Further Information
On a dull, showery evening Beckwithshaw gave League debuts to three players Ben, Nathan and Tom (Sharpe). The home side won the toss and asked Birstwith to bat first. It looked like that plan may have backfired when Will H smashed the ball to all parts of the ground in the first few overs whilst scoring 20 runs. However, Beckwithshw got themselves back into the game with four excellent overs from Morgan (2-0-3-1) and Grace (2-1-2-2). Grace's bowling was exceptional with all 12 balls bowled straight and accurate. Tom Stark once again bowled some very tidy off-spin in achieving figures of 2-0-3-1 with the help of a fantastic (stinging) catch by Joe Ramsay at mid wicket. The final Birstwith pair had some success, with Callum in particular scoring freely and playing some nice cricket shots for his 11 runs. In repsonse Ben Clayton bowled two accurate and tidy overs and also got a brilliant run out with a direct hits at the bowler's end from the wicket keeper position. Nathan was turning the ball impressively with his leg spin and got a well deserved wicket in the final over. Birstwith ended on 243 which was a competitive total. In reply Beckwithshaw got off to a steady start with Ben playing some stylish cricket strokes. However, good bowling by the two Wills, who took three wickets between them, pegged back the Beckwithshaw scoring. Will H bowled two great overs of inswing bowling to finish with 2-0-4-2. More good bowling by the next Birtswith pair, particularly George (2-1-1-1), kept the pressure on Beckwithshaw and it looked like a Birstwith victory was on the cards. However two very mature partnerships between Morgan and Grace (26 runs) and Joe and Ethan (23 runs) swung the tie back in Beckwithshaw's favour. Morgan's 14 runs was a very intelligent innings with some clever running between the wickets and Joe Ramsay's 14 runs at the end was a real captain's innings. Beckwithshaw ended on 257 but in truth either side could have won the game. Well done to both sides for a closely contested game played in a good spirit; always a pleasure to play one of Paul's teams.
