Kites and Collingham Cup win at Horsforth Hall Park

Horsforth Hall Park Cricket Club has been on the radar for years – and last Sunday’s Waddilove Cup quarter-final against Collingham & Linton is when planets aligned perfectly.

The prospect of cup cricket in the park – with a bonus of free parking on Fink Hill as it turned out – gave a spring in the step.

Horsforth Hall Park Cricket Club has a sense of nestling among trees with the (very) short side of the square on one side offering a partial leafy barrier between Waddilove Cup duties and a children’s playground.

A giant sycamore towers above and everywhere is mature foliage. Square of the wicket on the far side, beyond play, sits a bandstand and a trunk with severed limbs, a likely casualty of our winter storms.

The utilitarian metallic railings – useful to lean against but jarring the view – bugged me a little. Nonetheless, donated to Leeds City Council in 1930, this scenic 8.4-acre space is a really relaxing cocoon to while away the hours.

Briefest tour over, the breaking news of the day…I ate lunch at a cricket club! It is a rarity but there is much to like about the set-up. At the pavilion with its overhanging plastic roof, diners waited with electronic buzzers to start flashing and dancing.

There’s a cafe inside where a sign noted (temporarily) that orders were paused for the important business of making the cricket tea but we were served hot food and drinks in no time.

Saturday had been the Horsforth Festival with crafts, stalls, music and thousands coming to the park. I overheard that the cricket club had one of its most profitable days ever.

Demand for food saw ever-present queues all day. Well done to the volunteers managing that. With the cricket club typically closed for winter, blockbuster days in the sunshine have to be seized.

Pre-match conversations with both captains and introductions to umpires gave a friendly first impression. By quirk of scheduling, the two sides had met the day before when a hefty 128-run defeat at Collingham saw the visitors dismissed for 77.

The Aire-Wharfe League’s Premier Division is led by Otley but today’s protagonists are in the lower reaches of the table.

Collingham were docked points for not having their ECB Clubmark accreditation and a club who’d normally be in the top four is playing catch-up.

For this cup quarter-final, Collingham’s openers Gregory Brown (45) and Jonathan Haslem (23) laid the brickwork with a 67-run stand. It wasn’t chanceless but nor was it laden with fortune. Solid, sensible cricket.

Aidan Plaatjies (below), a signing from Strandfontein Cricket Club in Cape Town, hit commanding strokes in his 62; with Charlie Swallow matching his score at the other end. It drove Collingham towards a buccaneering total.

Horsforth Hall Park’s bowlers rolled their sleeves up and they becalmed their opponents for a spell, though Henry Wainman (1-19) was curiously under-used.

After Sam Hyde (2-38) had accounted for both Brown and Plaatjies, a middle-order blast at the back end from Robert Clark (39*) took Collingham to 274-5 off their 45 overs.

The reply saw the hosts slump to 23-2 and 67-3 as Oisin Devlin-Cook (2-26) blended wickets with economy. Collingham banked heavily on spin with Jacklin (4-50) backed by Luke Jarvis (0-36) and Charlie Swallow (1-23).

Jacklin’s dismissal of Tayden Smit (33) in the middle-order was key – Smit has 500+ runs this season, looked settled and ready to pounce.

However, Horsforth Hall Park threw some punches as Peter Simpson (54), Henry Wainman (24) and Sam Hyde (26) kept things interesting for a time.

In the end, there was too much to do as Collingham won by 44 runs and advanced to the semi-finals. It’s an away assignment at Addingham on Sunday 12 July, with Burley-in-Wharfedale hosting Saltaire in the other Waddilove Cup tie.

Horsforth Hall Park is one to check out if you can – I didn’t get to the Japanese Garden in the end but plenty revealed itself around the cricket.

A red kite frequently emerged to circle to the North end while another kite – controlled by string and weaving in a strong breeze – provided a contrast to the flights coming into land at Leeds-Bradford Airport.

The afternoon ushered in a strong sense of déjà vu from a decade of bowling in South-West London’s Bushy Park. Cricket in the park lends itself to magnetically attract families and spectators who, perhaps not even avid fans, still savour the reassurance of a game nearby.

What to read more?

Here on Cricket Yorkshire, check out our latest opinion articles from club cricket. Our cricket grounds section features travelogues, as well as other related adventures.

Cricket Yorkshire’s women and girls cricket hub has interviews, news and match coverage.

While cricket clubs seeking trusted cricket suppliers can see everything from teamwear to insurance and outdoor nets in our Suppliers Guide.

There’s also our Partner Content with interviews, products and services reviewed, as well as discounts and competitions across the year.