of 161 all out came in fits and starts. A quiet, untroubled start, a wicket by Lily Mae Hamilton (2-30), rebuilding then a double-blow as they lost Sophie Buttery (27) and Lydia Hargreaves (28) in quick succession.

The score of 73-2 became 80-5 in short order as the hosts bowled tidily and Crossflatts put themselves under pressure. Bradford’s keeper Sophie Ullah was in the thick of things with a run out and a stumping.

Deepa Chukkapalli, who I last saw as a promising allrounder with a classical seam bowling action, had since become a spinner due to injuries.

Her spell of 3-28 put the brakes on but the beauty of a longer format (40 overs now in Premier League 1 of the West Yorkshire Women & Girls Cricket League) is that teams can rally with both bat and ball.

Lower-order runs

In the past, Crossflatts might have been bundled out cheaply but the extra time – allied with application from the lower order – saw them recover. Kirtley (13) & Chotai (15) dug in but also reeled off some notable shots.

Arya Raval (23 off 44) and Millie Stephens (19 not out), batting at nine and ten respectively, sparked the recovery. It’s the kind of partnership that infuriates a fielding side who already have one eye on tea and a rest.

BPAL utilised seven bowlers and Emily Easingwood conjured up a satisfying spell of 3-13 to help nip out the tail. A total of 161 was likely on the light side but I doubt either captain was distraught at the innings break.

I sat by the scorebox and talked to myself. This happens quite a bit. It was for a future Cricket Yorkshire Podcast episode and I even videoed a snail crossing the boundary because we only deal in world exclusives here on Cricket Yorkshire.

You might be wondering why Bradford Park Avenue Ladies weren’t playing their home game in the city. It’s partly ground availability but also a chance to use another site (Windhill were keen) and wisely keep their options open.

The reply from BPAL – and eventual three-wicket win – was engineered by Chukkapalli’s 68 not out. She showed a calm head as Bradford’s innings faltered when Easingwood then Gavillet were dismissed to make it 71-4.

The Raval (2-17) and Chotai (2-19) double-act came to the fore for Crossflatts, a potent pair who opened the bowling.

About the time I had grabbed chips and scraps from Park Road Fisheries in Bingley, BPAL collected their own reward of 20 league points to Crossflatts’ six.

After just three games, Premier Division 1 reads Rawdon (58), Crossflatts (36) and BPAL (32) with North Leeds (29) having a game in hand. Formats seem to favour different teams as Pudsey St Lawrence (bottom in the league) are top of the Archer Cup (T20) group stages at the minute.

My one flickering annoyance is that the league struggles to keep consistency in terms of everyone playing the same number of games. It is the nature of a fixtures logjam, allied with when grounds were free, but is a little disjointed as a result.

Brief mithering done and dusted, allow me to focus on what really stood out on Sunday. The quality of some of the cricket was superb and I savoured the chance to natter with so many spectators, players and the umpire Liam who was on duty.

I’ve watched five of the six Premier League sides this season and at Rawdon and now Windhill / BPAL, the cricket and experience absolutely delivered. With excitement in overdrive over the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, it’s reassuring to note that grassroots is every bit as action-packed and worth seeking out.

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