WOODLANDS’ secretary Brian Pearson is recovering at home after being hit in the face by a cricket ball two Saturdays ago, breaking three cheekbones while umpiring their second XI.
Rather than face a multitude of questions from well-wishers at the Priestley Cup final at New Farnley on Sunday, nice as their concern would be, Pearson opted to watch the match on live streaming at home, and hopefully his recuperation would have been helped by Woodlands’ six-wicket victory over Bradford & Bingley in what was a repeat of the 2023 final.
Bingley came out on top in last year’s showpiece, so Woodlands captain Brad Schmulian needed no reminding of what tough opponents the men from Wagon Lane could be.
Schmulian won the toss and chose to field, a decision that he may have regretted when Bingley’s overseas player Louren Steenkamp showed his class with the willow by thumping 157 off 132 balls, hitting 19 fours and a six.
That was only one run short of equalling the best individual score in a Priestley Cup final, set by Hanging Heaton’s Ronnie Hudson in 1986 when they beat Eccleshill.
Bingley finished on 282-7, but, in a contest that was again well staged by New Farnley, Schmulian guided his team to a six-wicket victory with 26 balls to spare, finishing on 119 not out off 110 deliveries.
It was the first time in the tournament's 120-year history that there had been more than one century in the final.
Steenkamp was named man of the match, adding 125 for Bradford & Bingley's second wicket with Joe Pyrah (33) and 67 for the sixth with the experienced Matthew Duce (35 not out).
The South African was the sixth man out at 270 off the last ball of the penultimate over.
The pink ball travelled quickly over the fast outfield and the wicket was good, but Scott Richardson avoided the general damage to bowling figures by taking 3-42 in his 10 overs.
Pace bowler Jack Hartley set the tone for Bingley’s triumph last year by dismissing Tim Jackson and Schmulian early doors, and he threatened to do the same when he dismissed Sam Frankland first ball after tea, thanks to a sensational catch low to his right by keeper Duce.
Jackson also went early but with the run rate never an issue, Schmulian, who again eliminated error as much as he could, found good allies in the Collins brothers, Liam and Kieran.
Liam, promoted to open the innings, scored 53 off 51 balls, as he and Schmulian kickstarted Woodlands’ recovery, before Kieran hit 57 off 77 deliveries, putting on 112 with his skipper.
Whatever Bingley skipper Ed Brown tried, Woodlands had an answer and they secured the trophy after Elliot Richardson struck a quickfire 32 not out off 20 balls in an unbroken stand of 80 with his captain.
Spinners Reece Cockshott and Bradley Reeve did better than anyone for Bingley, but Woodlands achieved the second highest run chase in a final, after Keighley’s 326-5 against Salts way back in 1948.
Now Woodlands will be focus on retaining their Bradford Premier League Premier Division title next month.
They currently hold an eight-point lead over New Farnley at the summit as they chase a memorable double.
After Sunday’s final, Schmulian said: “It wasn’t an easy decision to bowl first.
“In finals cricket you generally bat first, but we were brilliant with the ball on Saturday (in a low-scoring 34 run win over Townville) and just thought that we would try and do it again.
“The ball did a bit early on and there was a lot of playing and missing. Louren did as well, but once he settled it was more about containment and trying to take wickets at the other end.
“We thought for a lot of the time that they would get 300, and it was pretty brutal chasing the ball around the field, but we knew that we could chase 280 as we have done it before on this ground.
“The wicket got easier but I knew that we had to bat well against pace or spin and it wasn’t an impossible task.”
Schmulian added: “It was a brilliant catch first up by Matthew Duce, and we knew that they would be up for it but we got it done.
“We made sure that we didn’t lose wickets in the batting powerplay but we also never let the run rate get above six an over.
“With the slope and it always being firm underfoot, if you get bat on ball then it flies, and we knew that they had pace on the ball.
“Watching Louren bat I knew that it was a good wicket and that I was going to have to do something similar.
“But I hit my first ball for four and was seeing it well and you feel like you are in from ball one.
“I thought that Liam was going to get 100, then Kieran got lucky with a dropped catch on the boundary, but I said to the lads at the other end: ‘Bat with me and we will win’.
“Elliott has manned up for us this weekend, despite an injury. He got runs and wickets against Townville and bowled well here and we had that match-winning partnership at the end.”
Steenkamp, who has gone back to South Africa this week to prepare for the domestic season with Limpopo Impala, said: “It is a better standard than I anticipated (in the Bradford Premier League).
“But I felt pretty good from the off here, although there was a bit of movement with the slope.
“I was one run off the record but I didn’t know about it while I was in the middle.
“Then Schmulian batted well in their innings and took the game away from us.”
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