Patrington made it a hat-trick of Readman Trophy Final losses and a second in as many years as they lost to Division One West side Knaresborough in what was an excellent final in the baking sunshine.
Those who travelled to Woodhouse Grange on Sunday afternoon to watch the Readman Trophy Final were treated to a fine game of cricket and two fantastic innings as firstly Connor McKinley delighted the crowd with some fine strokeplay on his way to 84 for Patrington, before the explosive Tashmial Henry, who finished with 94, also too put on a wonderful show as he guided Knaresborough to an eight-wicket victory with one ball to spare.
Having lost the toss, Patrington were invited to bat first in the heat. On a beautiful-looking surface Ash Mckinley’s men were more than happy to bat first in the hope of creating scoreboard pressure.
The Patrington innings would solely be based around one man, as once again wicketkeeper-batsman Connor McKinley was the shining light with the bat for Patrington. He would face 57 balls during his fine knock of 84. The classy left-hander hit eight fours and four sixes, one of which was an unbelievable strike out to the longest part of the ground as he entertained the travelling supporters and laid an excellent foundation for Patrington to post a competitive 161 for 5 from their 20 overs.
Extras were the innings’ second-top scorer with 21, with double-figure contributions also coming from Ash McKinley (13), Ben Butler (19) and Billy Ineson (16) as, other than McKinley, no Patrington batsman managed to find any real rhythm or timing.
Patrington had hoped for a score in excess of 180 at one stage but were pegged back thanks to some tight bowling towards the end of the innings as they posted a target that was considered around par on a good surface with one relatively short boundary to one side.
When Ash McKinley picked up an early breakthrough in the second over, Patrington started brightly, but the Knaresborough opener Tashmial Henry along with number three Toby Giddings began to build a partnership. Both batsmen survived dropped chances, both from the bowling of Grant Van Es – firstly Henry on 28 and then Giddings on 17. This would prove to be a key turning point.
Van Es (0-18) bowled brilliantly and deserved more reward for his consistent probing spell. Patrington now began to toil, and Collinson (0-37) and McElwee (0-48) received punishment from an impressive Henry. Anything short disappeared into the neighbouring field and any width would be despatched through the covers as the left-hander took charge.
Ash McKinley (2-23) and Ineson (0-28) returned for the final four overs with just 19 required for victory. The Patrington captain bowled superbly and would dismiss Henry six short of what would have been a magnificent century – his 61-ball knock included six fours and six maximums as he took his side to the brink of victory.
Giddings (51*) completed a half-century as Knaresborough got over the line with a ball to spare. It was a great advert for local cricket, between two sides who fought hard but also played the game in the right spirit.
The winning captain, Greg Pickles, acknowledging the effort both sides put in as his side showed class and humbleness in victory, and a huge amount of respect for the opposition. For this, Patrington would like to say a big thank you and well done to their opponents and hopefully the two sides will meet again in the 2023 season as both eye up promotion to the championship.
Again, a big thank you to all of those at Woodhouse Grange who helped host the event – the scorers, the umpires and the Readman family who always show great support for the competition.
