On a night when coaches were thin on the ground for LCC, it was Neil and Freddie’s turn to step up to the plate, the latter given the unenviable task of ‘crowd control’!

Captain for the evening, Jack, lost the toss and Lightcliffe were put into bat. Jack and Leo were first to the crease, showing some smart running but were pegged back by the loss of a couple of wickets, although it remains a contentious issue as to whether or not Jack did indeed lose his wicket, a claim the youngster strongly denies! The pair adding 17 runs to the total.

Ted and Hugo were next in to bat and the pair also ran well. Northowram to their credit protected the boundary very well, limiting Lightcliffe’s progression. Hugo had seen enough and took it upon himself to go over the outfield with an impressive six, contributing to the pairs 20 runs added.

Next came Ellie and Luke, the pair kept the scoreboard moving with some nice shots but wickets also fell, somewhat slowing the momentum. That was until Luke produced what was for me not only shot of the night but quite frankly shot of the season with a reverse sweep that went for four! Brilliant stuff from a lad who I often forget is only 6 years of age! 18 runs were added by the pair.

Jacob and Bessie were next up and a couple of Boundaries from Jacob gave Lightcliffe a boost, along with some good running from Bessie, something she has worked hard on throughout the season. The pair adding 16 runs to the total.

Dougie and Harry were the final pair for LCC. Harry hit two impressive sixes of his own backed up by a boundary from Dougie. The pair added an excellent 30 runs to take the net score for Lightcliffe’s innings to a respectable 265/7, a tricky total to defend.

The second innings would however prove more than enough in terms of defending the total set. The bowling and application in the field from the whole team was superb, a performance that as their coach, I took great pride in. A real reminder of how far the team have come this season.

Wickets were the theme, a total of 14 falling with figures as follows;

• Ellie 3-9
• Dougie 2-9
• Luke 1-9
• Ted 1-11
• Leo 1-12
• Jack 1-12
• Harry 1-6
• Hugo 1-11

Jacob and Bessie unfortunate not to get wickets of their own, contributing well in the field with a further 3 wickets falling to run outs.

Northowram’s innings finishing on 223/14, meaning an LCC victory by 42 runs.

Big thanks to Freddie and Neil for their help this evening.

Match Report by Gaz Landin