28th June 2025 - HBCC 2nd XI vs Garforth CC (H)

1st Innings:

Having lost the toss three weeks in a row, captain Dan Allatt finally got the lucky break, and had no hesitation in putting the Bridge into bat.

With a strong batting lineup, there was confidence that the team would be able to post a competitive score. However, we got off to the worst possible start, losing two massive wickets inside the first over. Opening up, their left arm swing bowler caused all sorts of issues, aided by a bit of help off the pitch. Leo could do very little about his dismissal, with the ball keeping really low and just sneaking under the bat. Alex departed two balls later, with an outside edge carrying to first slip, who took a great diving catch, sparking huge celebrations. At this point, many were fearing the worst, having lost our two highest scorers for the team this season.

Dan Smales, fresh from his unbeaten 15* the previous week, had a difficult job to do in steadying the ship for the Bridge, alongside the dependable Mick Mountain. The pair started the fightback, scoring runs at a good rate, which provided some much needed impetus into the innings. Dan looked extremely comfortable, until the pitch's demons resurfaced. The ball popped up off a fullish length, taking a bit of bat and looping up to the man at square leg. Dan had to depart for a well-made 14, with the team still in a touch of bother at 36-3.

With Mick batting well, George knew he had to provide a supporting role, to hopefully build another strong partnership. Mick upped the ante, scoring regular boundaries, including the only six of the afternoon, over the mid-wicket region. At the other end, George was defensively solid, and punished any overpitched deliveries to the fence. With the partnership approaching 50 runs, George was dismissed for 9. A short length delivery was pulled around the corner, but to much despair, straight to the man behind square.

Shortly after, Mick’s stellar knock came to an end. He was cramped for room by Garforth’s spinner and dragged onto his stumps. A deserved standing ovation followed, a potentially priceless 59 runs to set up the match. Sam came in and batted positively, aiming to go after the Garforth bowlers. Unfortunately, he miscued one to the man positioned at cover, and had to depart for 2. Another rebuild was required, as 84-3 had suddenly slipped to 92-6.

Up stepped John Kent and Dan Allatt. John Kent was particularly aggressive, targeting the short leg side boundary. He delivered numerous lusty blows to the fence before his crucial cameo came to an end, after being caught in the deep for 23. Dan was watchful in parts, but as soon as the bowlers missed their line and length, he punished them to the boundary. Eventually he was bowled for 23 as well, having helped the team get up to 136-8.

With a third batting point in sight, the responsibility was passed onto Steve K and Ryan to get us up to 150 runs. Ryan was unlucky to pick out the fielders initially, but was able to get a boundary away, with a delightful punch down the ground. Steve showed that there is life in the old dog yet, with some masterful flicks off his pads, and left many wondering how good Steve must have been in his youth days. The pressure was mounting on Garforth, sparking frustration from the fielders.

Ryan looked to have picked up a couple of runs in the last over to creep us over the 150 mark, only to find out he had run one short, much to the disbelief of everyone around him. A controversial decision, as many thought he had passed the crease mark. Agonisingly, we finished on 149/9 with Ryan being run out on the last ball, leaving us one run short of 150. However, it was a tremendous comeback after being 0-2 after the first over.

2nd Innings:

Dan Allatt and Alex Heald knew early wickets were required to keep a strong Garforth team from reaching the required target. A slightly sloppy start in the field was quickly addressed, and shortly after, Dan picked up a crucial wicket, bowling the dangerous opener for 6. In a match defining spell, captain Dan Allatt picked up a further two wickets in the same over, much to the delight of everyone around him. As if things couldn’t get any better, Alex got in on the action, dismissing the captain (last season’s top run scorer in the league) for a duck, having played onto his own stumps. This left Garforth in all sorts of trouble at 14-4.

Garforth showed resistance, but they couldn’t stop the flow of wickets. Mick Mountain replaced Alex from his end and provided a further two key breakthroughs. Firstly, he removed the second opener for 19, with a delightful bail trimmer, and after some consistent probing, he got in on the act again a few overs later. The batsmen turned one into the leg side, and flying across the surface came Leo Marshall, to pouch a wonderful low catch to his left. It certainly looked like his new keeper role helped him to snaffle that one.

Dan Smales was then introduced into the bowling attack, while Alex came back on to replace the exhausted Mick Mountain. Alex bowled a delightful yorker to pick up a deserved second wicket, before combining with Dan in the next over to take another important scalp. A pull shot off Dan’s bowling picked out bucket hands in the deep, as the Bridge began to close in on victory. Dan Smales then enticed the new batter into a big shot, catching the outside edge of the bat, straight to John Kent, who took a good catch in the slips.

At 75-9, you would think it is game over, right? However, Garforth’s number 9 and 11 provided a fantastic counter attacking punch. It was by far their best partnership of the match, blocking out the good deliveries and pouncing on any deliveries that were slightly loose. Gribble’s introduction provided a stern test for the batsman, who were lured into playing big shots, but struggled to get him away. Dan Allatt made the decision to bring himself back on, and at last, we were able to land the final blow. The batsmen was unable to control the pull shot and top edged one straight to Alex, to take his second catch of the match. WHAT A WIN!

In a game where we were fought hard across the entirety, the win was richly deserved. Everyone had important contributions, in an almighty team effort. Despite the difficult start, we performed well with the bat with many showcasing their own batting capabilities. Following this, to restrict Garforth to 118 was nothing short of astounding! On average, the away side have averaged 201.25 runs per innings this season, and so to restrict them to this low score highlights an outstanding bowling and fielding effort. Mick Mountain is this weeks MOTM with a blistering 50 and two crucial wickets, with a special mention to Dan Allatt who batted well and provided three wickets in one over!

Next week, the seconds travel to Whitley Bridge, looking to make it four wins in a row!