Patrington 1st XI – 316 for 8
Fairburn 1st XI – 251 for 6
Patrington win by 65 runs (10 points)
Patrington’s first XI batsmen produced the goods when needed last Saturday as they totalled their highest score of the season to set up a convincing 65-run victory at home to Fairburn.
Winning the toss, home captain Ashley McKinley opted to bat first, a decision he may have been ruing as he fell for a rare duck in the second over of the game and when opening partner Jacob Duffill (9) fell in the eighth over with Patrington 32-2 the home side were up against it.
Connor McKinley joined Daniel Fincham at the crease, with the ball offering a little assistance to the seamers, they played watchfully whilst also scoring at a decent rate as the pressure subsided somewhat. The pair looked in good order with both playing some attractive strokes on their way to half-centuries before pushing on even more to build a healthy platform for the home side. Just as the partnership reached 151 Fincham (73) departed with a season’s high score to his name in an innings that featured 13 boundaries. He was soon followed back to the pavilion by McKinley (85) who also stroked 13 boundaries in an innings and partnership that set the game up for Patrington to post a match-winning score.
At 189 for 4 with 13 overs remaining, the home side felt a score in excess of 280 was in reach, but the middle to lower order hasn’t always fired this season so there was still work to do. What followed was far from what has been seen in 2025.
Jamie McKinley entered the fray, striking his second ball for four – it felt as though the spectators and home side could well be in for a treat and they weren’t to be disappointed. His fifth ball sailed over the rope for six and Patrington were now on the march.
Matthew Dixon took 12 from the next over. Not to be outdone, McKinley took 18 from the 40th over – Jamie was now very much in the groove. Dixon recognised this and took a single from the first ball of the 41st, allowing McKinley to strike a further 20, and in the next over he reached a scintillating 18-ball half-century, by far and away the fastest of the season, before he fell the very next ball for 53 from 19 deliveries, striking seven fours and four sixes and just the solitary single. This was an innings of pure entertainment and a pleasure to watch.
Eight overs remaining and 259 on the board, Dixon (32), now joined by Bob Eldon-Smith (24), kept things moving, adding 52 in just over seven overs. The fun didn’t stop – Eldon-Smith, with licence, opted to showcase his array of shots. Having threatened to do so in recent weeks, he decided now was the time to “reverse it”, reverse pulling the seamer for 4, then going one better the next ball, reverse pulling the ball for 6 – a remarkable stroke and certainly something never witnessed down at Southside in the past.
This was the cherry on the icing on the cake for Patrington. Despite 3 late wickets, the damage was done as the hosts posted a formidable 316 for 8.
Going out to field with such a high total on the board can sometimes mean the fielding side switch off and start slowly – and this happened once again – but after a shaky start, seamer James McGinty (1-34) showed great character in picking up the first wicket and on another day could well have had a few more scalps to his name had it not been for a number of chances going to ground.
Grant Van Es (3-36) entered the attack, and he strangled the visiting batsmen in a wonderful 13-over spell that killed the Fairburn reply as the rate required moved beyond eight an over.
With spinner Danny Collinson carrying a shoulder injury from the previous week, it was decided to try not to use him in order to save him for the remainder of the season – and Jacob Duffill (2-61) filled the void brilliantly. Having not bowled in the league this season and having only bowled three league overs for the firsts in 2024 (that cost 37 runs), he showed his capabilities in 12 overs of off-spin that ably supported Van Es as the visitors slipped to 146-6 with 16 overs remaining.
With 10 an over now needed, Fairburn did have hope with Rahatul Javed (72*) at the crease, but the all-rounder took his time to get in before unleashing a flurry of boundaries later on. Well supported by 15-year-old Ali Solway (37*), the pair added an unbeaten 105 to ensure the visitors batted their allocation of 50 overs, but it was too little too late for Fairburn as the damage had been done and Patrington ensured they claimed an important victory and a vital 10 points in the race for survival.
The win moved them up to ninth, just four points above Harrogate in 10th but more importantly 12 points above the drop zone and ahead of this week’s opponents Folkton and Flixton in what will be another important game as the fight for survival intensifies.