Conor Harvey & Townville conquer demons to lift Priestley Cup

Townville’s all-rounder Conor Harvey is talking about freeing himself of an albatross.

The weight of expectation that comes with the Bradford Premier League side’s near-misses in a variety of trophies over the last decade was shrugged off with the Priestley Cup final win over Pudsey St Lawrence.

“We’ve been so close, I mean, six or seven times now with Priestley Cup finals, Heavy Woollen Cup finals…to get over the line, it means a lot to the club…not just the players but everyone from the groundstaff to the tea ladies.”

From yorkers to York

With great celebration comes great partying, to paraphrase the Marvel Spiderman films. Townville have been conscientious on that front. Conor reckoned it was a late one after the final: “Jack Hughes was the last one to leave at quarter past six…we’ve had a big few days!”

A trip to York followed including the club’s committee. If I were to guess, it was unlikely the group splashed out the new £20 fee each to have a look round York Minster. But the relief must be enormous as Townville are a dangerous side who’ve beaten some of the finest clubs in Yorkshire.

Until now, they’ve just not been able to go that extra step to lift trophies. For Harvey, it was satisfying to have played the key role with both bat and ball. His devastating 94 off 43 balls propelled Townville to 273-6.

See ball, hit ball

I’m curious what he was saying to himself out in the middle? Is it constant pep talks or a quiet focus? The answer lies in bringing that trademark batting mayhem with a dose of calm in between.

“I’ve got myself in positions like that before and never really seen it through. I get 50 and give it away…especially on the bigger stage. I don’t try and think too much about it out there.”

His style of play? “If it’s there in my area, I’m going to try and hit it. If it’s not then nine times out of ten, I’m still going to try and hit it! But, I just keep telling myself that when it’s not there, knock it for one.”

It’s a measure of the cricketer that even now, after winning such a vital game, he’s annoyed at himself for missing out on six or seven boundary opportunities.

It all worked out in the end though after a switch of bat before the final, Conor’s replacement willow did the business: “The first ball, it broke Saturday morning. I was like ‘this sums up my year!’ but I got my spare out and it all came into play for me Saturday (72 off 33 balls against Jer Lane) and Sunday as well.”

There can’t be too many Priestley Cup final appearances where one player has dominated to such a degree first with the blistering 94 but then 5-22 with the ball.

“You have your good days out but I’ve been struggling a little bit with an ankle injury…my landing foot so I’ve been getting into spells but the longer it goes on the more it hurts. To be fair, the first two overs, I bowled about ten half volleys!”

Again, a pretty honest assessment. It’s not often I interview a cricketer who is so self-analytical off the back of a win like this, he tells me: “I haven’t bowled consistently all year. I think when it’s your day, you have a day out. I know what I have to do to keep my (bowling action) shape. When it clicks, you start bowling well and get your tail up.”

By his own admission, Harvey used to bowl a lot quicker but side and back injuries have required an adapted style that’s steady away and hitting top of off.

Who knows but perhaps a tearaway spell recently did something in the build-up to the Priestley Cup, confidence-wise.

“I bowled a quick spell last week because I wasn’t feeling good so I just thought I’m going to run in and bowl as fast as I can here. It’s the first time I’ve done that in six or seven years.”

Season perspective

The Priestley Cup win is a massive deal for Townville Cricket Club. Not just, one suspects, finally getting their hands on some silverware – but more the mindset shift that might lead to further success down the line.

Having missed out on a Heavy Woollen Cup final appearance after losing to Shepley in the semi-final, Townville’s focus is back on Bradford Premier League.

While that horse has somewhat bolted with New Farnley wrapping up the league emphatically with four games to go, second place is up for grabs. Townville (third, 234pts) play Woodlands (second, 241pts) at home on Saturday 23 August in another huge game.

After Woodlands, it’s Pudsey St Lawrence (a), Baildon (h) and then a final game of the season away at New Farnley. That could well, if the maths and performances in between are good enough, have plenty resting on the fixture for both clubs.

Townville might be in a position to finish second in the Premier League while New Farnley could be aiming to be unbeaten in the league.

It would constitute real progress for the club on the outskirts of Castleford after fourth (2024), third (2023) and third (2022), to go with the Priestley Cup triumph. Much will depend on the current injuries in the Townville first-team squad and how resources can be juggled as it reaches crunch-time.

For Conor, the Priestley Cup is a tangible reward after a frustrating season where he missed bowling duties for a month and the team lost five games on the bounce in May and early June.

“We’ve battled back hard and got ourselves in a good position. You’d always take lifting a trophy and finish top three in the league as a pretty good season.”