ONE SMALL STEP...ONE GIANT LEAP

By Glen Sands

Luddington took a giant step towards clinching the Snaith & District Evening League Division One title last Thursday when they beat a very spirited Goole Acadamy side at their Park Lane ground.
The game began with spots of rain falling but that didn't give opener Andy Lawson any problems as he struck the ball to all parts in another dominent display. Fellow opener Darren Clark on the other hand was superbly caught by Jake Mahoney off the bowling of Will O'Donnell without scoring once again with his new bat which is proving to be a rather costly item as he has yet to score a run with it in two outings , then his brother Graham was brilliantly stumped by Goole's outstanding 16 year old wicket keeper Ben Earl who went on to play a major part both behind the stumps and with the bat. Lawson and Andy Torr took the total to 58 before Torr was caught by Earl off the bowling of Ashton Nottingham for 10 then Peter Tait became Earl's third victim when he once again whipped off the bails to send Tait back to the pavilion for nine , earning Jake Mahoney a wicket. Lawson continued to plunder runs at will taking his season's six hitting tally past the 50 mark during his score of 62 then he was well caught by O'Donnell at deep mid off from the bowling of skipper Louis Moore with the overall total on 93.Russell Fletcher and Jason Whiteley took the score past three figures before Earl whipped off Whiteley's bails for his fourth victim , this time off Scott Thorpe's bowling and Thorpe then bowled Danny Taylor for 0 in the same over as Goole struck back hard. Fletcher eventually went for 9 , caught by Nick Holah off Thorpe and that man Earl took another catch behind the stumps, off Moore to remove Liam McAnaney for 10. Thorpe wrapped up the innings when trapping Graeme Fletcher LBW for 0 leaving Luddington 120 all out and giving Thorpe terrific figures of 4 for 7 from 3.3 overs.
Goole's reply began with the rain falling a little more heavily than in the Luddington innings but to their credit the teams chose to carry on and were rewarded when it eased off after a few overs. Ben Earl and Jake Mahoney opened the innings but Mahoney had reached three when he was caught in gully by Andy Torr off Liam McAnaney. Scott Thorpe went to the crease with just one intention and for a while his big hitting appeared to be working until he edged a catch to wicket keeper Darren Clark off McAnaney for 13 with the total on 26. Earl and Nicky Holah then pieced together a stand of 34 runs and looked to be guiding Goole to a morale boosting victory over their Snaith Shield Final opponents but then he was trapped LBW by Jonathan Wroot for 30 , shuffling across his stumps and missing a straight one. Grant Houghimestra joined Holah and to their credit the two youngsters still kept picking up the runsbut with boundaries required and Ludd fielding well the likely hood of a run out became ever more possible and sure enough Houghimestra went for one run too many and was out for 12 with the total on 87. The weather was closing in with the rain becoming heavier once again but neither suide appeared to want to come off and so the game continued. Holah had reached an excellent 28 when he was bowled by Graham Clark with Goole needing 24 from the last three overs but his demise signalled something of a collapse as skipper Moore was bowled by Graeme Fletcher for 5 and Will O'Donnell bowled by Graham Clark for 4. By now the rain was pouring down but with only an over to go the teams finished it off in the gloom, Goole finishing on 107 for 7 , some 14 runs short of their target.
Both teams are to be congratulated for their determination to get the game finished despite the steady deterioration of the weather. Goole have a very young but very exciting team that will only improve as they continue to play together. Ben Earl in particular is a tremendous prospect and has the potential to go on to great things in the game. Luddington would like to thank Gordon and Karen from the River Don for sponsoring the match ball in this game.