Rhys Buck sparkles in Whitby CC 1sts’ home draw against Stokesley 2nds
Whitby CC 1sts were held to a winning draw at home by second-from-bottom Stokesley 2nds in the NYSD League second division on Saturday, an unbeaten 42 from Max Richardson frustrating the hosts.
Whitby skipper Tom Steyert won the toss and opted to bat, and despite losing two early wickets to slump to 8-2 they battled back to take full advantage of the decision to bat first, eventually reaching a strong total.
Rhys Buck was the star man for the hosts, his sparkling 86 from 95 balls, including 13 fours and a six, paving the way for Whitby’s big total, Buck sharing a third-wicket stand of 104 with opener Alf Jacobs (46) in 19.5 overs.
Chris Knight added a brisk 10 before Steyert joined Buck and the duo put on 42 for the fifth wicket, the captain dismissed after hitting 29 from 30 deliveries.
The dismissal of Andrew Wood for 1 and the departure of Buck left Whitby on 204-7, but then an excellent eighth-wicket stand of 77 in 12.1 overs between Michael Thompson (41no) and Ben Braim (31) saw Steyert declare on 284-8 from 49.3 overs.
The visitors batted steadily early on and reached 129-2 thanks to captain Cai Evans (58) and opener Tom Howard (32), but at 167-5 the game looked to be in the balance until Richardson’s undefeated 42 ensured Stokesley claimed a draw on 232-7.
Steyert took 3-70 and Jacobs 2-52 to complete impressive all-round displays for the fourth-placed hosts, who are at The Turnbull Ground again this Saturday against eighth-placed Shildon Railway.
Whitby 2nds suffered a seven-wicket loss at Division Three leaders Blackhall.
Jack Lyth’s 59 was the shining light in the visitors’ 107 all out in 31.5 overs, the only Whitby batsman to make it into double figures. The hosts eased to 111-3 in 22.4 overs to seal the win.
Whitby 2nds head to Normanby Hall 2nds this Saturday.
Whitby 3rds were beaten by 53 runs at Guisborough 3rds in the Sunday Conference South.
The visitors must have fancied their chances after restricting Boro to 132-7, Zac Allardice the top bowler with 3-18 and Georgie Moon chipping in with 2-46.
The visitors then collapsed to 47-6, despite 23 from opener Ben Braim, and although Kieran Purvis blasted a rapid 25 from 16 balls to take them to 68-6, they then lost their final four wickets for 11 runs.