Farsley v. Cleckheaton
(3rd Round Priestley Cup)

Date: Sunday, July 13
Scores: Cleckheaton 167 all out: Farsley 164 – 8: Cleckheaton won by 3 runs
Weather: Sunny
Venue: Red Lane

The big Red Lane crowd on a rare fine sunny summer afternoon were treated to an excellent game of Priestley Cup Tie cricket which Farsley came so close to winning but which they finally lost in nerve jangling fashion by just 3 priceless runs in the game's final over.

There were heroes on both sides on a day when this young Rams side had been pitted against the high flying First Division side Cleckheaton team led by ex Lancashire and Durham County player john Wood, a player who was to go on and play a major part with both bat and ball in a good game of League cricket entertainment as one could hope to see.

The Rams had been denied the services of their skipper, wicket keeper and top order in form batsman David Syers by the questionable requirements of the White Rose Age Limit Cricket Competition and, as a result, were seriously disadvantaged even before the Priestley Cup Tie got underway.

The 20 year old Syers has been an inspirational leader to the Rams' top of the table Division Two campaign all season as both leading League wicket keeper and top batsman and it was a huge disappointment to a big Cup Tie crowd and the Farsley Club itself to learn that their talented skipper would not be allowed to play. Will Kitchen (work commitments) was also absent on the day Farsley needed all their cricketing talents at their disposal against a First Division side still hopeful of lifting some League Silverware this season, as well as the Priestley Cup itself of course.

Second Xl Keeper / batsman Mattie green returned to his first team duties to replace Syers behind the sticks and the Rams also brought in the17 year old Joe Greaves to fill in for the missing Kitchen. John Wood won the toss for Cleckheaton and chose to bat first.

Farsley were not long in setting the tempo of this key quarter final game when Lorenzo Inghram produced another piece of magical fielding to run out Ian Nicholson at 15 – 1 which immediately became 15 – 2 when Chris Henry pinned Mal Nicholson LBW to provide some very early hopes of Cup Tie success for an already jubilant Rams side.

Their joy was lifted a few more notches when Bozza grabbed the key wicket of the League's top batsman, Zaman, with the help of Mattie green's behind the sticks catch and the 'Cleck were already wobbling on 25 – 3 in the game's 10th over. Enzo joined the Rams' attack and took wicket number 4 when he rearranged former County batsman Neil Nicholson's wicket with the a first ball "jaffa", Cleckheaton now 40 – 4 and the big crowd already sensing that there was a potential Cup Tie shock in store for the side who had not so long ago beaten First Division leaders and current champions, Woodlands.

The score trickled on to 53 – 4 after 20 overs of torment for the visiting batsmen but South African born opener Aspeling was still there and had been joined by Craig Thornton, another current top First Division batsman, and the pair dug in to take some welcome drinks at 62 – 4. Stand in Rams' skipper Ashley Metcalfe switched his bowlers around – each is only allowed 10 overs in a Cup tie game – and there were several impressive shifts from them all as the Rams kept a tight hold on the Cleckheaton score.

Matthew Lumb made the next inroad at107 – 5, Aspeling departing for a top score of 46, and the 17 year old then grabbed a second wicket, and Farsley's sixth when redistributing the stumps of Cleck's number 7. Skipper John Wood's fine cameo knock of 33 was ended when Ash clean bowled the former County man and with their score a modest enough 151 – 7 Cleckheaton had 5 more overs at their disposal to get more valuable runs on the scoreboard.

Ash brought Chris Henry back in to the attack and Farsley's most regular wicket taker rewarded him and his team with 3 late valuable wickets to deny the visitors any semblance of a late successful thrash. Two cleaned bowled and an LBW finished Cleck off in impressive fashion in the 49th over of a modest enough tea time score 0f 167. Henry's 9.4-3-26-4 shifts topped Farsley's bowling figures but there was good support from Lumb (10-1-36-2), Bozza Thornton (9-2-27-1), Enzo (10-2-34-1) and Ash (10-0-36-1). The Farsley team appeared to be the happier of the two as they tucked in to Farsley's "tea time goodies", but Cleckheaton have a known top line attack and most of the basking crowd thought it would be a hard and perhaps tense struggle for runs for the mainly young Ram's side as Anderson and Clayton began a nervous response.

Harvey and Dan can hardly claim to have set Red Lane alight with their 2008 batting exploits and the former was first to depart as Wiseman and Wardlaw set about their respective tasks of seeing off the Rams' batting, Anderson claen bowled in the the 3rd over, Farsley 2 – 1. Clayton's previous day nightmare of an innings was thankfully not repeated and he and Enzo eased the home side to 52 in battling fashion before Dan was caught and bowled, leaving the below strength Rams in the hands of Shabbs and Enzo to forge a way to their 168 target. Shabbs played a blinder of an innings only the day before but failed on this occasion , as big John Wood, bowling from the tattered scoreboard end, forced a miss-hit to put Farsley at 71 – 3. Metcalfe sent young Barry Frankalnd in to see if he could help determined Enzo but the youngster also departed shortly after "drinks" (at 74 – 3) when a poor shot had him caught behind by a jubilant 'keeper, big Woody again the bowler and Farsley 87 -.4.

David Syers, the Rams usual skipper, had by this time arrived at the ground as a spectator after his Lightcliffe White Rose Match with the Farsley faithful wishing he could be next man in as Cleckheaton tightened the screw on Metcalfe and Enzo, the last of the Rams' quality batsmen. Each did well however, as the visitors' skipper switched his bowlers, intelligently in the sure knowledge that if he could get one of them out, the door would open for his side to then break through the remaining flimsy Farsley batting.

With 20 overs remaining, the pair had moved Farsley to 88 – 4 and with 15 overs left the Rams were beginning to look good at 100 – 4, each batsman watching every ball right on the bat and taking runs whenever they could. Inghrams excellent half century came up at 132 – 4 with 10 overs to go and the pair now seemingly set too take the home side to victory with a mere 36 runs required.

Cricket can be a cruel game of course at times and when Ash (32) was eventually caught behind at 147 – 5 with a mere 21 needed and 5 overs to go, everyone on the ground sensed it was now only Enzo who stood between a famous victory or a late despair as nerves were now bound to impose an unwelcome visit upon Farsley's remaining young and inexperienced batsmen. Mattie Green failed his test, LBW at 155 – 6, and with only 12 wanted from 3 overs and 17 years young Joe Greaves coming in Enzo (63) fell to the unthinkable when he, too, was dismissed at 158 – 7 after an innings of both high quality and high drama, the end of which all on the ground now sensed would also be the end for Farsley.

So it proved as the runs dried up amid nerves of sustained pressured cricket from the Cleckheaton bowlers (Ian Wood 3-17) and the game came to the very last over with 9 required for victory. Big John Wood chose the short straw and with the ball in his hands, and years of County experience to call upon, was not going to be denied at this late stage however and the Rams could only muster 5 scrammed singles as the Cleck team jumped with joy at the end.

It had been a feast of a game, fit for a cricket connoisseur's table and only a shame that Farsley got mere crumbs of consolation at the end of it all.