Selby first team continue to climb the Division Two table when they travelled to South Milford II on Saturday and came away with a comfortable nine wicket win.

Skipper Tom Shepherd won the toss and asked the home side to bat first and it soon proved to be a good decision with Gareth Roberts taking a wicket in the second over when he had Steve Winspear caught by Alex Bowden. Roberts struck again when he had Peter Batty caught behind by Harry Huddlestone and when he had Martin Bramley caught by Lee Wild South Milford were reduced to 23-3. Selby took a firm grip on the game when Jamie Middleton took three wickets in the thirteenth over to leave the home side in trouble on 33-6. Middleton finished with 4-33 and Roberts 4-27 as Milford struggled to 52-8 but there was a late recovery from Andy Radi and Ben Whitehead. A stubborn ninth wicket partnership of 46 was eventually ended by spinner Alex Langhan when he trapped Whitehead (17) leg before and Lee Wild wrapped up the innings when he had Matt Hildon caught behind. Andy Radi finished unbeaten on a defiant 36 as the home side were bowled out for 103 in the 36th over.

In reply there was an early shock for Selby when Lee Wild was bowled in the first over but Jamie Pickles joined Alex Bowden and like last week they were soon scoring quickly. The in form batsmen both peppered the boundary with Bowden hitting 12 fours and a six in his unbeaten 58. Pickles fired 6 fours and 2 sixes in his unbeaten 39 as Selby raced to victory in only the tenth over. The win lifts Selby to third in the table and they play Carlton Towers II on Saturday at Sandhill Lane. Thanks go to match ball sponsor Stuart Evison.

Yorkshire Premier League North Division Four (Ebor)

Selby II 202-7 Saxton I 206-8

Selby second team’s winning run in Division Four came to an end when they went down to a narrow two wicket defeat to second in the table Saxton I in a high scoring game at Sandhill Lane.

Batting first after winning the toss Selby made a good start with an opening partnership of 48 from Graham Phillips and Jack Huddlestone which was ended by George Fletcher when he bowled Phillips for 35. Joe Bugg joined Huddlestone and they took the score to 75 before Ian Cunningham had Huddlestone caught behind for 29. The innings was then dominated by the big hitting Matty Clark but he had good support from Joe Bugg (17) and Mark Hope (20). Clark hammered 4 fours and 5 sixes in his powerful 65 but he was eventually bowled by Venkat Musku (3-23) as Selby closed on a useful 202-7.

Saxton also made a good start with openers Dan Appleby and Andrew Raison putting on 65 for the first wicket before Matty Clark made the breakthrough when he bowled Appleby for 46. Pankaj Sharma and Raison added 34 for the second wicket before Clark struck again when he bowled Sharma (16) and next ball he had Srinivasa Indukuri caught by Nathan Dye to reduce the visitors to 98-3. Andrew Raison continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over and he added 39 for the fourth wicket with Matthew Hutton (13) which was ended by spinner Atul Vishwakarma. Clark (4-33) then took the important wicket of Raison (53) thanks to a great catch from Jack Huddlestone as the game boiled up to a tight finish. Venkat Musku hit a rapid 24 before he was dramatically run out by Nathan Dye to leave the game in the balance. Steve Hutton and Ian Cunningham looked to be steering Saxton home but Nathan Dye had Hutton (18) caught by Phillips in the deep. Dye (2-13) struck again to bowl Cunningham (13) but Nigel Gilbertson hit the winning runs with just four balls remaining. Selby did pick up four bowling points and they travel to another of the league newcomers Scholes on Saturday.

York Vale League Division Three

Selby III 219-7, Bolton Percy III 174

Selby third team continue to lead the way in Division Three after a 45 run win against Bolton Percy III but they had to work hard after posting a big total.

Batting first Selby lost a wicket with the score on 19 when James Yates had Kayden Lane (12) caught by Josh Longbottom but Gareth Pearce joined Steve Sherwood and they soon put the home side on top. The experienced pair put on 127 for the second wicket with Sherwood hitting 11 boundaries in his 63 before he was bowled by Andrew Ferguson. Pearce was again in top form and he fired 14 fours and a six until Max Desai had him caught behind for a stylish 75. Andrew Ferguson (3-32) produced a good spell to slow down the run rate but late runs were added by Malcolm Bowden (21) and Neil Darley (20 n.o.) as Selby closed on an imposing 219-7.

Chasing the big total Bolton Percy lost an early wicket when Darren Hunter trapped Ian Cairns leg before with only 10 runs on the board. Skipper James Hodge and Duncan Sanford took the score to 40 before Rhys Roddick had Sandford snapped up at slip by Malcolm Bowden. The visitors responded superbly when Louis Sanford joined Hodge and they both batted well to keep them in the game with a third wicket partnership of 69. Neil Darley made the important breakthrough when he dismissed Hodge for 46 and George Wells had Sandford caught for an impressive 45 as the home side gradually got back on top. There were useful knocks from Chris Moore (12) and Andrew Ferguson (20) for the visitors but Neil Darley (4-54) and young bowler George Wells (3-14) saw Bolton Percy bowled out for a creditable 174 in the 31st over.