By Matt Harris
Sunday August 17th saw Rufforth & Marston CC host the finals of the Deals Daddy (Division 4) and Dave Conner (Division 2) cups. The hosts did an excellent job, with a top quality wicket and plenty of food and drink on hand, as well as music and a bouncy castle to round things off.
In the Deals Daddy Trophy Crossgates 2s faced off against Stockton & Hopgrove 1s. Crossgates chose to bat first but may have regretted the decision as they lost quick wickets to a strong Stockton bowling attack including a 3-fer for Rich Kerrison. However, lower-order contributions from Hussain Mirza (39) and Habib Fedai (45) got Crossgates back in the game and they finished on an impressive 175. In response, Stockton's batsmen added runs steadily, with 30+ from Richard Cockerill & Dan Durkin, but Crossgates chipped away at them and for a while it looked like the target might be out of reach. However, Stockton captain (and player-of-the-match) Jamie Kerrison stepped up to the plate and put on 57 runs in 26 balls (to add to the two wickets he took in the first innings) to win the game in 19 overs. Congratulations to Stockton and thanks to both teams for giving us a cracking final.
In the Dave Conner Trophy final Crossgates 1s played Woodhouse Grange 3s. Crossgates again chose to bat but this time their openers Rakshith Rangappa and A Mohammad scored a half-century each and other contributors took the total to 185. In response Lewis Ainley scored an impressive 30 for Woodhouse Grange but Crossgates's bowling attack, led by Hem Bhandari (4 wickets), was too strong, and wickets fell regularly. A defiant "last stand" by player-of-the-match George Baty (39no) and captain Dan Wilson (30) got Woodhouse very close, but they ran out of wickets in the 17th over. Congratulations to both teams. This makes three consecutive cup wins for Crossgates (Midgley, Wilberfoss and now Dave Conner). Will they claim the Readman in 2026?
This coming Sunday 24th August sees the Finals Day of the first-ever YPLN Hundred tournament, at Woodhouse Grange. The semi-finals are both at 11am and the final is at 2.30pm. Dunnington play Bridlington and Carlton Towers play Brandesburton in the semis. Come along for some fast scoring pink ball cricket and of course the always excellent Woodhouse Grange catering and bar.
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