Surprise win gives Yeadon skipper survival boost

Yeadon skipper Ryan Robinson reckons that seven victories will keep his team in the Gordon Rigg Bradford Premier League Division One this season.

In a re-arranged match, played in glorious sunshine at the White Swan ground on Sunday, they defeated Baildon to notch win number two.

However, it really should have been league defeat number three for Yeadon and league victory number three for Baildon.

Chasing 159 for victory, the visitors seemed in control for most of their reply, especially when captain Kevin McDermott (27) was adding 71 for the second wicket with Jonny Reynolds (51), and then when Reynolds put on 45 for the fourth wicket with Will Kelly (30).

However, Reynolds’ dismissal at 129 was the start of a procession of victims, mostly for Istikhar Hussain (6-31), and Baildon, not helped by No 11 Umar Zahoor being unable to bat as he apparently had to play in a football final, were dismissed for 149.

Even so it took a superb one-handed catch behind square leg by Andrew Robinson to win the match, ending Kelly’s bright knock.

Robinson said: “I am still a little bit shocked by the win to be honest. I knew that their top three would be strong, but if we could get through those on this pitch, which was extremely slow and low, it would be hard to score runs.

“Also, Ishy bowled really well, but when Kevin and Jonny were putting on that stand they were in the game from a wickets perspective but we were in the game from a runs perspective.

“You always felt that five or ten tight overs could sway it the other way, and scoreboard pressure is massive. Tail-enders play shots that they don’t need to, that scoreboard pressure told and we bowled straight when we needed to.”

As for Yeadon’s innings, Robinson said: “The wicket was still a little bit wet and a little bit sticky and we felt that 175-180 was what we should have been aiming for so we fell short, but we felt that if we bowled and fielded well we would stand a chance, although it didn’t look like that at drinks (when Baildon were 73-1).”

And his thoughts on the catch that clinched victory: “The funny thing is that I was fielding there pretty much all game and I am 5ft 8in, and Andrew Robinson is 6ft 2in and he was one of only two players in the team that would have been able to catch that.

“He was in the right place at the right time, but that was more by luck than design.”

As for the season, with Yeadon having had something of a yo-yo existence recently between tiers two and three, Robinson said: “First and foremost we want to stay in the division, having come up last season (as runners-up to Sandal).

“Once we get those seven wins that history tells us that we need we can enjoy our cricket a bit more. Some people say that six wins will do it, but I reckon seven.”

Yeadon won the toss and opted to bat but slumped to 26-3 as Zahoor (6-38) took the first three victims.

Josh Watson (24) and Shahzaib Sayeed (32) then began a re-building job that was continued by Adeel Ashraf (22), Muhammad Zulfiqar Khan (24) and Hussain (26) as Zahoor and McDermott (2-36 off 15 overs) bowled tightly and took wickets.

Knowing that they needed only just over three runs an over, McDermott and Reynolds were watchful, but once they were out only Kelly played an innings of substance as Hussain, Ashraf and Amir Hussain turned the screw to win a game that Yeadon should have lost.

Yeadon have climbed two places to seventh, leap-frogging both Birstall and Baildon, who drop to ninth, but still handily above bottom three Carlton (37), East Ardsley (34) and Sandal (26).