After a near miss in their opening weekend,, Yorkton's newest sports team, the Yorkton Yorkers cricket club, won their first game in the Saskatchewan Cricket League (SCL) One Day Provincial (ODP) competition May 25.
Following a close heartbreaker against the Jaguars in the shorter T-20 match in their weekend finale the previous weekend, the Yorkers had newfound confidence heading into the rematch in the ODP fixture. That close loss gave the Yorkers the belief that they could not just hang with the Jaguars, but that they could beat them if they sharpened up their game after some opening weekend jitters.
The Jaguars won the coin toss and chose to bat first. Taking the field, the Yorkers made short work of the first three Jaguars' batsmen taking their wickets within the first five overs for only 13 runs, putting the Jaguars on notice that they were ready to play.
The home team however, was up to task establishing a partnership between Yasir Ali and Fasih Fawad who ultimately accounted for 79 runs between the dynamic duo. At the mid-innings break (20 overs) the Jaguars were at 103 runs for only four wickets taken by the Yorkers.
After the break, Ali's wicket fell quickly with the Jaguars on 109 runs and from that point on with the tough batsman Ali out of the picture the Yorkers rapidly took wicket after wicket until the Regina was finally held to 151 runs after 33 overs and 3 balls (33.3 overs) out of a possible 40 overs.
During lunch, team captain Faisal Anwar cautioned Yorkers batsmen to remain patient and the 152 runs they needed to win would come, that advice would eventually come in handy.
The Jaguars also got off to a good start with their turn at bowling, retiring the first three Yorkers batsmen for just 14 runs. That brought up Tinku Sharma, who was Yorkton's man of the match from the previous match against the Jaguars, and Mandeep Singh. The two would need to breathe life into the Yorkers bats that were silent in the beginning of their turn at the wickets.
Both men defended their wickets well and the runs started to come for Singh. Unfortunately for Sharma, he would not repeat his half century (50 runs) performance from the opening weekend. After facing 28 balls, the star striker had managed just six runs and gave up his wicket on a ticked ball caught by the Jaguar's skip, a blow that seemed like it may just once again cause the Yorkers to fall just short of their first ever win.
Replacing Sharma at the crease, Anwar would be the last batsman the Yorkers needed as the captain would provide some steady guidance, leading by example with a clutch performance at the bat. Singh and Anwar provided a delightful partnership as Singh continued to pile up runs smashing a total of 10 boundaries (four runs) alternating with the precision of the captain, who wound up with five boundaries of his own plus one maximum (six runs).
After 29 overs, with 11 to play, the Yorkers were just four runs away from the Jaguars' total to secure the match. Anwar needed just one ball to put it away, making no mistake in sending the Yorkers home early and leaving a full 10.5 overs on the board. The Jaguars bowler, Fawad, delivered the ball and the captain precisely directed it to the boundary in the gap for the win by six wickets and 10.5 overs. It was a redemption for a Yorkers team that was painfully close to beating the Jaguars in the shorter T-20 meeting. With their captain at the helm having himself a great game, the Yorkers got their revenge on the Jaguars.
Between the two, Singh (57) and Anwar (45) accounted for 102 of the Yorkers 152 total runs in the match, as well as five Jaguars wickets (Anwar three and Singh two) making the man of the match call a draw between the captain and the game's star batsman.
The Yorkers next game is Sunday, June 2 against the Cavaliers in Regina where the Yorkers will look to continue what has been a very promising start to play in the club's first ever season. For now the Yorkers can celebrate during the week as they can say they have won their first ever match in the Saskatchewan Cricket League. After their quick rise to full membership, it is no surprise that their first win came equally as quick.
