Nidderdale Cricket League: Ripley edge hosts Sharow

The search for Saturday’s venue started earlier in the week than has been the norm throughout the start of 2024, as the weather has been remarkably well behaved.

The ongoing A59 road closures meant that cricket clubs heading over towards Skipton and beyond will be considered later on in the summer when they become more accessible – which is a real shame, as there are a number that I want to visit this year.

There are a couple from around York that I had on my list – but I was heading in that direction on Sunday, so decided to add them to the ‘later this summer’ list too.

The remaining possibilities contained a few clubs that seemed to centre around Ripon. As I looked down the Play Cricket fixture list, my eyes settled on Sharow.

Strangely enough, I had driven through the small village a couple of days earlier, discussing with my son the various clubs I had visited in the vicinity over the last three years.

Sharow is probably the closest club to where I live that I have never been to, so seeing that they had a home fixture against Ripley in the Theakston Nidderdale Division Three…my mind was made up.

I arrived at the ground just over an hour before first ball, as I like to have a walk around and explore, work out where I can take photos from, and simply appreciate the little details scattered around.

As I parked the car, four faces turned to look at me from the crease; I got out and went over to introduce myself and received a warm welcome.

Following our chat, I picked up one of the cameras and went for a walk, following the painted boundary marker and enjoying the warm sun and slight breeze.

Remembering Edna

As kick-off approached [my son hates me saying that, and he always corrects me by muttering ‘first ball’], I was informed of the sad passing earlier in the week of the Sharow Cricket Club President, Edna Colley, and that they would be holding a minute’s silence before the game.

Edna was one of those people who are the heart and soul of a club, having been involved with Sharow Cricket Club for well over 40 years and instrumental in supporting the club’s entry into Division Two of the Nidderdale League.

From my chat with the players, Edna was involved not only with the cricket club, but also an active member of the local community and a huge part of the village.

One player fondly recounted how team members were often told off by her for leaving teacups laying around – with a smile on his face.

It is evident how much she meant to the players and club, and how much she will be missed.

As 1:30pm approached, the players from both teams lined up either side of the pitch and held the minute’s silence impeccably.

Respects having been paid, thoughts turned to the game, and I retreated to the initial spot on the boundary that I had picked out. 

The club is situated just off the main road that runs through the village, with the pavilion doubling up as the village hall, or is it the other way round?

There is a small car park as you drive in through the gates, which is maybe a little too close for comfort when a player on strike gets a good connection with the ball.

Taking it all in

I sat down at the bottom of the gentle slope, near the entrance to the ground taking in the view; the brilliant white pavilion on my left, the wonderfully green playing surface and blue skies broken by the odd white fluffy cloud.

There was the pleasant cooling breeze ebbing and flowing down the hill, dancing in and out of the trees rustling the leaves, and the sound of the birds singing.

Moments like these are to be savoured, they counteract the moments during winter when I’m sat pitch side somewhere in the cold pouring rain on a winter’s night, wishing I wasn’t, and more importantly, wishing the cameras and computer weren’t getting soaked-through.

I may not getting paid for covering a lot of the grassroots sport but can consider myself to be considerably richer for days and experiences like this.

Ripley won the toss and decided to put the home team in to bat first. With the outfield fairly dry and the slope of the ground conducive to allowing the ball to run towards the boundary; Sharow were scoring consistently and getting a few fours and the odd six as well.

A notable moment came early on when a big shout for leg before resulted in the Ripley bowler standing looking at the umpire seemingly bemused as to why the batsman wasn’t walking back to the pavilion with his bat under arm. 

That moment lasted a long time, looking almost as if he was considering asking DRS to review it. The fifteen seconds elapsed and the decision remained with the on-field umpire and the player survived the appeal.

The moment of tension passed, and play got back underway.

Sharow managed to bat for just over 35 overs and scored 159; Marley Burns top scored with 32 from 28 balls, including four fours and a car-worrying big six into the car park.

As tea was taken, I had a couple of brief chats with a few of the spectators dotted around the ground, with them suggesting that the score was possibly a little on the low side to defend…but said with faces screwed up slightly, which suggested that it was probably not too bad a total to post in the circumstances.

Ripley came out in determined mood, scoring well but at the same time losing wickets regularly. As the overs ticked by and the wickets fell, that 159 chase seemed less and less likely to be achieved, with, at one point, the visitors around 50 runs short and only two wickets remaining.

Indeed, as Oscar Hardcastle strode to the crease, it seemed that the home team were cruising to victory – after all, a couple of quick tail-end wickets and the points would be staying in Sharow.

---

Mark Lambert and Oscar had other ideas. Over the next few overs, they timed the ball beautifully, despatching it to various points of the boundary and building pressure on the Sharow bowlers.

---

Eight fours and two sixes from the pair guided Ripley to what was, at one point, an unlikely victory winning by two wickets, and completed a wonderful game of competitive cricket, that both teams can be proud of playing in.

Packing the cameras away, I watched the players from both teams shaking hands with smiles on their faces – this was sport being played the way it should be played.

Sharow is a beautiful village just outside the Ripon ring road, easy to get to and another place that I can recommend you visit.

The cricket club is an integral part of the village and really welcoming – if you see them playing on a Saturday afternoon, do yourself a favour, pop in and give the teams some support.

With days like these at the club, Edna would probably have loved to have sat watching, enjoying such a wonderful game in the sun – although, on this occasion, I don’t think she would have liked the result.

📸 MATCH PHOTOS

Thanks to Mark for his observations and images from Sharow Cricket Club. Here are his other articles on Cricket Yorkshire.

To check out 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.