14/06/2026
🏏 Semis all round at Gargrave 🏏
Thank you to William Beckwith and Philip Harland for their sponsorship this weekend 🤝
First XI
Gargrave 252-8 (40 overs)
Wilsden 82 all out (35.5 overs)
Won by 170 runs
Second XI
Menston 4ths 112 all out (36.2 overs)
Gargrave 113-5 (24.2 overs)
Won by 5 wickets
A more positive match report this week as we secured a double win again! Up on the moors at Wilsden, Will Smith won a toss (3-5) and in John Beckwith’s honour, decided to bat first. Just a shame John wasn’t there to cash in… Lee Barrett and the returning Bradley Gardner opened up and saw off the new ball before Brad missed a straight one trying to clip it to leg, a symptom of ‘office cricket’ or so we were told. Freddie Pearson got off his pair from last week and played a delightful off drive for 6 before dollying an easy catch up to first slip, which was just after Lee slapped the first change’s first ball to point. And at 56-3, a few of the lads got flashbacks to last week’s horror show against Silsden. Thankfully, the Lorimers steadied the ship. Alex Lorimer taking advantage of the short boundary with 2 sixes before missing a straight one. The skipper came in at 6, demoted from opening after some agricultural shots last week and then had to watch as Matt Lorimer missed a straight one from the spinner in his first over. After that, Smith and Chris Lambert rolled back the years, putting on 82 to take us up past 200. It was a game of tap and run at times, with runs being picked off without even a call to be heard. Smith holed out in the deep after bagging his second 50 of the campaign, before Chrissy’s running exploits got the better of him as he fell an over or too later to a decent throw from the boundary. David Harrop got a tough call last week but evened it up yesterday as he smashed one into his pad and into the keeper’s gloves and stood looking bemused, pointing at his pad. Incredible commitment to the cause. He went on to make a quick fire 32 before also holing out to long off. Ben Howlett and Callum Smith then saw out the remaining overs to take us past 250. With the ball, Alex and Ben bowled beautifully with the new ball - the field was quite a sight, with two men fielding in woolly hats - get your guesses as to who in the comments… Ben was the man with the breakthrough as Lee and Callum took decent catches. He finished with 2-15 off his 8. Alex, unfortunately, went wicketless and then had to watch as Will and Dave bowled some filth and picked up 7 wickets between them. Dave’s loopy in-duckers claimed 2 bowled, with Alex then helping him out with a catch. Will’s off-breaks (which didn’t turn all day) claimed 4-20, with catches from Alex, Adam Crawshaw, Dave and one for himself, proving he only takes catches off his own bowling. Freddie then came on to wrap things up as Ben claimed the catch for the final wicket. Back to winning ways and a 4th Wynn Cup semi final in as many years!
Back at HQ, the 2s were missing their talismanic skipper Will Storr, who bizarrely booked a Sunday to Sunday holiday… but they were in capable hands as Dom Ferneyhough won the toss (1-0) and elected to field first. Bolstered by the selection of George Beckwith, the 2s were off to a decent start as George got 2 in 2 to leave Menston 18-2. Ben Wood then chipped in with his only wicket of the game as the openers finished with 1-20 and 2-13 respectively. The two change bowlers of Kieren Ashley and Dominic Kay then got to work and really applied some pressure to the middle order. Dom removed the stubborn opener courtesy of a Tom Goodwin catch before Kieren had the two set men in the middle out LBW. Dom then ran through the lower order, with another catch for Goodwin, before an LBW and bowled to leave them 9 down. Dom finished with figures of 4-15 and Kieren 2-33 as the 2s proved Will Storr’s bowling wasn’t to be missed. With 4 bowlers used up, the stand-in skipper had to turn to Goodwin and Giles Giley Giles to bowl the remaining overs. Thankfully Tom did remember how to bowl this week and finished the innings as Connor Sanders took the final catch. Chasing 112, confidence was high but quickly alarm bells were ringing as both openers blobbed again. Dibby secured a 12 ball duck, Dom lost his off-peg and then Tom also was back in the hutch to leave us 21-3. Ben Wood and Dom F dug in, putting on 37 and steadying the ship before Ben was also bowled. Up stepped Big Red, who’d had quite enough of watching Dom defend the ball, smashed 44 from just 18 balls, including 5 fours and 3 sixes, which effectively took the game away from a spirited Menston side. He tried to reach his second GCC 50 with a 6 but had to walk off without one as he lost his middle stump. Adam Hudson, in typical Adam style, hit a boundary to tie us level before Dom nudged a single to win us the game and carry us home with 22* off 55 (fifty-five) balls. The only TFC for the week was Will Peryer, but he took the iPad to the club, so that sort of counts, doesn’t it? Another John Clayton semi-final for the 2s and a superb double win weekend for the club! 💯
