The seconds had a disappointing day at Bolton Abbey, losing for the second week in a row by 5 wickets.
Winning the toss and deciding to bat on what looked like a decent batting track, Helperby's plans immediately came unstuck as the ball bounced head high at one end and ankle height at the other. (OK - I'm exaggerating, but you get the picture).
The opening pair crawled along at just over a run an over for the first ten or fifteen overs, and batting continued to be difficult as Helperby reached 48 for 4 after 20 overs.
The middle order of Tom Jackson, Nick Buchanan and Tim Nash managed to get the batting back on track, scoring 102 runs between them as Helperby reached a total of 166 for 9 off the 45 overs, earning a valuable batting point.
Helperby's total looked competitive as Nick Buchanan opened the bowling with pace and accuracy, beating the opening batsman regularly outside the off stump; earning his just reward by clean bowling his "bunny" in the fifth over of the innings.
Unfortunately Nick was unable to bowl more than four overs because of a shoulder strain, and the momentum swung Bolton Abbey's way as Parkinson hit a rapid fire fifty; most of them scored in a very uncharacteristic 3 over spell from Gary Downey which cost 30 runs.
Bolton Abbey reached their target with five overs to spare and plenty of batting to come - Helperby were probably 40 runs short of a winning total.
While lack-lustre fielding didn't help the Helperby cause, the major cause for concern was just how far our heads dropped when under pressure. In a game where a match can turn on a single delivery, this was very disappointing and we need to be more positive when things don't go our way.
In the final analysis there were three key areas which contributed to the loss:
We move on to play South Kilvington, who are running away at the top of the Division.
Hopefully we can re-discover our competitiveness and confidence, and return to winning ways.
Andy Barlow
