It was a weekend Richmondshire Cricket Club will remember for a very long time.
In the space of 24 hours, the first team were crowned North Yorkshire & South Durham Cricket League ECB Premier Division champions and then added the Premier Hundred to complete a memorable double.
It was Saturday’s commanding victory away at Bishop Auckland that sealed the prize the club has chased all summer. Put in to bat at Kingsway after the home side won the toss and chose to field, Richmondshire made an uncertain start, losing opener Michael Layfield for one with only four runs on the board. What followed, though, was an innings of real authority, built around a magnificent century from club professional Gary Pratt.
Pratt, the surviving opener, was joined by captain Dan Hodgson, and the pair set about repairing the early damage in a manner that never allowed Bishop Auckland to build any momentum. Their second-wicket partnership was worth 146, carrying the total from four for one to 150 before Hodgson finally departed for a composed 53 from 104 balls.
Gary reached three figures in commanding fashion and went on to make 123 from 141 balls, an innings decorated with 10 fours and five sixes, before he was fifth out with the score at 242. Around him the middle order tasked with adding runs quickly was unable to fully capitalise – Joe White made three, Rob Carr a brisk 18, Shafiqullah Ghafari eight and Owen Kelly seven – and a clatter of late wickets checked the charge. Even so, a generous 42 extras, 21 of them wides, helped the visitors to a formidable 260 for seven from their 50 overs, Sam Wood unbeaten on five at the close.
If 260 looked competitive, the reply confirmed it was well beyond Bishop Auckland’s reach. Josh Dowson struck with the very first meaningful blow of the innings, bowling opener C Scorer with the score still on nought and finishing with one for 12 from a probing four-over spell. S Oldfield (37) and J Dinger (28) offered the only sustained resistance, and once they had lifted the hosts to 67 the innings began to unravel.
From there it belonged to Ghafari. The Durham-contracted spinner was quite irresistible, wheeling through 13 overs to claim six for 45 and tearing the heart out of the Bishop Auckland order as they slid from a still-competitive 111 for five to 153 all out inside the 39th over. Sam Wood lent excellent support with two for 48, Max Percival’s five overs cost just 21, and Caleb Bradford wrapped up the innings with the final wicket to finish with one for 22.
Victory by 107 runs, and the maximum 25 points that came with it, confirmed what had long looked likely: Richmondshire are champions of the ECB Premier Division. It is a triumph built on consistency across the whole campaign, on the class of the club’s professionals and on a strength in depth that has allowed the side to win from almost any position.
Barely 24 hours after being crowned league champions, the first team completed a stunning double by lifting the Premier Hundred, beating Middlesbrough by 37 runs in the final at Thornaby. Asked to bat first after losing the toss, Richmondshire made 158 for four from their 100 balls, the innings lit up by a breathtaking cameo from Shafiqullah Ghafari, who struck 45 from just 23 deliveries with five fours and three sixes. Captain Dan Hodgson kept the scoreboard racing with 41 from 25 balls, Joe White chipped in with 32, and Michael Layfield finished 19 not out.
Defending 159, Richmondshire were ruthless. Karl Coetzer threatened briefly with a rapid 46, but wickets tumbled around him at regular intervals and Middlesbrough were dismissed for 121 with a ball to spare. Sam Wood was the pick of the attack with four for 38, Max Percival and Josh Dowson claimed two apiece, and Ghafari – fittingly, given his weekend – added a wicket to his runs to cap a quite superb personal double.
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AROUND THE CLUB
Second XI survive in the most dramatic fashion
There was high drama at Hurgill Road, where the second team preserved their Division 1 status by the narrowest possible margin, edging home by one wicket against Great Ayton. Sam Winter won the toss and fielded, and for 30 overs the decision looked a costly one as Great Ayton’s openers J Grainge (119) and T Leng (57) piled on 171 for the first wicket. Then came the collapse: once the stand was broken the visitors lost all 10 wickets for the addition of just 42 runs, subsiding to 213 all out, with Harvey Websdale the destroyer-in-chief on seven for 64 from 15 overs and Raam Raj taking three for 47 – the pair sharing all 10 wickets between them.
The chase was every bit as tense. Winter (70) and Alex Percival (57) rebuilt with a match-turning partnership, but wickets kept falling at the death and it was left to the last pair, Jordan Forbes and Websdale, to scramble the winning runs and reach 217 for nine – a one-wicket win, and the 20 points that confirm survival.
Third XI edged out by Marton
The only disappointment of the weekend came for the third team, who went down by eight wickets at home to Marton in the Sunday Premier League. Batting first, Richmondshire were bowled out for 151, held together by an unbeaten 52 from Jahan Mohammed and 37 from Raam Raj, though too many promising starts went unconverted.
In reply, Marton’s openers M Benfield (54) and L Champion (62) put on 135 for the first wicket to settle the contest early, the visitors easing to 152 for two. Fred Lamb (one for 23) and Alfie Bottomley (one for 44) were the only bowlers to strike.
Fourth XI awarded fixture
The fourth XI’s final fixture was awarded to Richmondshire after opponents Norton conceded. The points see the side finish the season in mid-table.
Fifth XI sign off in style
The fifth team ended their campaign emphatically, posting a colossal 310 for two from their 40 overs at Richmond School before dismissing Northallerton for 99 to win by a thumping 211 runs. The batting was a genuine team effort, with four players retiring not out after passing fifty – Mike White (71), Jahan Mohammed (53), Matt Bromirskyj (51) and Griffin Bewell, whose blistering 50 came from just 30 balls with 11 fours – while Chris Dunning added a rapid 24. The chase never got going, Sophie White the pick of the attack with four for eight from her six overs and John Bewell taking two for 11.
