AS YORKSHIRE WRAP UP FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY .
A dominant second innings batting display secured Yorkshire Cricket Board U17s their first victory in the Championship, Tom Loten completing a memorable debut with four wickets and 89 runs on a the final day at Oxton.
Once again the match was blessed with fine weather as Henry Dobson and Ed Galley added a further 24 to their overnight partnership of 152 before Loten took a wicket with his first ball of the morning trapping the former lbw for 85. Spinner Adam Ahmed picked up the wicket of Galley (104) caught by ‘keeper Ben Birkhead, but not before the opener had reached a well deserved century off 182 balls with a six and 14 fours the last of which took him to three figures and the total beyond 200. The Yorkshire skipper took the second catch of what would become a productive afternoon behind the stumps as Billy Whitford dismissed Ed Fluck (19) in the opening over of his first spell. Tom Young’s cavalier approach brought him seven boundaries on the way to a run a ball 34 but it also proved his downfall when he picked out Kyme Tahirkelli at mid-wicket to give Whitford (2-12) his second wicket with the score on 254, and that was still the total when in the next over Ben Johnson was stumped having advanced down the wicket to leg spinner Tahirkelli.
Harri Dickinson and Owen Feakes’ partnership of 25 for the eighth wicket either side of lunch took the total to 279 before Dickenson was bowled by Loten, and a stand of 41 between Feakes and Arran McCabe stretched the hosts’ advantage beyond 200 but when the same bowler returned for a final spell it took him one ball to separate the pair Birkhead taking his third catch as Feakes went for 25. The score had reached 338 and the lead 232 when the tall paceman brought an end to the innings knocking back McCabe’s stumps to finish with impressive figures of 4-42 from 18 overs.
Faced with a potentially daunting chase of 233 from a minimum of 42 overs openers Bilal Anjam and Tom Loten soon stamped their authority not allowing the bowlers to settle, Anjam racing to a half-century off only 32 balls and by tea the pair had put on 85 from just 13 overs. Loten reached the same mark as his opening partner taking 64 balls and the pair had scored 125 quicker than a run a ball when Anjam (67) top edged a delivery from George Newton and ‘keeper Feakes took a good catch running back. The additional loss of Richard Brown for a single failed to hamper the visitors’ victory charge and through Loten and Birkhead’s continued positivity they went into the final hour needing a further 61 from 17 overs. The pair took the total past 200 and their partnership of 74 from 66 balls was only ended when Loten was caught at cover of a leading edge, 11 short of a century. Birkhead (42) could perhaps consider himself a little unfortunate to be caught after a fiercely struck delivery was parried by the bowler before lobbing up behind him for mid off to catch, but by that stage the result was beyond doubt as Nathan Snookes struck a quick fire 20 off 15 and Owen Kelly hit the winning boundary as Yorkshire completed a six wicket victory with seven overs to spare.
The result puts Yorkshire second in the table with matches against third placed Lancashire and leaders Durham to come.