Sir Leonard Hutton.  Son of St Lawrence

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Saturday 12 July 2008  Pudsey St Lawrence 1st XI   V  Manningham Mills (Away)

On arrival for this fixture, it was found that the prepared wicket was unplayable due to the previous day’s rain having got under the covers, so an alternative was quickly cut and rolled, and virtually all the batsmen from both sides looked at the blotchy strip with the greatest of apprehension.  So when the home captain won the toss, he had little hesitation in putting St Lawrence in to bat first.

The strategy worked in so far as runs came only very slowly, and wickets fell regularly.  But the exception to the rule came in the form of a classic “Captain’s Innings” from James Smith.  Yes there was James’ usual smattering of orbital sixes and blistering fours, but this was a craftsman’s display of studied application, requiring stern defence as well as the rigorous exploitation of the rare opportunity for violence.  The result was 69 not out in a match where the next highest score by any batsman on either side was only 24.

The upshot was that St Lawrence managed to accumulate what turned out to be an insurmountable 174 for 7 off their 50 overs in conditions where local pundits considered 150 to be a challenging total.  And so it proved.  Gary Severn ( 2 for 13) is enjoying a great season and made the initial breakthrough, then Chris Marsden’s 3 for 31 off 15 overs will be recorded as the “coup de grace”.  But just as importantly, Tim Grey’s 1 for 33 from his 15 overs serves to prove the point that a bowler’s economy can win matches just as well as his ability to take wickets.

St Lawrence’s 16 points from this fixture sees them leapfrog today’s opponents into 7th place in the table and serve a warning to the higher teams that their next fixture with this team will be serious stuff!