Bootham Park v Bradford CAMRA July 23rd 2006 at Hepworth & Idle CC

Back Row: Nathan Ellison, Richard Todd, Jamie Case, John Patrick, Mac McMahon, Tim Wills. Front Row: Wine Kini, Judi Paul, Pete Mitchell, Chris Burns, Nick Thompson

Bradford CAMRA (174-6) lost to Bootham Park (175-6) by 4 wickets

Hepworth & Idle's ground, home to Bradford CAMRA CC, is one of the more unusual venues on the Sunday friendly circuit. Located atop a hill with commanding views over the surrounding dales, it's a beautiful place to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon. The playing surface is firmly located in the "interesting" category, with more hills and valleys on the outfield alone than in the entire city of York. The previous evening had seen what the locals described as "a bit of weather", and the outfield was pockmarked all over as the result of industrial-gauge raindrops. The pitch was brown and slightly spongy on top with odd vibrant patches of grass. It had endured a thorough soaking but was rapidly drying out in the sunshine, making it a good toss to win. I won it and chose to bowl.

It was a great pleasure to field a side containing 10 bowlers and an even greater one that everybody performed so well. Jamie Case and Richard Todd kicked things off with their now-customary parsimony, conceding only 14 runs off the bat in the opening 8 overs. The first breakthrough came when Tim Wills replaced Case at the far end, Bob Taylor slapping his first ball straight into Chris Burns's safe hands at point. Wills went on to pick up a second wicket in the same over, employing a clever change of pace to rattle Paul Harrison's stumps.

To say that the bounce was a little uneven is a bit like saying Bill Gates has a few bob stashed away. From time to time, the ball took off almost vertically from a good length, even when delivered by the most sedate of bowlers. Scoring was no easy matter as the CAMRA batsmen struggled with the bounce and movement. An excellent partnership of 76 between Graham Coultous and Andrew George accelerated the run rate towards the end of the innings, with George ending unbeaten on 33. Coultous's gritty 41 was brought to an end by the currently golden John Patrick, taking a sharp catch off his own bowling.

Wine Kini bowled one of the strangest deliveries of the day, a yorker that pitched behind the crease yet still bounced over the top of the stumps. Luckily he managed to keep one low enough to perform a spot of Kiwi Feng Shui on Chris Wilkinson's castle. Judi Paul, in his second game for the club, kept wicket like he'd done it more than twice in the last fourteen years, the ball repeatedly finding his gloves with a reassuring thud. Chris Burns & Mac McMahon were each rewarded with a wicket as the home team finished on 154-6 from 40 overs.

I walked out to open the batting with John Patrick, fresh from last week's undefeated 126 against the Post Office. He carried on where he left off, stroking the ball around with ease and timing Dave Boothroyd for a sweet six over long off in only the second over of the innings. In accordance with the local rule, Patrick retired after reaching 59 off a mere 32 balls. I cuffed my way to 17 before trying one flick off the pads too many and offering a straight-up-and-down top edge into Andrew George's waiting gloves.

Judi Paul made a good-looking 18, including the shot of the day, a sublime wristy six over the long square leg boundary. Nick Thompson also made 18 in his first innings back from injury, getting on top of the bounce and scoring runs all around the wicket. Tim Wills and Richard Todd each struck a mighty six but perished soon after. Jamie Case was run out by an excellent direct hit and treated us to some exhibition quality swearing on the way back to the hutch, clocking up a healthy 7.5 on the sulkometer. Well played that man!

In the end it was left to Wine Kini to win the game with a lofted off drive as the Bootham Parkas overhauled CAMRA's total with 13 overs to spare. After a most convivial snifter with our hosts in the Symposium's beer garden, the Bootham boys adjourned to a local restaurant for the traditional post match curry. A bloody good time was had by all.