SLAITHWAITE ensured there would be no repeat Romida Sykes Cup success for holders Skelmanthorpe this season when they won a nail-biting first-round tie at Hill Top last night.
Having dismissed Skelmanthorpe for just 71 in a game which got under way at 6.30pm on Monday, Martin Welsh’s Conference side only needed 62 more to win with all 10 wickets standing, but they were immediately plunged into deep trouble when quick bowler Amit Dani struck twice in his opening over from the bowling green end.
First he had Slaithwaite overseas man Kana Vaghela trapped leg before, and then two balls later gained a caught behind decision over Howard Jones. And when spinner Andrew Clarke squirted one through Welsh’s defences two overs later, Slaithwaite were suddenly 16-3 and it was clearly game on.
Runs were at a premium as Skelmanthorpe chose to bowl Dani and Clarke straight through, and it looked like paying dividends when the Indian all-rounder struck again in the 15th over having Chris Kilner caught behind by young second team keeper Josh Clarkson.
Three overs later Dani was involved in the next dismissal, this time knocking over the stumps with a direct hit from fine leg after Dave Berry went for a cheeky single, only for the umpire to signal he had not made his ground.
That left the match finely balanced with the hosts on 33-5 and the tension visibly mounting.
Mark Mitchell and Tom Oakley then combined in a crucial 17-run stand for the sixth wicket, before the latter became Dani’s fourth victim, pinned lbw, although it looked a trifle high – even from 70-odd yards away – in the pace bowler’s final over.
Having done the hard work and seen off Dani, Mitchell then fell in Clarke’s next over, chipping lamely to Scott Dyson at mid-on for a top score of 18, and when he was quickly followed by Wayne Beardsall, bowled by Clarke, Slawit were staring down the barrel at 55-8.
Andy Keeling hit a couple of pressure-relieving boundaries, however, and when Ian Holt stroked James Crossland through extra cover, the holders’ grip on the Romida-backed trophy was finally prised free.
