- match preview
PUDSEY St Lawrence and Wakefield Thornes will be bidding to create a piece of cricketing history by becoming the first side to win the Yorkshire Premier League play-off final.
The day night final is being played in the stunning surroundings of Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Stadium, which was the venue for this week’s Test match between Pakistan and West Indies.
Both Pudsey St Lawrence, champions of the All Rounder Cricket Bradford Premier League and Wakefield Thornes, winners of the All Rounder Cricket Yorkshire South ECB Premier League would dearly love to triumph on Thursday night.
St Lawrence skipper James Smith spoke on the eve of the game about their desire to lift the White Rose Trophy just days before the club commemorates the 100th birthday of its most famous player Sir Leonard Hutton.
Smith said: “This is a unique situation. We are a club steeped in tradition and the history is massive. Never before have we had the chance to experience anything quite like this.
“Playing with pink ball under the floodlights at the Test ground in Abu Dhabi is a wonderful end to a great season.
“The semi-final at Headingley was really special too, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Everything about Abu Dhabi has been amazing. The hotel, the practice facilities, it is absolutely first class.
“I have worked and played in Asia but never have a come across anything like Abu Dhabi.”
Smith will be seeking a response from his side after a below-par performance saw them lose their warm-up game to local side NMC by seven wickets.The captain admitted: “If we play like that again we will get beat, so it is up to everybody to lift themselves and remember the reason why we came here, to win the final.”
Thornes, who won their warm-up game by 56 runs against an Abu Dhabi Cricket Club XI have been the surprise package of the season and have been boosted by the arrival from Australia of their Sri Lankan all-round Akila Isanka.They have been described by some as the “Leicester City” of Yorkshire Premier League cricket.
Their captain Tom Froggett said: “This has been a brilliant season and now we want to top it off. Everything about this trip so far has been amazing and the final is going to be an incredible occasion for us all.”
The second innings of the match will be played under the stunning Zayed Stadium floodlights. There are 160 bulbs on each of the four 50-metre high pylons.
The match starts at 1.30pm local time which is 10.30am in the UK. Live scores will be transmitted on the Bradford Premier League website bradfordcl.com and details will be posted shortly on how to watch a live stream of the final.
Pudsey St Lawrence (From) James Smith (Captain), Mark Robertshaw, Adam Waite, Callam Goldthorp, Barrie Frankland, Matthew Duce (wkt), Chris Marsden, Richie Lamb, Steve Watts, Tom Hudson, Josh Wilson, Charlie Parker.
Wakefield Thornes: Tom Froggett (Captain), Tom Marsden, James Woldfenden, David Toft, Steve Morgan, Faisal Irfan, Akila Isanka. Matthew Varley, Greg Wadsworth, Mahmood Rasool, Matt Jordan.