Goole avoid rain and go top

Published on 21st June 2007 in Sport

Hornsea 130-9

Goole Town 1st X1 131-3

Amazingly, in view of the conditions late last week, Goole Town firsts managed to complete a game at Hornsea on Saturday, and their seven-wicket win takes them to the top of the York Senior League Division One.

With all the other games abandoned - Beverley Town and York II managing some bizarre cricket at Norwood before the inevitable - Goole showed all their strengths of a season with only one blemish so far.

True there was always the threat of rain, and drops fell in the tea interval, which is why although they lost three wickets in their pursuit of 130 to win, it was the need to get the game over that meant the change in batting order, with Mark Holmes and Steve Hicks perishing with the line almost in sight.

Another mammoth bowling effort from Dave England, unchanged from one end with 3-61 in 24 overs with excellent support from Richard Mann (2-27) and Ashley Hulme (4-31), meant Hornsea could never escape the shackles that were imposed in damp conditions, but nothing like the previous 48 hours.

Mann's fine form of late saw him take a wicket with the final ball of his first over with Fisher cleaned up for a duck. Although five home batsmen reached double figures, no one passed Johnson's 21 at number three, he was one of Hulme's four on another fine afternoon for the Australian all rounder.

The rain was never too far away, and a shower in the tea interval raised eyebrows, but Goole got to the crease after a half-hour delay and made steady progress against tight bowling before starting to up the rate.

The blossoming opening partnership between Hulme and Gibbins reached another 50 in the 14th over to follow up 68, 53, 48, 51 and 96 in the last five games, and it reached 100 in the 25th over.

Gibbins, who has threatened several times this season to make a really big score, went through his own personal half century before falling with the score on 115 off the bowling of Phillips, who had Hornsea's best figures.

His 58 contained nine fours and a six, and Hulme (left 17-05-75 GT) went on to reach his sixth successive score of 50 or more for the club, remaining 51 not out at the end.

The weather was closing in once more, hence the promotion of the big-hitting Holmes and Hicks, and although both fell cheaply, Lee Hayward joined Hulme to see Goole to another 30 points and they move to the top of York Senior One,a third of the way through the campaign.