There was little hint of the drama that would play out at the toss took place in perfect summer conditions. A rock hard wicket, fast outfield. A big flip to win.

Agony as the 2pm coin caught the wicket end, dramatically turning from heads to tails at the last moment. “We will field”. The hosts would get first use of the golden brown pitch. Were the visitors keeping a close eye on local forecaster Dom Finn’s weather reports?

Openers Yusuf and Michael Brooke mixed watchful defence with boundary blows, before the former holed out to Metcalfe. Rhyso Jowett quickened the tempo, mixing perfected pulls with charismatic cuts as the pair motored the total passed 100.

With a dozen overs left, the seconds were well placed, but a quick gust of wickets saw Blezard remove Brooke (65) and Jowett (63). They had provided a solid base.

A big ten overs left. Would George Leach and Jonny Whiteoak, desperate to put more medals on the table, grasp the opportunity in style? The question was quickly answered in the positive. Leach had chairman Richard purring, as he played classically but quickly to race to 40, with Whiteoak, keen not to be tied down, finding the cover boundary with ease. Super stuff. The younger of the Leach brothers fell just before the innings end for delightful 40, but there was still time for William Leach to score vital late runs. Great knock for the team. 226 scored. Competitive.

As always, an excellent tea was provided on the tennis courts as the crowd built, with plenty of first teamers present to cheer the lads on.

The drill in the team talk was get going from ball one, stop everything and keep an eye on the clouds building from the Pennines.

Whiteoak and Redfearn were straight on the money, squeezing the Woodlands openers for runs, with Redders taking on board the “get it as full as possible” message. Both were rewarded with wickets, caught behind and a deep point catch by Yusuf.

A dozen overs in and the umpires decided the rain was too much. Off marched the players. It looked set. If we didn’t get back on, we would triumph on Duckworth Lewis.

The wait was over an hour, as a subplot of who had the best weather app took place. Chairman Richard Leach favoured the WeatherView radar. “Very, very accurate” he remarked, “Rain until at least 6.35, it looks game over to me”. Marcus Kelly went for the Yeadon players sponsored ‘Weather and Radar’ app. “pilots swear by it”. He was working on a 6.15pm stoppage. Visiting skipper Stevie Pearson was getting his data from the Kirkland Tellwright recommended ‘John Kettley app’. “Rain will cease when this black cloud blows over”.

Stop it did, but there was plenty to sort. What would the target be? Would power plays be allowed? How many overs could a bowler have? The trusted handbook was dusted down. The enigma code had been cracked quicker than some of the formulas, but patience was rewarded and 87 were needed of 9 overs. Word got round the village. The crowd surged.

George Leach was given the ball from the top end, Kelly from the bottom. They bowled beautifully, in tandem, strangling the scores from ball one as the run rate built. Kelly had the dangerous Long trapped LBW, before a pumped Leach removed Blezard, neatly caught by Whiteoak, and the always threatening Rob Metcalfe. Ayan, after one lovely cover drive, was well caught on the mid wicket boundary edge by Redders, but the game was far from over, as Garner counter attacked extremely well and took the visitors within reach.

After a wonderous Kelly spell, Whiteoak bowled a tidy last over, mixing short and longer run ups. With 23 needed from the last over, Leach held his nerve to bring home victory and seal a famous win. It had been an heroic effort.

So, a fantastic all round display, the batting worked well as a unit, every bowler did their job and the fielding was class all round. A proper team performance as everyone chipped in, some brilliant catches and a terrific effort behind the stumps from Ben Speak.

As the players came off, the golden late evening sunshine blazed across the ground. It was a day that would live long in the memory.

And not by eastern windows only,
When daylight comes, comes in the light,
In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly,
But westward, look, the land is bright.