26th April 2025 - HBCC 1st XI vs Pledwick (A)

A great way to start the season for the 1st team!

After losing the toss and being put in on a tricky wicket, K Baig (32) and S Perkin (22) helped to build a solid platform. K Baig’s knock included a monster six to cow corner after A Grogan had hit the first team’s first six of the season over cover. At one stage the away side were at risk of getting bowled out for under 100 before F Saleem (25) and T Womersley (19*) added some valuable late runs onto the board. HBCC 1st team ended up posting an around par 139, frustratingly 1 run short of the 2nd batting point. Shoutout to J Eastlake and O Leith both of whom bowled very good spells for the home side, although O Leith did lose a lot of credit after throwing himself to the floor (Cristiano Ronaldo-esque) following a ‘soft’ blow to the elbow from a T Womersley drive (I hope the other Pledwick players gave him some stick for it…).

 A Shahid and J Waring took the new ball in HBCC’s defence, with J Waring taking the first wicket of the season with a breakthrough with his third ball of the campaign (J Waring 1-15). J Eastlake and A Haigh then managed to settle things down for a few overs navigating the home side to 33-1, until A Waterson helped turn the tide dismissing A Haigh in his first over, following a nifty catch in the slips from El Capitano - D Nicholson. In A Waterson’s second over, he went bang-bang with two wickets in two balls, bowling G Tinker and L Ineson, leaving the home side 37-4. D Nicholson then turned to HBCC’s all time leading wicket taker, S Perkin, to try wrestle control for the away team. Coming off the back off of a double torn Achilles, having not bowled in almost two years, S Perkin may have lost a couple of clicks on the speed gun but his newfound accuracy, showcased there is life in the old dog yet. S Perkin took a couple of key wickets in a stellar spell, including the dismissal of the dangerous J Eastlake (21) (Perkin 2-2). A Waterson then took centre stage and ran through Pledwick’s middle and lower order finishing with fantastic figures (A Waterson 6-13). A special mention to K Baig keeping wicket in his first competitive match who took a great catch down the leg side off T Womersley for his first victim in his new position (T Womersley 1-18). K Baig only allowed 1 bye, which was a superb start to his keeping career which is sure to go from strength to strength. 

Horbury Bridge CC 1st team bowled Pledwick CC 1st team out for 72 runs, giving them a 67 run victory and 14 points. 

Player of the match was awarded to A Waterson for his exploits with the ball.

Thanks to the umpires A Brown and A Haigh who officiated the game very well, they were extremely approachable, fair and accommodating throughout the match.

Finally, a massive thank you to the hosts Pledwick CC, the game was played in good spirit and they’re a great bunch of lads, I’m sure they will be up there fighting for promotion come the end of the season. We wish Pledwick CC all the best for the season and look forward to welcoming them at Squirrel Park later in the season!

Report by A Waterson