1st XI Follifoot CC (A)
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Otley arrived at Follifoot in good time to watch the rain pour down, a very frustrating sight knowing a win against 2nd place would put us clear by some distance.
When the first break of rain came an eager Otley outfit took to the field to begin some fielding practice etc. and warming up. Not long after it was agreed that a 30 over game would take place starting at 1520. Having won the toss, Otley were taking to the field first and within the first over Thompson had removed opener Williams with a sharp caught behind from Nicholson. Finding some pace and bounce with plenty of swing proved difficult for the Follifoot batsman as Thompson ended a fine spell with figures of 3-14 from 6. This time Davies kept the pressure up at the other end with no wicket bowling very tightly for 0-10 from his 6 overs. Halloran took the ball next as he settled in to a dangerous spell of pace bowling removing the dangerous Yasar Ali for a duck courtesy of a sharp slip catch from Morley then bowling his next victim to finish with 2-38 from his 9 overs. Goldthorp was in his typical mood taking 3 quick wickets at 10 apiece from his 5 overs and Follifoot ended with 114. Another cracking team effort from Otley to restrict 2nd place in the league to a minimal total on another superb wicket. With Jono missing this week, Jamie Pickering found himself partnering the skipper at the top of the order and the pair soon resumed service of old clattering early boundaries before Pickering was smartly caught at first slip for 25 with the score on 46. Atkinson joined Morley who had to be watchful against the dangerous Istikhar who was bowling a very tight spell. Having reached his half century following some confusion of a 4 being given rather than a 6 due to tree involvement Morley foolishly gave his wicket away with just 6 required giving Follifoot a point and deducting Otley 1 also. This left Atkinson and Brown to finish the game 2 down wrapping up a very good day for the men from Cross Green who can happily sit 14 points clear heading in to a tricky fixture away at Pool on the 9th. |
1st XI Guiseley CC (H)
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Otley welcomed Guiseley to Cross Green this week looking to extend a lead at the top of the table. Having lost the toss, Otley found themselves in the field first on what appeared to be a very good wicket.
It didn’t take long for Davies to make early in roads bowling 2 of the Guiseley batsman and having a couple caught behind with Thompson keeping the pressure up at the other end. Davies bowled a spectacular spell on a very flat wicket to return impressive figures of 4-14 from his 11 overs. At the other end Thompson ended his spell with 2-16 from 12 overs, had he kept his foot behind the line on 2 occasions this would have been 4 for having a caught and a bowled from a no ball! With Guiseley losing regular wickets all was left to do was to mop up the tail and Brown made light work of this taking 3-20 from 9.3 overs. Another superb bowling and fielding display on a wicket where you would expect par to be 240. Following a scrumptious tea at the interval the usual pair of Morley/Jono strolled out to the crease in hope of knocking off the runs with minimal damage. However, not to be as Otley found themselves 18-1 and then 18-2 with Jono caught at gully and Brown adjudged caught behind. A quick fire 20 from Morley soon came to an end when another dubious caught behind chance was given. It was left to the Brother in law combo of Davies/Hester to do the rest taking Otley from 48-3 to 104/3 in no time. Hester finishing with a rapid 54*and Davies a more tame 21* ensuring Otley picked up the win inside 13 overs. On to next week where Otley visit 2nd place Follifoot knowing a win will put them further ahead at the top of the table. |
1st XI Bilton CC (A)
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Otley made the trip over to Harrogate for the first time in 2018, visiting Bilton on another glorious day. With this in mind Morley was not hesitant in opting to bat first upon winning the toss.
It didn’t take long for Otley to lose their first wicket (Hughes) who was bowled by a delivery which had very little bounce, a worrying sign so early in the game! Pickering came to the crease to join Morley as they both looked to score quickly against the opening attack, at 58 Otley lost their next wicket, Pickering for 18 as he was adjudged LBW. Next to bat was the inform Brown who struggled to get going as the Bilton spin attack came in to action. This also slowed up the scoring for Morley who found it tough to stay on the attack as he had done in the earlier stages of the innings. Nevertheless, the pair grafted well and managed to put on an impressive 123 for the 3rd wicket much to the delight of the travelling OCC spectators who were also treated to some rather large maximums courtesy of Morley. At 181 an energy sapped Morley top edged a slog sweep to depart for 109 followed not long after by Brown for 61 notching his runs for the season well past 200. Late blows from Davies and Goldthorp coupled with some interesting running between the wickets meant Otley finished on 285, a score that was beyond par for the inconsistency of the wicket. Following on from last week’s impressive bowling display at Burley, the Otley bowlers were immediately on the attack, Davies bowling a testing spell and Thompson similarly but slightly more devastating removing 3 Bilton batsmen all to very adjacent LBW shouts ending with figures of 3-17 from his 7 overs. Halloran replaced Davies and created more misery for the Bilton order as he turned around impressive figures of 3-14 from his 6 overs. Bilton stood no chance of getting going as Billy tied proceedings down with some tidy leg spin picking up a couple of wickets himself returning figures of 2-18. All that was left to do now was remove the last couple of batsman and Goldthorp did this with ease as he has done so well this year, a very quick 2-2 taking his average for the season to an impressive 7.36! Another brilliant performance ending in a crushing 217 run victory for the men in green who will welcome Guiseley down to Cross Green next week. |
1st XI Burley CC (A)
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The first round of the cup meant a repeat fixture of only 3 weeks ago when Burley visited Cross Green; however this time it was the opposite venue.
Losing the toss, Morley’s men were asked to have a bowl first on what looked another belting wicket; it seemed that leaving the covers on until 12.15 did not affect the wicket as perhaps Burley may have hoped? The usual duo of Davies and Thompson started for Otley in fine style with neither opening batsman able to get comfortable against the new ball. It was in fact the sharp work of Goldthorp who ran out the Burley opener with the score on just 13, overs bowled was 9! The next wicket fell was of danger man Revis who on Saturday had made 95 and this fell to a perfect Halloran delivery snicking nicely through to the trusty Paul Nicholson behind the sticks. As Burley began to rebuild their innings as the skipper (Wright) looked to attack Goldthorp managed to sneak one through the defences and get him for 36. Out to the crease strode former OCC spinner Nicky Bulcock who batted fluently for 62 to carry his bat with a few more Burley players chipping in they finished on 215. This may sound a good score but with the small boundary on one side and the wicket offering nothing, credit to the Otley bowling attack and fielding as they were superb throughout the 45 overs. Otley came out positively with usual pairing Morley/Hughes beginning proceedings, unfortunately not lasting long as Jono found himself in the pavilion for just 2 copping a fairly handy delivery from Burleys OS player. Otley continued dismissing Burleys seam attack with ease until skipper Morley foolishly planted one straight down mid on’s throat, it didn’t take long for Atkinson to follow in the exact same fashion and the game was balanced at 78-3. This brought Hester to the crease who joined the inform Brown who had already notched a 100 against Burley this season. Both batsman rebuilt steadily and went about knocking off the remaining runs with ease. As they both piled the runs on Brown reached his 50 and began to unleash despatching boundary on boundary finally bringing up another fine century with a 6 over mid-wicket. This left Hester to whack 3 maximums into the tennis courts to end the innings with 13 overs to spare bringing up his own 50 in the process. A fantastic, professional performance from the lads all round and thanks must go to the large crowd who were in attendance for a fine OCC victory. |
1st XI Adel (H)
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Otley welcomed Adel to Cross Green for the first time in many years as the hosts looked to get back to winning ways.
Winning the toss, Morley elected to bat first on a flat track. With the absence of Jono, Morley partnered up with in form Jack Martin who was unlucky to get a decent ball in the first over which snuck through his defences. Shortly after a flurry of boundaries from Morley he was ran out from the bowlers hand after a blistering straight drive from Atkinson, his new partner. Runs carried on flowing for Brown/Atkinson until the latter was adjudged to have edged the ball behind albeit to the sound of willow on turf rather than leather… Brown continued his run of form until chipping one up to point leaving the hosts 103/4, Hester came and went and at 125/5 there was slight panic in the ranks knowing we were well short of a par total. Davies stuck around and found some much needed form with a 32 but it wasn’t until 207/8 when Ricky Halloran strode to the crease that the fireworks started! Thompson had battled through a tough display of spin bowling to then go on and unleash an attack on the Adel seam attack despatching boundary on boundary on his way to an implausible unbeaten century well assisted by a 16* from Halloran who rotated the strike well and despatched the occasional bad ball. This partnership saw 81 runs from the last 7 overs leaving Otley with a monstrous 288-8 total. After being treated to a magnificent tea at half time Otley took the field thirsty for early wickets and this was what followed with Davies and Thompson bowling out both openers without a run on the board. Adel soon found themselves 30-3 with the skipper (Foster) at the crease. Some wayward bowling all round mixed in with a flat wicket gave plenty of opportunity for the Adel WK and skipper who plodded along comfortable to drinks where they found themselves requiring 150 with 7 wickets remaining, certainly in the driving seat. It was that man again Brown who broke the partnership on 148 with a smart catch from Goldthorp. This turned the game on its head and Adel were soon bowled out for 189, Ricky Halloran blasting away the tail to finish with 3-31 accompanied well by Brown and Thompson also bagging 3 wickets a piece. A convincing win in the end albeit the slight scare during the Adel overs, but a spirited comeback ensured the spectators could go home positive ahead of the local derby in the cup to follow on Sunday. |
1st XI Rawdon (A)
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Otley travelled up to Rawdon for a tough away fixture hoping to extend their lead at the top of the table.
Morley took no time in asking to bat first when winning the toss on what looked to be a good deck under glorious sunshine. It didn’t take long for Morley to find himself back in the dressing room after a loose stroke outside off saw him sharply caught at first slip. Pick and Jono went about slowly rebuilding as the Rawdon overseas bowled a very tidy opening spell finally getting Pickering for 20 leaving OCC 37-2. The Otley batsman struggled to get going against the ever dangerous Berryman and quickly found ourselves 94-6, Steve Brown making a start but succumbing to Doidge for 26. A last ditch attempt from Thompson and Goldthorp meant our total was pushed on slightly as we finally capitulated for a meagre 150, well below par. Credit where it is due, the Rawdon bowling/fielding unit performed well but were helped tremendously by some poor shot selection and concentration from the Otley batsman. Following on from tea, Otley were determined to bowl with discipline, field tightly and make the job hard for Rawdon to knock off the 151 required. However, this was not to be the case and a myriad of poor bowling and fielding began. When a big LBW shout was turned down and a sharp slip catch disallowed due to a no ball Otley were struggling. It wasn’t until Rawdon put on 75 that the first wicket fell, Billy Hyde taking his maiden wicket for the club as he ripped one through the gate of left hander Scanlan, without the score ticking over RCC lost their 2nd wicket and the belief came back for OCC. Shortly after Myers passed his 50 he was bowled cleanly by Goldthorp and a flutter of wickets occurred. Unfortunately at 122-6 the experienced Doidge ensured no further loss of wicket as Otley passed the ball around in desperation to try steal victory, however not to be. A poor days cricket for the men in green, hopefully just an early season blunder soon to be forgotten and corrected next weekend when we welcome Adel to Cross Green and travel down the road for a re match with Burley in the Waddilove Cup. |
1st XI Burley CC (H)
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This week saw Otley host Burley in an early season spectacle which would see two of the top sides go head to head. New Burley skipper Wright won the toss and didn’t hesitate in bowling first on what was a wet and green pitch at Cross Green.
It didn’t take long for both Burley opening bowlers to pick up a wicket each (Morley and Hughes) and at 17-2 Burley were in the driving seat early. This poor start meant that newcomer Alex Atkinson was at the crease alongside Brown to rebuild the Otley innings, and what a job they did! Both men batted superbly to put on 172 for the third wicket, Atkinson showing great temperament (72 from 103 balls) whilst Brown blasted boundary upon boundary on his way to 113 off just 106 balls. Following the departure of these two it only meant more trouble for Burley as Chris Thompson strode to the crease to continue the barrage on the Burley seam attack. He blasted his way to 44 from 17 balls and with some late contributions from the tail Otley finished with an impressive score of 280-8 from the allotted overs. After a delightful spread provided by the ever impressive OCC tea ladies it was time for the Otley bowling contingent to get to work on defending the 280 total. The opening duo had little luck in dismissing either opener early doors and it was only when Goldthorp took a superb diving catch in the deep off Brown that Otley picked up the first wicket leaving Burley 72-1. Burley lost regular wickets throughout but whilst last year’s batting prize winner (Brook) was at the crease there was always the threat at large for the Otley bowlers. Following a brief rain break, Brook found Thompson in the deep who was to take 1 of 2 impressive catches on the boundary edge, the innings then petered out and was wrapped up with a magnificent direct hit from the boundary edge from Skipper Morley ensuring the full 20 points for Otley by dismissing Burley for 191. Steve Brown returned excellent figures of 4-39 from his 14 overs to wrap up the MOM prize for the day. It is now on to next week where Otley will visit a strong Rawdon side taking with them a 13 point lead at the top of division one. |
1st XI Ilkley CC (A)
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With the season delayed due to severe weather, rather than welcoming Horsforth to Cross Green, Otley’s first game of 2018 was away at Ilkley.
Whilst Ilkley had done exceptionally well to produce a good wicket, Otley skipper Ben Morley on winning the toss elected to take to the field. Longstanding opening duo Davies and Thompson started proceedings with Davies taking the first wicket with only 1 on the board. The next 2 wickets were harder to come by and at 80-2 Otley realised they could be chasing down a big score on the opening day of the season. The combination of Brown and new overseas Billy Hyde, with spin on at both ends, started to slow things down for the Ilkley batsmen and Brown soon made sure Ilkley lost their next wickets (81-3 & 87-4) bowling Ilkley’s overseas through the gate then soon after having Chaplin caught on 37. The best was yet to come as Nathan Goldthorp began his spell coming on as 6th bowler of the day. Beginning with a front foot no ball this was to be the only run he conceded as he made a mockery of the Ilkley lower order and blew them away with outstanding figures of 1-5 (4.3 overs), a final run out from Billy meant Ilkley finished with 123 AO. A good comeback from the men in green took them to the interval with confidence. New opening pair Morley/Hughes got to work on the Ilkley bowlers very early striking boundaries from both ends. In Ilkleys search for their first Otley victim the ball was thrown around trying everything they could to stem the flow of runs. Alas, this was to no avail and the new pairing reached the century partnership in quick time with Morley bringing up the first OCC 50 of the year. Shortly after Morley was removed by a smart catch (67 from 44 balls) and Hughes stumped looking to swiftly finish the innings (37 from 49 balls). This only brought returning Pickering to the crease and Brown who finished the game off with ease. Sadly Otley didn’t do the maths and their inability to work out how many runs were required to maximise bonus points meant they finished with 19 points instead of the 20 on offer, a lesson learned on day 1. All in all a good start to Otley’s season as they move on to the 28th where they will welcome a strong Burley side under new skipper Jason Wright for an eagerly awaited local derby. |
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