Close call: Sicklinghall snatch second and go up on net run rate

The last day of the Theakston Nidderdale League threatened to feature the same weather that dominated it in April. The forecast on Wednesday/Thursday suggested an overcast day with spells of light rain, and potentially the worst weather of the weekend at any rate.

However, on Saturday morning I pulled the bedroom curtains apart like a kid in winter desperate to see a fresh sprinkling of snow that would signal school was closed…except I was hoping for sunshine that would herald perhaps one last day of grassroots cricket in the Summer of 2024.

I wasn’t disappointed!

The weather forecasts had changed Friday and signalled that the south would get all the rain and thunderstorms…and I would avoid the ignominy of sitting in a car at the side of a boundary rope watching rain hit the windscreen.

The last day of the season is one that I always agonise over, with so many possible destinations, and around three or four invitations sent in my direction to potentially choose from as well.

Looking at the fixtures, the Yorkshire Premier League was clearly out of the running, as that had already finished a week or so ago…with the majority of games under consideration being in the Airedale and Wharfedale, and the Theakston Nidderdale Leagues.

I will admit I went up and down the listings in Play Cricket about 20 times. My head was rationalising the choices; I’ve been to that ground a few weeks ago…I’ve covered that team three times this season…This team invited me along…That team have won promotion already, maybe next season…

Sicklinghall aim for second

Then right at the top of the fixtures on Play Cricket was Sicklinghall at home to North Stainley. My mind churned as I tried to recall the last time I was there; I know I had intended to head to the ground mid-season, but circumstances meant that I decided to postpone my visit at that time, so when had I last been there?

A quick search of my image library and the memories came flooding back into the Swiss cheese that I call a brain…it was 2015!

Sicklinghall play in Division Three of the Theakston Nidderdale league, which had already been won by Hampsthwaite – and deservedly so.

To make it more interesting… second-placed Thornton-le-Moor had an awkward trip to the league champions, needing nine or more points for second spot [and promotion].

Any slip-up would mean that third placed Sicklinghall, and fourth-placed Ripley could have a chance of stealing that second spot, but both would need to earn a full 20 points to be in with a shout of grabbing that last promotion place.

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I’ll be honest, I was excited at the prospect of watching a promotion race that can turn Machiavellian…with three teams involved in a season defining final round of fixtures: Who wanted it the most?

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A twenty-minute drive and I arrived at the ground, although I don’t remember it being so far from the main Harrogate to Leeds road – but that has more to do with my faltering memory than them physically moving the club further away just to upset me.

Turning into the entrance of the club, I was confronted by a building site. A little uncertainty crossed my mind…was the game still on? One of the tradesmen walked towards me and I asked him, “As far as I know it is!” he replied.

I was introduced to Richard who owns the ground and is responsible for all the work underway. “I don’t play cricket” he confessed – but would be staying to protect the windows of the new pavilion since they hadn’t got around to putting the nets up yet.

We chatted and he invited me to have a look around inside the new building, and I’ll be honest, I’m glad he did!

We walked into the shell of the building, with the obvious signs of work underway to fit it with wiring, plumbing, plastering and…well you get the idea. I was led up the impressively wide wooden staircase to the first floor and the double-glazed windows and doors that lead out to a balcony that overlooks both the ground and vale.

Building for 2025

On a clear day, I was informed that you can see the White Horse at Kilburn, unfortunately, the weather was not quite good enough at that point to be able to confirm it myself.

Richard is obviously very proud of what is being built at the ground, and rightly so. When the new season starts in 2025, Sicklinghall will have one of the best pavilions in all of the Theakston Nidderdale League, and certainly it will have one of the best views.

Tour of the pavilion done, I headed back down to the boundary and met some of the home team players as they started to arrive.

I mentioned the promotion race, expecting to get nervous or excited responses…but instead, they seemed chilled about it. “Doesn’t matter really…” came one answer. “There’s a lot going on, so another season in Division Three wouldn’t be a bad thing!” came another.

Chat turned to the new pavilion, how good it will be and especially considering it will be open for the club’s centenary season in 2025. I couldn’t help but feel that the planets were aligning for me on Saturday given all this information…but that’s just me being an optimist!

Sicklinghall’s opponent for the day, North Stainley, started to turn up and I got another invitation to go to their ground next season – which I will book in when the fixtures are released by the league next year.

They had decided to mix things up slightly, by changing the batting order, giving a few tailenders a chance to bat first. It would be interesting to see how good some of the players that may not get to bat often actually were.

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Just before play began, Sicklinghall got into a team huddle. One of their players emerged from the changing rooms a minute or so after everyone else, and noticing the huddle he asked: “Are we going into a team talk?”…“

No, we’re just keeping warm!” was the response mixed with laughter.

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The home team won the toss and put the visitors into bat first, and it was a rollercoaster of a start. Sam Maddison came out swinging and was dropped by the fielder off the first delivery…before swinging and sending the ball for four on the next delivery.

This rollercoaster lasted until the final ball of the over when Sam swung again and was less fortunate as Richard Brooke held onto the ball, and the North Stainley opener was making the short walk back to the makeshift changing rooms having scored eight runs from just six deliveries.

This was going to be fun!

Any thoughts that this was going to be easy for the home team…can be put out of your mind…the visitors were enjoying the last day of the season but weren’t there to roll over and give their hosts the 20 points.

As the innings continued, I worked my way around the boundary, trying to capture images from a number of angles and attempting to deal with the sun that was popping in and out of the white fluffy clouds that were racing across the sky.

I got chatting to Nessie Grant who was on a tour of the boundary rope. Nessie has been involved at the club for over 30 years, acting as the scorer for many of them before her daughter Allie took over the role around eight years ago.

Moving to sit with the sun nearly at my back, I enjoyed the competitive but good-humoured play going on between the two sides, grabbing as many shots as I could when bat met ball.

Another boundary rope walker approached; this time it was John Wood who was celebrating his 80th birthday! John’s grandson was playing for the home team, and his sons have also played for Sicklinghall.

John chatted about playing for Stockeld Park back in the sixties, and also playing the first game at Sicklinghall’s current ground in the early noughties. I must admit, I’m always fascinated hearing about the history of clubs and the families that seem to be a part of the very fabric of the club and community.

We were interrupted by a delivery hit for four, and John continued his walk around the ground to help find the ball that had disappeared under a hedge between the cricket club and the farmer’s field next to it.

Drinks break had, Sam Houghton and Jake Cockerill were stubbornly picking off runs in the centre, frustrating the home team’s bowlers who knew that they needed the bowling bonus points to stand a chance of being in the mix for that second spot at the end of the day.

With eight overs remaining Andy Wood bowled to Jake, who jabbed the ball back at him and Andy gratefully grabbed a hold of it…a vital wicket to take, as Cockerill had managed to get 59 off 62 balls and looked like he could have stay there until the 40 overs were complete.

Valuable bonus points

A few balls later and Sam’s wicket went too, he may have only scored six runs, but he had managed to eat up five vital overs. The final wicket fell in the next and Sicklinghall had earned five bonus points, and the first part of the equation was complete.

A bite to eat and something to drink in the break, I was ready for the run chase to commence. Looking at Play Cricket…Thornton-le-Moor were chasing a total of just over 200, and Ripley had bowled Bishop Thornton out for 169 in 31 overs.

The only thing that Sicklinghall could control was their own result, and they went about it in resolute manner. Opener Andy Wood starred with the bat, getting an unbeaten 79 from 105 balls as the home team seemed comfortable scoring runs, and were always ahead of the require run rate.

Running two, it was Andy that fittingly guided his team home to complete their side of the equation…a win and maximum points. Now the nervous wait.

How would their contenders go?

Thornton-le-moor appeared to be struggling in their response, and just past their drinks break they only had three wickets left. With about five overs remaining, they lost another wicket and there was seemingly a chance that they could be bowled out.

With overs ticking down, Hampsthwaite’s opponents hung on, ending up on 172 for eight…and earning themselves seven points. With Ripley also winning and earning a maximum number of points, it was time to get out the slide-rule and work out some advanced calculus.

As the dust settled, Thornton-le-Moor had gone from second in the league, dropping out of the promotion spot into fourth. A tough one to take given how well their season had gone to that point.

At the beginning of the day, Sicklinghall were in third on the same number of points as Ripley, but ahead of them on net run rate (NRR). Both had gone ahead of Thornton-le-Moor by two points, and it was all down to that net run rate.

Promotion by net run rate

Before play had started, Sicklinghall’s net run rate had been 1.23 and Ripley’s 0.74. Ripley’s result came in late, and the table was updated after the players had left…so, who had finished in that second spot?

Ripley had improved their NRR to 0.83 and Sicklinghall’s had actually fallen to…1.17. Sicklinghall had done it! By such small margins…some promotions are won!

The only disappointment for me was the fact the players were probably celebrating in the local pub along with John and his family…and I wasn’t there to see their reactions.

The End of the Season is Nigh

I was at Walton Park on Sunday for the Yorkshire Cricket Board’s Women’s Hundred Final and got talking to Tom Colley about Saturday.

He had been out on Saturday evening celebrating Walton Park’s superb season [with three of their teams gaining promotion – congratulations to the club for such a remarkable achievement] and he told me that the twists and turns of the Division Three promotion race had been a major topic of conversation!

What an end to the Theakston Nidderdale League – it has been a classic season after a somewhat hesitant start. The teams in all the divisions have brought together all the elements of what makes cricket the game we love – some great play, loads of passion, a hint of anger at times, despair when things didn’t quite go to plan, and ultimately joy for some.

Congratulations to Sicklinghall on promotion; with the opening of the new pavilion during your centenary year…it is going to be a very, very special summer of 2025 for the club.

One final thing – I hope John had a wonderful 80th birthday party with all his family on Saturday night, I bet it was an extra special celebration!

MATCH PHOTOS

Want to read more?

Thanks to Mark for capturing the highlights of Sicklinghall CC v North Stainley in the Theakston Nidderdale League Division Three.

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 includes days out at grounds around North Yorkshire.