Rebelles chase Yorkshire finals glory after sensational season
Mytholmroyd Cricket Club’s ladies team, the Royd Rebelles, are going for glory in Yorkshire finals this weekend after outstanding performances in their indoor cricket campaign.
The team have been playing in the new West Yorkshire Women and Girls Cricket League, which is linked with four competitions spanning the West Yorkshire region, as part of a Yorkshire wide tournament.
In the Calderdale area, the indoor league has been based at The Cricket Asylum, in Sowerby Bridge, with a ten team season running from November.
Competition and standard has been exceptional with teams from Bradshaw, Blackley, Mytholmroyd, King Cross, Sowerby Bridge, Sowerby St Peter’s, Barkisland, Triangle and Birkby Rose Hill contesting for honours.
Bradshaw, Blackley, Mytholmroyd and King Cross qualified for the four play-off places and the Calderdale finals and it was the Rebelles who came through as winners to book their berth in last weekend’s West Yorkshire semi-finals and final, in Bradford.
Mytholmroyd faced Horsforth in the first semi-final, with Crossflats and Stainland going head to head in the other half of the draw.
Horsforth batted first and were restricted to 283 with Mytholmroyd's four-prong pace attack and strong fielding keeping the score down to an achievable total.
A good start to the Mytholmroyd innings between Fie Hopper (24) and Emily Morgan (15) set Mytholmroyd on their way only for excellent bowling to peg the Calderdale team back.
The Rebelles needed 30 off their last four overs and the contest went down to the last over, with Mytholmroyd getting over the line to win by seven runs.
The win put Royd up against the experienced and fancied Crossflats team in the final.
It was the Bradford outfit who batted first but again Mytholmroyd bowlers bowled strongly, restricting Crossflats to 264.
Fie Hopper was the pick of the bowlers, with four wickets adding to her brace from the semi final, and she was ably assisted by Imogen Henderson whose pace, line and length belied her relative inexperience.
Mytholmroyd began the chase well but with two overs remaining, still required 17 to overhaul the quality opposition. That became five runs needed from two balls with the penultimate ball proving critical.
Ruth Woodhead drove the ball into the covers, setting off for what looked like a tight run but injury struck and she was left stranded short of her ground. The ball came in from the fielder but the Crossflats' bowler dislodged the bails without the ball, sportingly advising the umpire of this immediately: Three runs scored.
After a short delay due to Woodhead's injury and a replacement runner, Julie Henderson was on strike needing to score two to take the West Yorkshire trophy and she calmly struck the ball into the covers for three.
Captain Sophie Gallop accepted the trophy on behalf of the Mytholmroyd team, who travel to Sheffield for the Yorkshire finals on Saturday.