Geldart 134 not out, Randhawa 8 wickets as Academy extend lead
Callum Geldart, right, slammed 134 not out and Gurman Randhawa took eight wickets as Yorkshire Academy crushed Hull and YPI to go 11 points clear at the top of the ECB Oxbridge Yorkshire County Premier League.
So far ahead were the Yorkshire batsmen that skipper John Blain was able to declare with 11 overs in hand - and give his bowlers 66 overs of winning time: they did the job with 14.4 overs to spare.
Blain won the toss on a good wicket at Hull, decided to take strike...and, first, the bad news: Joe Root was caught for 0 in the first over. Enter Geldart: he and Gary Ballance put on 123 before Ballance was caught for 65, but Geldart played his best league innings of the season, and shared a third-wicket stand of 94 with Charlie Roebuck, 43.
Chavez Younes, with a fine 36 not out, and Geldart added 64 for the fifth wicket without being separated, and Blain declared at 43.4 overs with the 300 up. Geldart's undefeated 134 included 13 fours and three sixes - and was an excellent performance that deserved to be watched by more spectators. Academy's batting throughout the season has been very good, and I am certain that if more people turned up they would find it entertaining and exhilarating.
Moin Ashraf opened the Academy's attack, bowling very straight and containing the early batsmen. His economy rate was 2.17.
Roebuck was the only pace bowler to claim a wicket - dismissing opener Andy Kirby for 1 - before Blain turned to Randhawa's left-arm spin and Root's off-breaks.
Randhawa, left, proceded to run through most of the side - captain Dave Barrick, 36, and opener Andy Simpson, 34, were but two of his scalps.
Top-scorer Matt Wilkinson, 65, played a valiant innings, with eight fours and two sixes, but he was caught by Roebuck off a skier to give Randhawa his eighth wicket.
Gurman's control was excellent, and the Hull batsmen had no answer to his left-arm spin. His figures of 19.5-7-49-8 reflected his control and command.
Academy take the maximum of eight points - and with 80 points from 12 matches they go 11 points clear of their nearest rivals, Scarborough.
York lie third with 67; Doncaster Town have 65, Castleford 60 and Barnsley 48.
Yorkshire Academy Innings (maximum 55 overs): J Root c D Wilkinson b M Wilkinson 0, G Ballance c D Barrick b W Parker 65, C Geldart not out 134, C Roebuck st D Wilkinson b D Barrick 43, J Hargreaves b D Barrick 12, C Younes not out 36. Extras (b 5, w 5, nb 1) 11
Total (4 wkts, 43.4 overs) 301
DNB: G Randhawa, A Lilley, H Chadwick (wicket-keeper), J Blain (captain) and M AShraf
FoW: 1-0, 2-123, 3-207, 4-237
Bowling: M Wilkinson 8-1-55-1, Tom Appleyard 6.4-2-33-0, D Barrick 10-0-60-2, A Boasman 5-0-31-0, W Parker 5-0-42-1, D Barkworth 3-0-34-0, A Simpson 6-0-41-0
Hull and YPI Innings (maximum 66 overs): A Simpson c J Hargreaves b G Randhawa 34, A Kirby b C Roebuck 1, Tim Appleyard st H Chadwick b G Randhawa 21, B Kirby c H Chadwick b G Randhawa 17, D Barrick (captain) lbw b G Randhawa 36, D Wilkinson (wicket-keeper) c A Lilley b G Randhawa 0, W Parker c A Lilley b G Randhawa 2, M Wilkinson c C Roebuck b G Randhawa 65, A Boasman c C Younes b G Randhawa 0, T Appleyard st H Chadwick b J Root 5, D Barkworth not out 22. Extras (b 4, lb 5, w 4, nb 1) 14
Total (51.2 overs) 197
FoW: 1-33, 2-57, 3-64, 4-97, 5-97, 6-108, 7-123, 8-129, 9-153, 10-197
Bowling: M Ashraf 6-3-13-0, J Hargreaves 3-0-21-0, C Roebuck 5-1-24-1, G Randhawa 19.2-7-49-8, J Root 17-2-75-1, G Ballance 1-0-6-0
Result: Yorkshire Academy won by 104 runs
Yorkshire Academy 8 points; Hull and YPI 0 points
Umpires: Mr R McFarlane (Scunthorpe) and Mr H Fidler (Chesterfield). Scorers: Mr HD Galley and Mr J Floyd
Words and Statistics: HAROLD GALLEY
ECB OXBRIDGE YORKSHIRE COUNTY PREMIER LEAGUE
Appleby Frodingham 268-7 (C Holliday 64, N Sayeed 43, R Day 31); Driffield 201 (J Fraser 76 not out, S Drury 44, G Halder 27 not out, P Hilton 3-37)
Castleford 160-9 (G O’Neill 42, C Young 39, A Gosney 3-30, M Chadwick 3-47, A Knowles 3-54); Doncaster Town 144-9 (M Chadwick 39 not out, A Parkin-Coates 25, C Young 5-45)
Yorkshire Academy 301-4 (C Geldart 134 not out, G Balance 65, C Roebuck 43, S Younes 36 not out); Hull 197 (M Wilkinson 65, A Simpson 34, D Barrick 36, G Randhawa 8-49)
Sheffield United 51 (O Hannon-Dalby 6-7, J Ellis 3-30); Barnsley 52-2 (S Widdup 28)
Sheffield Collegiate 200-7 (D Adams 64, N Khan 31 not out); Rotherham Town 189 (O Whittaker 75, J Lowe 35, N Khan 4-61)
Scarborough v Harrogate no play
Cleethorpes 229-8 (W Kirby 118 not out, I Mutaliph 26, A Hulme 3-83); York 232-2 (S Mason 112, D Wilson 94)
ECB Oxbridge Yorkshire County Premier League Correspondent: STEVE WARD