Match Report by Tom Fletcher at Hopton Mills

A Brighouse High School trip to the Lakes meant the Under 13s were well short of the required 11 players to field a team. So, a dip into the Under 11s' pool of talent meant this third trip to Hopton Mills in two weeks would be hard-fought, to say the least.

​The temperatures were melting the thermometer at nearly 32°C when the Villagers won the toss and opted to... field first. The reasoning came shouting from the changing room: "So we can bat when it’s cooler!" This caused some confusion among the parents - who thought the exact opposite and figured the heat had already gotten to them - but sometimes you just have to let these kids make their own mistakes...

​As the sun lasered down onto the Hopton Mills wicket, the home side started quickly, with their opening batters pasting 4s for fun. It was absolute scorched-earth tactics from the off.

​Thankfully, we had young Charlie Deighton on fiery form, bowling a solid line and length with pace to boot. He nicked the bat of their best batsman, and Nico Fletcher duly took a great catch behind the stumps to send him back to the changing rooms - which, ironically, looked and felt just like a sauna!

​Hopton Mills is hosting 'Mill Fest' this weekend on their cricket field to raise funds for a new clubhouse, but sadly for them, it was more like 'Catch Fest' on the wicket last night. Red-hot bowling from Jack Crawshaw, Noah Boshell, Dom Naylor and George Horne resulted in more catches than sweat beads on my forehead.

​But it was Charlie who was really making the batters sweat, taking three crucial catches across their opening innings! Hopton Mills all chipped in to post a very respectable 141 runs from 20 overs, with even their tail-enders hitting boundaries with ease.

Lightcliffe needed to bat well across the entire order if they stood any chance of a win, they had to turn up the heat, and boy did they!

​George and Alexander Stones opened strongly, seeing off the opposition's fastest bowlers. Zander was incredibly unlucky with the first wicket; a ball "hit a crack in the wicket" and went straight into his stumps - a ball that was "clearly going wide".

​Nico stepped up next with a head as red as the evening sun beaming down on it. He defended well and cut a classic Nico boundary, but then clipped one back onto his own wickets. OUT! Alas, six runs were added to the total. It wasn't a massive score, but it was a hint of the firepower to come from the young guns.

​George did what he does best, retiring at a blistering pace from only 19 balls, leaving plenty of time for the rest to follow suit.

​Ollie Wood, Max Terry and Bosh all did exactly what Nico did: came in, played some lovely shots, added to the total, and got out. There was something to be said for this collective effort, as we amassed nearly 60 runs prior to Dom coming out to bat after 11 overs. The chase was officially cooking on gas.

​Dom steadied into his crease and saw off some good bowlers with a defensive masterclass. Then, cool as a cucumber in the blazing heat, he drove a boundary for 4 runs.

​"Come on lads, ONE-HIT WONDER HERE!" came a sledging call from the Hopton Mills field.

​Now, if there was one thing to learn from last night, it’s this: do not add fuel to Dom Naylor's fire.

​Next ball, Dom stepped up and hammered a 6 right into the clubhouse guttering (good job they are raising funds - they need a new gutter now!). Next shot: 4. Next shot: another 6! It was the best reaction to mild junior cricket sledging I have seen in my entire life! Take no prisoners! Dom smashed 27 runs from 10 balls... I repeat... do not add fuel to Dom Naylor's fire!

​Jonty Smaldon and Charlie repeated what five of the other batters did before them, adding 6 and 5 runs respectively. Not a huge amount, but enough to get us within 20 runs of victory. It was now down to Big Jim Harding and Big Jack Crashaw to ensure we crossed the finish line in the final 5 overs.

​Some ice-cool batting and running under pressure meant we were within touching distance. The synergy of how the two biggest lads in their age group finished it off was a thing of beauty. Both dispatched two boundaries each, finishing in fine fettle on 10 runs apiece and clinching the win with an over to spare.

​A red-hot team win on an even hotter night!