Bowling Old Lane were the visitors on Saturday with a stunning Wakefield Road their destination. Spring has finally turned the corner and forced out the unwelcome and overly long staying visitor of Winter. T shirts replace overcoats, shorts replace jeans, and flip flops are now preferred to shoes. Cricket season proper is upon us.

The Lightcliffe 11 were light of a couple of regulars. Top wicket taker Peter Dobson and top class batsman Rob Edmonds were both at a wedding, and Niall Lockley was out with an unfortunate broken arm sustained whilst making a return to form last weekend. In came Will Leach, Ryan Beeforth and Evan Edwards from the second team. This in turn lightened the second team – but more of that later when Brookey churns out his match report (Tuesday, Wednesday? Editor - Monday actually, but easier for a busy man like Mikey when it is a Bank Holiday!) It would be a real test of depth and strength within the club.

Lightcliffe won the toss and elected to bat – the solitary opportunity to have a knock first up in the initial quarter of the season. Isaac Dikgale and Zani Stead walked to the crease hoping to pile on the runs and set a score to test the current leaders BOL. Dikgale, in a season where he has oddly struggled for runs and is still searching for a score, was out trying to hit his way back into the groove, caught at point from a skier. 32 for 1 in the sixth over. Stead seemed to be finding the going tough and frustration levels began to build. 6 more overs passed with the addition of only 8 runs – Bowling Old Lane were giving nothing away and building pressure well. Stead tried to release the stranglehold in the 12th over, first ball he was dropped mistiming a drive. Instead of going back into his shell and starting again, he miscued a drive coming up the pitch a few balls later. An uncharacteristic dismissal but maybe reflected the tough nature of the cricket being played – things were not quite easy going.

This bought Evan Edwards to the crease to join Amaar. Evans began well by late cutting his first ball for 4 to wide third man. Subhaan Amaar again hit a couple of lovely strokes before his dismissal for 10. Jordan Pickles joined Edwards with the score at 54 for 3. It was not the platform that the side had hoped for from the top 3 in the order.

Both Jordan and Evan are players that developed their cricketing skills in the Lightcliffe junior sides and are now senior Villagers that have predominantly played Second 11 cricket for LCC. The partnership proves that if clubs dig a little deeper and look within rather than looking outside to acquire new players to build a team, that there are often pigeon-holed gems just waiting for their opportunities to shine. It also goes to show that the step up between Premier League second 11 cricket and third tier Bradford first team cricket is not as big a gulf as many would suppose as Regan Broadbent, Evan Edwards and Jordan Pickles have all proven this last two seasons – all capable of transferring runs scored in 2s cricket into 1st team performances. Both Pickles and Edwards play a largely risk-free game, happy to keep the ball on the deck and compile runs without risk where possible. Both have an old-fashioned approach to the 50 over game which is actually more akin to amateur test match batting than it is to trying to play a longer version of a T20 game.

The partnership was worth 50 before the dismissal of Edwards for 29 – caught LBW in front of all 3. 17 year old Will Leach, another in-between teams cricketer the club are looking at as a future first team batsman, joined Pickles. Going was tough, the spinners had a hold, and he was caught and bowled for 4. 105 for 5 and the side suddenly in a struggle. Skipper Hendy joined the flourishing Pickles, and the pair rebuilt. Pickles playing the anchor role to Hendy’s freer hitting, the pair lifted the total to 164 before Pickles was dismissed for a very well compiled 50, struck from 66 deliveries with 5 fours. It will be the first of many first team 50’s for the young batsman. Hendy soon followed for a very well made 39.

Burton came and went trying to lift the total quickly, bringing Finn Brookes to the crease in what Rod Heyhoe described as a horrible Muck and Nettles situation for a developing young cricketer, arriving with just 2 overs to go. Having worked incredibly hard all winter to develop his batting and keeping in excited preparation for the chance to play a full season of first team cricket as well as representing Yorkshire in u16 cricket, his enthusiasm flattened off as he was caught in the deep in the last over trying to hit out to accelerate the total with deliveries running out. Walker and Beeforth guided the side to a total of 188 – importantly denying Bowling Old Lane an additional bonus point. It was a probably below par total but definitely something to defend.

During the innings I had the chance to chat to a cricket mad fan named Paul. He arrived in a taxi and bumped his way around the car trying to find his feet. It was soon clear that he was blind when his white stick appeared. Thankfully kind spirited Evan Edwards said that he will need looking after before inadvertently delegating those duties to me as the only non-playing person around (thanks Evan) – I walked him to Thommy corner to ‘watch’ the cricket. His mate was running late so rather than leave him to the potential disaster of having a ball thwacked at him without knowing how to react and move (unlike John Burton who tried to roll back the years and catch a ball hit in his direction whilst sat in a deck chair instead of just evading the shot, ball whacking into ankle before the hands could arrive), I felt it was best to sit and chat and potentially push him off the bench if a ball was struck our way.

It was very interesting to find that cricket has a big following amongst the blind community. As we all know radio commentary paints a wonderful picture of the game. He even listens to county cricket and goes to county fixtures very regularly - a proper cricket nut who checks play cricket for all the local league scores. He said that he preferred the local game as he could hear what was going on, and he applauded every well hit shot that came from the middle of the bat as well as detecting edges as he anticipated a wicket. He does the rounds of the grounds and we chatted about all of the local clubs – he had an encyclopaedic knowledge of club histories and the local cricketing community. He’d probably do quite well on our 2nd team Whatsapp local cricket quiz weeks I thought – but they tend to veer towards 1990s football after a few token cricket questions. It was an interesting perspective from which to ‘see’ the game and the sport can be enjoyed on so many different levels and by so many different people. A welcome reminder that Village cricket is still a huge part of peoples weekly summer lives - even ones that cant physically see the cricket.

Back to the game. Pickles and Walker opened the bowling for Lightcliffe. Unfortunately Pickles failed to replicate the same rhythm with the ball as he did the bat, and was warned for intimidatory bowling first ball as one slipped from his fingers and headed skywards miles above the keeper and waiting batsman. It was a day for firsts - after his first 1st team 50, it was also the first time he has received an official warning for his gentle off spin bowling. It also led to the solitary bye in the innings for unfortunate keeper Brookes in a cricketing rule blip that allows keepers to be penalised for all no balls – even deliveries that they’d need a step ladder to reach. Being in the keepers corner these days, I’d have that rule amended.

Burton replaced Pickles in the 5th over. Bowling Old Lane began strongly and unlike many of the sides in the league, their openers displayed conventional technique and seemed willing to bat time. Runs accumulated nicely for them, with boundaries picked up as well as singles, they reached a largely trouble free 77 without loss in the 20th over. It was beginning to look like a coast towards the summit. Evan Edwards made the much needed breakthrough, with a well taken catch by Subhaan Amaar.

Wickets are like buses, and sometimes you wait an age for one to arrive before a flurry turn up at once. Patience is often key and when waiting for a wicket a side must try to apply the squeeze as best as they can in between. With Hendy injured and short of options, Alex Stead joined the attack having not bowled for over a year. Once an award winning all-rounder, Stead picked up the Bradford League award for best performances with bat and ball in 2009 - the Sir Learie Constantine trophy. Today was a chance to relive those former glories with the ball. League Photographer Ray Spencer, enjoying his day at the picturesque Wakefield Road, informed me he needed just a couple of wickets to pass the 300 mark for league wickets to add to his nearly 15,000 runs. This he did with ease, picking up 1, then 2, then a third and then a 4th. Each wicket was greeted with increased celebration as, at first, it seemed a slightly shocked Stead who almost apologetically dismissed the batsman, surprising himself that he still had the knack. By the time he struck for the 4th time he had loosened up and he whooped and hollered, dancing around in a little circle, flapping his fingers in a bouncing funky chicken-like celebration; leading the dance as the team followed. All in all he picked up 4 for 29 in 9 overs in a very entertaining spell of match turning bowling. During the Stead show, Isaac Dikgale also picked up a wicket – his 11th of the season where his wickets have been more than useful to the teams performances - and Bowling Old Lane had begun to crumble. 77 without loss was now 114 for 6. Lightcliffe were in the box seat.

Will Leach had replaced the regular boundary poacher Niall Lockley out in the deep, and he took a brilliant diving catch to dismiss yet another BOL batsman. 136 for 7. Overs were slowly creeping back into the game after becoming a bystander for so long. Rob Burton returned into the attack to snare a quick and vital brace. Bowling Old Lane had folded to 152 for 9.

Seven overs left, 1 wicket to preserve, 36 runs to get – Bowling Old Lane accepted the challenge. Just two from the 44th followed by six frustrating singles from the following Dikgale over kept the board ticking. 28 from 5 overs – a win was now just a few hits away. A cleanly struck 6 increased the tension. 19 needed from 3. 2 from the next; 17 from 12 balls. 5 wides the first ball of the 49th – 12 from 12. Parity. 6 good deliveries followed. 8 needed from the last. BOL wanted a couple of singles before they’d take the risk and attempt to finish it with a single hit. Dot dot dot – the singles didn’t arrive. Squeezing them out of the over, they pushed for a single from the 4th delivery only for a flying Walker to pick up the ball and return it to Dikgale to run out the flailing batsman. A jubilant Lightcliffe team celebrated wildly along with a large watching crowd – and were the victors by just 7 runs in a wonderful game of cricket.