Hartshead Moor v Farsley

Date: Saturday, August 2
Scores: Farsley 229 for 8: Hartshead 124 All Out: Farsley won by 105 runs
Points: Farsley 20 – Hartshead Moor 4
Weather: Mixed
Venue: Hartshead Moor CC

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In probably as a remarkable piece of pace bowling as has been seen on the ground for many a day, Farsley's Chris Henry stopped bottom placed Hartshead Moor in their tracks by taking 7 wickets in a 13 ball late spell which sent the home side crashing from 119 – 3 scoreline to a bewildering 124 all out. His assault on a set of ravaged home side batsmen included an all-bowled hat trick and a remarkable 6 wickets in 9 balls tornado which had the home side batsmen putting on and taking off their pads quicker than the nearby speeding traffic on Yorkshire's busiest M62 Motorway.

Chris's own fast lane muggings brought about his best ever 8-45 Farsley performance, 5 batsmen being clean bowled – 3 of them 'yorked' – 2 departing LBW, and his last wicket taken by diving wicket keeper David Syers who had earlier played his own batting part in this latest 20 point romp for Division 1 bound Rams.

The quickie's final figures are all the more remarkable by fact of his earlier shift having produced a modest 1-41 in 10 not very impressive overs but the fired up Henry soon changed that when Farsley's skipper recalled the hungry paceman for another tilt at a side happily batting out time for an 'abandoned match' 2 points.

Farsley's eventual runs victory was theit 14th in this highly successful season – a Club record, beating their 13 victories in 1999 when they were playing First Division Cricket – and although it could be argued that wins are easier to come by these days since there are no 'drawn games' in the Bradford league, it is no less a creditable season's work. The Rams go intotheir final 5 games now on the back of an impressive 40 points lead over second placed Gomersal who visit Red Lane in the last game of the 2008 season.

Remarkably, Farsley's total of 259 points in 17 League games is now only 8 points short of Yeadon's full season's (22 games) aggregate points haul last season when they won the Division Two Championship with 267 points. Runners up Esholt gained 252 points which the Rams have already exceeded with still 5 games of the 2008 season remaining.

The Rams were without holidaying Ashley Metcalf whose mother and father were nevertheless at the ground and it was good to see Farsley's President Raymond Illingworth also in attendance and looking well after a recent operation. Home Skipper Simon North won an important toss and not surprisingly asked Farsley to bat on another damp wicket which looked far removed from Farsley's own batting delight back at Red Lane. Harvey Anderson and the tall Will Kitchen began the Rams' innings against the bowling of skipper North and teenager Jamie Priestley, one od several second X1 players drafted in the the struggling Hartshead Moor side, Farsley's own replacement for the missing Metcalfe being young Jimmy Higgins.

Anderson's early season form has sadly departed the stocky opener and both he and Will were fairly quickly back in the pavilion, Harvey miss-hitting to be caught behind in the game's first over and Will also caught behind by 'keeper Ellis, both wickets falling to the impressive North's bowling, the Rams an early 29-2. Shabbs quickly announce dhis arrival at the crease with his usual flurry of early runs, some well intended, some quite not so, as he and Enzo quickly moved the visitors total to 50 in only the game's 7th over with the few Farsley faithful sitting back to enjoy what, at the time, looked like being a runs fest in store.

Shabs still needs to curb his ambitions to hit nearly every ball for four and it was no real surprise to see his departure, LBW, at 73-3 after making what should have been more than his departing 28 (He had made 102 in the earlier Red Lane game) and when Dan Clayton got one that lifted of a length to be easily caught at slip, the Rams' score was at a worrying 74-4 with a lot of hard work to do but, thankfully, two players – Enzo and Syers – who are well capable of turning games on their head with their respective batting talents now in tandem.

Skipper Syers might be only 20 years old but he is well experienced in having to be one of the quartet of Farsley run-makers on whom the leaders rely on with Metcalfe missing and another of the talented quality foursome back in the tent, the batting duo got their respective heads down to take Farsley out of troubled waters.

The portly Danny Barlow – another previously unsung second X1 player – was bowling his socks off – and no doubt a few pounds of excess weight – at the noisy motorway end but Farsley's bating pair reached 'drinks' at 106-4 with Enzo looking good for many more and David – well just looking good once again.

The drinks may well have been 'spiked' with West Indian Rum, whatever, but Enzo's intended pull for 6 didn't quite carry and the non-too-easy boundary edge catch saw off Farsleys overseas professional for 48, skipper North again the bowler taking his team mates' plaudits. Enter Barry Frankland, one of Farsley's own unsung heroes whose ground fielding and catching has often highlighted the Rams' work in the field, but still a young player who often 'chips in' with useful late runs when needed.

David Syers had by now moved up a couple or more gears to take the visitors from their 112-5 (when Lorenzo Inghram departed) and he and Baz but together a valuable 60 runs alliance of which Barry made a modest enough but worthwhile contribution of 15 which brought the leaders to 172 when young Baz was run out with 9 overs still remaining.

The skip' went to another Farsley half century of his own (he made 89 in the earlier game of the season at Farsley) with a massive hit onto the back of a passing motorway truck, the ball rumoured to have ended up in the middle of Manchester which ought, really, be worth far more than 6 runs. The umpires would have none of it but nevertheless the Rams had got to 216 when young Higgins departed to a skied catch after a nice little cameo innings and David's fine knock ended next ball after making 81, Farsley now 8 down and now in the hands of Chris Henry and Bozza Thornton for a few last important 'bonus' runs. They duly obliged with neither fuss nor fluster – these two can bat, you know, when they choose to – or given the opportunity – and tea came at 229-8 on a track that looked like more than yielding more like 150-175 at the most, brought some satisfied smiles to the Farsley faithful faces. Simon North had taken 4-54 at Red Lane earlier in the season – had bowled the full 15 overs shift to finish with 3-78 whilst Andy Waudby's 3-49 in 11 overs had tested Farsley's batting all the way.

Six Hartshead players who had turned out at Farsley in late May (in a game the Rams won by 93 runs) were missing from the home team's line up as Chris Henry and Bozza Thornton began the Ram's bowling reply, little knowing what drama lie ahead as the Holy Grail of First Division Cricket loomed on the rainy looking horizon.

An early run out in the second over which sent Nick Ward for ann early shower, and a near 25 minutes break for the subsequent rain the home side at 4-1 and Farsley to contend with having to bowl out the Hartshead Moor side who had, now, only 47 overs in which to make a highly unlikely 230 for what might have been only their win of a poor season. Farsley's own earlier 50 overs brought an imbalance into the game and, thus, the 'abandoned game' state of affairs in which each side only receive 2 points, plus any 'bonus points' accrued. Life gets tedious, don't it?

Simon North is a sort of Hartshead Moor triple act – he is skipper, opens the bowling and their batting and he looked in no trouble at all as he set about at least matching his earlier innings at Red Lane on the May Saturday when he made a fine 67 in 'Moors' 201 total that day. Chris won his first wicket of an afternoon he will never forget and one he will be recounting to his grandchildren in gaining yet another debatable LBW decision – umpiring decisions which unfortunately can besmirch this wonderful game of ours – 'Moor 42-2.

Bozz was bowling by this time and thegame fell asleep with little effort being shown by the home side to have a go at winning the match. Simon North went to an almost faultless 50 however after Chris, Bozza, Harvey and 'Muscles" Matthew Lumb had also each tried their bowling luck until Chris took a neat slip chance off Harvey's off spin to grab a third wicket at 104 with 13 over remaining and a chance, now, that another breakthrough might do the trick.

Barry Frankland raised the Rams' spirits even more with a wonderful boundary edge saving stop and then Chris Henry got his second wicket, and Farsley's fourth, at 119 by re-arranging one poor fellow's stumps in no uncertain fashion. It was the start of Harshead's rot as the now firey Henry took the fifth and sixth wickets in the next two balls – all cleaned bowled – to leave the batsmen scurrying to put pads on with the 'Moor now on a debilitating 119-6.

Henry then grabbed another wicket LBW – at 119-7 and when the stubborn but classy Simon North (63) had his 3 stumps sent flying somewhere in the general direction of backward short leg Hartshead could be said to be in the proverbial at a near down and out 120-8. Chris then 'yorked' yet another victim – 120-9 – and when the diving David Syers held on to a last man snick, Henry had completed a remarkable transformation in the game by taking 9 wickets, 7 of them in a 13 ball stint of fire and brimstone - to give his side their fourteenth win in this highly charged season.

Simon North's innings, Martin Ellis's 24 and a battling 19 from Matthew Evans were the only meaningful contributions from Hartshead's final 124 total. Chris Henry's performance however will be the one which gets recalled and talked about many times over in the years ahead by anyone who was luck enough to be at the game.

League Standings after Saturday, August 2: The top 5
Farsley (259 points), Gomersal (219 points), Keighley (216 points), Idle (211 points), Undercliffe (205 points)