Records fall as Grange bring up 75 in fine style
WOODHOUSE Grange’s record batting display in the Yorkshire Premier North could not have come at a better time, according to their captain Andrew Bilton.
The skipper smashed 125 from 117 balls as records tumbled against Easingwold with fellow opener Tom Young plundering 112 to help the pair set the highest partnership of any wicket – 217 before Young fell – in the division’s history.
After racking up 381-7,Woodhouse Grange skittled out their opponents for 133 to claim a 248-run victory and Bilton revealed the historic victory was the perfect way to celebrate the club’s 75th anniversary.
He said:“It was a great achievement for the boys, we didn’t know we had done it until Sunday.We’re very happy and slightly surprised by it. With the club celebrating its 75th anniversary,
it couldn’t have been any better so I am very happy. It’s pretty special.
“It’s pretty fitting for the club to help them get a few headlines in a special year and to celebrate what the club has done down the years. Me and Tom couldn’t be any happier that it’s happened now.
“I was pretty happy with my performance, it’s always nice for the captain to score runs and helps take the pressure off the team in some respects so it’s always nice to contribute in such a way.”
Bilton was full of praise for opening partner Young, who has scored more than 500 runs so far this season and was delighted with the positive nature his side took on.
He said: “Tom is a very destructive batsman and hits a lot of boundaries and a lot of sixes.We made the decision early on in the season to move him from the middle order to opener and he hasn’t looked back since. I think he’s in the top five run-scorers in the league so from our point of view he’s a very dangerous batsman and you could see he might get a really big one soon. We like to take each game as it comes. In other games against us we’ve seen some big scores so when it’s your chance to make big runs you tend to as an individual try to grasp the opportunity.
“There are big clubs in the league but we’ve massively exceeded those expectations and the season couldn’t be going any better.
“It’s little things that have made a big difference to our form this season. It’s been a massive improvement for the club all-round.”