Match report.
Lancashire U14 v Yorkshire U14A at Westhoughton CC on Sunday 17th June.
Yorkshire 113 all out (Jack Young 29, Matthew Weston 25) beat Lancashire 105 all out (Clarke Doughney 4-18, Alex Midgley 2-16) by 8 runs.
The second ECB Royal London Cup competition fixture of the season saw two old enemies meet in the first Roses clash of the season. Lancashire won the toss on a windy, drizzly day and elected to put Yorkshire in to bat on a wicket which had been under water the previous day, but was still remarkably hard. Two serious opening spells of new ball bowling saw Yorkshire reduced to 11/2 with Rhys Ditta (0) and Harry Allinson (1) back in the hut. Matthew Weston (25), Nico Nicola (11) and Noah Priestley (15) attempted to consolidate the innings and rebuild before a succession of soft dismissals left the innings hanging in the balance at 62/6. An excellent partnership from George Horbury (18) and Jack Young (29) took the score past the hundred mark with 10 overs remaining. Unfortunately another series of soft dismissals, coupled with some good bowling, saw Yorkshire bowled out for a below par 113 in 41.3 overs.
Yorkshire needed to come out firing with early wickets in the second innings to stand a fighting chance of taking the game deep into the overs and staying in with a shout. Alex Midgley (6-1-16-2) and George Booth (6-2-21-1) produced just what the doctor ordered in tough bowling conditions (caused by the constant drizzle), leaving Lancashire 39/3 before the introduction of spin twins Young (10-3-25-1) and Doughney (10-4-18-4). Some outstanding spin bowling, exceptional ground fielding and catching, coupled with intelligent field settings, piled the pressure on the Lancashire batsmen. This, in the end, proved too much for the hosts as the last Lancashire wicket fell for 105 as Yorkshire claimed an 8-run victory that the lads should be extremely proud of!
Full scorecard available HERE.