Match report by Charlie Hopper.
Lancashire U14A 258 all out (George Crowther 3-42) beat Yorkshire U14A 149 all out (Alex Wood 27) by 109 runs.
Overcast conditions greeted the players down at North Marine Road for this highly anticipated 50 over ECB cup game. After winning the toss, Yorkshire skipper Sam Spenceley put Lancashire straight into bat and this looked to be a good decision as Yorkshire made early inroads into the Lancashire batting line up. Opener Jack Stanley was first to fall after being bowled by the impressive Elias Smith. Lancashire then lost their second wicket of the game as Smith produced a near perfect delivery which accounted for the dangerous Keshana Fonseka for 16 runs. Only 11 runs were added before Lancashire lost their third wicket as Basil Sulton (12) was adjudged to be LBW off the bowling of Leo Diffey. The Lancashire batsmen then fought fire with fire and added a further 52 before Mason Everton (22) was cleaned bowled by George Crowther. Leaving them 85-4 after 17 overs. Lancashire continued to bat aggressively and were on 123-4 off 23 overs when rain intervened and the two teams took an early tea. The rain meant that the game had to be reduced to 46 overs per side.
Resuming after tea, it was clear to see that this aggressive style was here to stay and they continued to add runs to the growing total. Yorkshire finally got the much-needed breakthrough as the dangerous Darren Low (72) fell, caught Light, bowled by Will Chapman. Kartik Joshi (0) then fell, caught Smith, bowled by Chapman to leave Lancashire in trouble. After 30 overs, Lancashire were 163-6. Lachlan Doidge joined his bowlers by picking up his first wicket getting Johnson (1) caught by Nicholson. Carney (73) and Hodge (0) both fell to Crowther and Diffey before Crowther picked up the last wicket getting Richard (36) caught by Wood. Lancashire ending on 258 all out 43. Crowther (5.3 overs, 3-42), Smith (8 overs, 2-48) and Chapman (8 overs, 2-43) were the pick of the Yorkshire bowlers.
The two Yorkshire openers, Cree and Wood, got off to the perfect start until Cree (22) was ran out by Carney with the score on 47. Yorkshire then lost two wickets in quick succession as skipper Spenceley fell (1) caught Carney, bowled Richard, and the same combination accounted for the wicket of Wood (27) leaving Yorkshire struggling on 59/3. After a short re-build, Yorkshire then slipped to 100-6 as Nicholson (1) was bowled by Birkman and Jahangir (19) was bowled by the same man. Doidge (18) was next to fall as Potts had him caught by Joshi. Wicketkeeper Isaac Light then fell to Joshi for 8 runs and Diffey also fell in the same fashion as Yorkshire slumped to 123-8. The final two wickets fell, meaning that Yorkshire had been bowled out for only 149.
After the game, Yorkshire manager Adam Brown said “We were outplayed by a well drilled Lancashire side who were better than us in each department. But, there were some good learning opportunities for the squad throughout the day. This will stand them in good stead as the season progresses."
Full scorecard available HERE.