Skipper Rob Burton was back in the fold, with all-rounder Leo Flanagan the other change from last week’s absence. They replaced the absent Will Leach, with chairman Richard Leach just missing out after an athletic display in the field the previous week.

The dry and sunny spring saw a ground in excellent condition, with a dusty wicket threatening to keep seam and spin bowlers interested. Sadly for the football fans there was no action on the adjacent pitch, with Carlton reserves’ opponents failing to raise a team. Surely Leeds’ championship decider in the west country had nothing to do with it?

A successful call at the toss saw Burton making first use of the strip. With the clouds lifting, a lovely serene spring setting was in place for a fine afternoon’s cricket. But wait. Nearby 400 tickets had been snapped up for a pub beer garden party, with every kick of the ball from Home Park echoing loud and clear round the ground. “Not my idea of a relaxing afternoon, wish York had been at home” mused loyal supporter Will Knight, as he settled in to a far boundary vantage point, with fine views across the fruit rich fields. The normally punctual David Knight had drilled to the ground slightly later than normal, his stop start journey mimicking York’s national league campaign.

Back to the action.

Michael Brooke was back up the order, as he joined Issac Morley for the opening exchanges. Brooke was quickly wondering about a return to the number 10 berth after a couple of rusty play and misses, followed by dismissal, his feet stuck like glue and a snick so loud even the ropey Oasis tribute band failed to drown it out. A still of the shot arrived instantly on WhatsApp from former team mate Ryan Beeforth with a comradely “a bit wide that and get your feet moving!”

Lucas then got an absolute snorter trapping him LBW, Rod’s vigorous nod confirming dismissal before up went the finger. It was a really useful, almost unplayable delivery. Monty was also undone by an absoluter beauty from Heinz, bowling with plenty of variety from the football ground end. The ball was certainly wobbling about, with Knight playing a couple of trademark shots before snicking off, stung by another seaming ball. Isaac’s excellent, solid and mature resistance came to an end with an LBW decision, leaving a precarious scoreboard of 40 for 4.

Sam Walker, building on his excellent 48 seven days earlier, and Flanagan began the rebuilding effort both surviving then thriving as the sun broke out and the crowd built. Walker was wonderfully quick on anything short, with Flanagan mixing delightful drives and wristy flicks. Walker fell for a useful score, with Burton striding out for his first knock of the campaign. A few overs later, a game changing moment as he rocked back and hit a loose ball backward of point. The fielder put on this best circus act, juggling for 10 seconds before the ball fell to the ground. The loud response of the opposition captain is not repeatable. Amusingly, one of our younger players mused “What do you think Burts’ reaction would have been if one of us had dropped that?” “Don’t drop one and hopefully we will never find out” responded Drillers, sardonically.

It felt like a game changing moment. It was. Burts relaxed, mixing delicious drives with pugnacious pulls, as he built partnerships with Flanagan, Olly B and Oily F, lifting the score to a healthy 160. The skipper unbeaten after a fine fifty. The wicket was beginning to dust and crack in the mid afternoon sun, with our spinners licking their lips as they enjoyed the fine tea, one of the best on the circuit.

By now the nearby pub party was in full swing and to a backdrop of britop covers, the second innings got underway with the skipper’s rallying cry to his young charges to go out and roll with it. Once again the two Oliver’s bowled useful spells, with Olly B picking up two excellent wickets, both to neat catches by Leo and Olly F. The out cricket has been excellent in both games. The old adage catches win matches never truer. All have been held.

There is no finer site than quality spinners, a left armer, an offy and a leggy, working their magic on a turning deck. Leo, Marcus and Sam all produced magic balls in their spells, with the former two ripping the heart out of Carlton’s middle order. There was a bowled, a neat and quick stumping by Monty, an LBW and a stunning reaction catch on the ’45 by Brooke. “They have scored 13 runs in 12 overs of spin” purred Paul Ramsden from the scorebox.
The Carlton players simply had no answer and, as I predict a riot boomed over the ground, the wickets kept tumbling. One LBW off Leo had the batsmen shaking his head in disgust, presumably at a rather ropey cover of Sit Down than the decision, as it was just hitting middle half way up.

After Kelly took a rest, his wonderful work done, it was left to Walker and Flanagan to get the final brace of wickets to finish the job off. An excellent team display, showing the strength in depth across all formats of the game. The batters had dug deep, the fielders had stopped and caught everything and the seamers and spinners had hit good areas. Just as importantly, the team spirit is excellent, with the balance of the young and forever young really working well.

So a fine win against a team we lost both games to last campaign, underlining the team’s continued development. Burton deservedly took the man of the match award, his match winning knock a key factor in the game, with Leo 2nd and Marcus 3rd.

It had been a good day out, but many were left wondering about the Bradford League’s rather dogmatic and continued insistence on games starting at noon. The Carlton clubhouse had long cleared by 5.30pm, with the sun shining high and hours of daylight left. How long before clubs wake up and realise the damage noon starts, unnecessary and unwanted by most, are causing to their coffers and the wider game? Baffling.

As always, there was much to cherish on and off the pitch, so a big thanks to people like Jeff Morley, who transported many players to the game and scored first half, Rambo who scored second half, our excellent and committed umpire, Rod, and our many spectators who turned out in force to cheer us on. The team has a lot of ability and will go far this season.

The final word to skipper Burton “A really enjoyable day and win, we showcased our ability throughout the day and really dug in when we needed to. There were so many quality performances and it’s great to get off to such a solid start to the season. On a personal level, I enjoyed getting my on drive going, one advantage of not netting this winter! Well played lads, let’s keep it going next week.”

Match Report by Michael Brooke