A coastal cricket holiday
Brian Sanderson brings you his insight into all 4 days of Yorkshire v Sussex at Scarborough
After a twelve-week hiatus, I woke up relishing the opportunity to watch County Championship cricket once again. The picturesque Scarborough setting by the sea only added to my excitement. Today’s clash featured Yorkshire against table-topping Sussex—a chance for redemption after Yorkshire’s near-miss in the previous encounter at Hove.
Yorkshire were pleased to welcome back Jonny Bairstow, Adam Lyth and Jordon Thompson from a competition called—let me check my notes—“The Hundred.” Perhaps you have heard of it. Bairstow’s last first-class match was in India on March 7.
Meanwhile, on the Sussex side, Indian left-arm medium bowler Jaydev Unadkat and former Yorkshire player Ollie Robinson added intrigue to the contest.
Setting off from Leeds around eleven o’clock, braving a poor weather forecast and the assorted roadblocks put up by the Leeds Festival, I arrived around three o’clock, and found Sussex at the crease, struggling at 85 for four. There had been fireworks, clearly, on the pitch, and they were complemented by the sound of real fireworks in a nearby park. Don’t ask.
The brisk crosswind made the temperature feel more like October, serving as a reminder that the County Championship season will conclude in just four weeks.
Tom Alsop stood out, displaying his class—although I discovered that he had survived a big chance while I was on the road. He and John Simpson sought to anchor the innings, but Simpson fell for sixteen, caught at midwicket. Alsop, however, continued to bat brilliantly while wickets tumbled at the other end. When bad light halted play, Sussex were 187 for nine, with Alsop unbeaten on 84.
A great storm and plenty of rain loom overnight, so there may be another delay in the morning.
Act II
A four-day cricket match is like a play, each day a separate act. The second act at Scarborough opened in suitably dramatic fashion this morning, the Sussex innings concluding in the very first over of the day. Tom Alsop was stranded on 86 out of a total of 189.
A heavy storm had drenched the outfield overnight, leaving it soaked. The wind was fierce as I took my thirty-minute walk to the ground, missing a members’ forum about the dire financial state of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. I had the much more agreeable pleasure of catching up with Jeremy Lonsdale, author of many ACS books on Yorkshire cricket. His latest (admittedly not published by the ACS) is an excellent biography of Bill Bowes, who played for Yorkshire from 1929 to 1947. As we watched the cricket, we lamented the parlous state of Yorkshire off the field. Hopes are slim of securing a fifty percent agreement among members to sell the club.
On the field, matters progressed just as inauspiciously. Yorkshire’s openers were dismissed for a mere 31 in the thirteenth over, both falling to the Indian bowler Jaydev Unadkat. Our hopes now rested on James Wharton and William Luxton, and their partnership promised much until Wharton was caught flashing at a ball just as lunch was due.
During the break I attempted, à la Tom Horan, to work my way “round the ground,” but was frequently held up by friends eager to discuss the state of the club and the broader, uncertain future of county cricket.
In the afternoon I sat with Geoff Wellstead, another author and collector. We were entertained by a Jonny Bairstow innings as frustrating as it was fascinating. Bairstow seemed unable to settle, constantly patting down imaginary bumps in the pitch or complaining about spectators walking behind the sightscreens. He held numerous parliaments with the umpires and, even less civilly, with the bowlers—especially Ollie Robinson. He was dropped twice, once by Robinson, which did not make these exchanges any less heated. Bairstow eventually reached 57 before being given out lbw. He walked off slowly, moaning to anyone who would listen about how poor the decision was.
At tea Yorkshire were 214 for 4. In the café, everyone had an opinion on Jonny’s batting and antics.
Soon after the break, Luxton was out for a hard-working 59. At this stage Jack Carson, the off-spinner, was bowling exceptionally well, and collecting wickets regularly. By the end of the innings, he had five for 83. The last fell to Robinson when Dan Moriarty was caught swishing at a ball. Jordan Thompson remained 44 not out. Yorkshire finished on 326, a score I would gladly have accepted at the start of the day.
At this point, I left to have dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant. The food was excellent—and probably better than the cricket, as Sussex played out ten overs for 26.
Act III opens tomorrow, with dry weather forecast until around three o’clock, when there is a chance of rain. Will we get a fourth act? I am unsure. Get to the ground tomorrow to find out. Or, if you can’t, watch this space…
Act III
It started to rain as I was leaving the hotel this morning, and even after it had relented, the sky remained very cloudy. The hope was that Yorkshire could bowl out Sussex quickly and secure victory today, without having to bank on the weather tomorrow. I arrived at the ground in the company of Jon Goodrick, a fellow member of, and also website designer for both the Northern Cricket Society & Wombwell Cricket Lovers. We sat in the pavilion area, which provided an excellent view of the players and their dressing rooms. We saw them come out on time, and soon saw one of them coming back: Australian Daniel Hughes, caught brilliantly by Finlay Bean at third slip—worth the admission money alone. A few minutes later, it rained again, and everyone took what shelter they could find, which was very little.
For once, however, good news followed quick on the heels of bad, and play resumed at 11:56. Within half an hour, George Hill had Tom Haines caught at second slip, making the score 45 for two. Another half an hour later, just before lunch, Clark was snaffled by Bairstow.
During the interval, we went around the ground to my favourite seat at the Trafalgar End, directly behind the wicket, allowing us to see whether the ball was swinging or seaming. Michael Coles was bowled just after lunch by Jordan Thompson for thirteen, bringing the score to 114 for four. Hopes were high that the Sussex total would be low. But cricket, like life, is seldom straightforward, and Tom Alsop and John Simpson put on an eighty-run partnership before tea. Sussex now had a lead of 27. I took another walk round the ground in quest of my first ice cream of the match, and sat down next to some Yorkshire supporters. Their lunchtime joy had dissipated; they were full of complaints about the bowling. Dan Moriarty, the spinner, came in for particular stick. Immediately after the break, however, he silenced them, getting Alsop caught on the second attempt by Bairstow for 61. Alsop had thus scored 147 in the match for once out. This, I thought (and hoped), could be the beginning of the end, and it only took an hour and a half for my dreams to come true: The lead was just 103. Ben Coad had bowled exceptionally well, taking five for 69, and is now the highest wicket-taker in the Second Division. I went for my fish and chips during the changeover, and then settled down again to see Yorkshire handle the final ten overs of the day. They did not do especially well, the Indian bowler Jaydev Unadkat took two wickets, and play ended with Yorkshire still needing 75 to win.
Footnote: As a collector of cricket scorecards, I duly bought one today. Unfortunately, it was a very poor production. Will Luxton’s score was not printed, and Sussex’s batting line-up was incorrect: Unadkat was listed at five when he actually batted at ten. Very disappointing. I do hope the weather is fine in the morning as Yorkshire thoroughly deserve to win this match.
Day 4 - The Final Curtain
I woke up this morning with the sun shining through my window, but the forecast promised another gusty day. I decided to drive to the ground, since parking restrictions don’t start until noon on Sundays.
As I walked through the main gate and made my way to my seat, the cold wind was hard to escape. Perhaps this is why the crowd was sparse, despite the free entry and the match likely finishing within an hour. As the time approached eleven o’clock, however, it began to fill up somewhat.
Adam Lyth and Dan Moriarty took to the field, needing another 103 runs to win with eight wickets in hand. It wasn’t long before the off-spinner Jack Carson, who had taken five-for in the first innings, was introduced, and soon he was among the wickets again, trapping Moriarty lbw with 34 runs still needed.
Next to go was Adam Lyth, for 40, with Yorkshire 27 short. Twelve minutes and nineteen runs later, James Wharton followed him. With Carson on fire, Jonny Bairstow walked in to great applause from the crowd, who expected him to hit the winning runs. But no, he was caught in the deep off Carson for a duck. So it was left to captain Jonathan Tattersall to secure the win. Carson finished with the impressive figures of four for 37.
All done and dusted by noon, but Yorkshire do seem to have a habit of always making it hard for themselves ! That said after that win, they are now only nine points behind Sussex, and three behind Middlesex who are in second place. Yorkshire face Middlesex on Thursday at Headingley, which is absolutely huge for both counties promotion chances. The weather is set fair, and after 3 county championship wins on the bounce, the Headingley faithful can't wait !