Midweek cricket at Nostell St Oswald

England’s wandering mercenaries on TV? Or live cricket on a gloriously sunny June evening during the week? No match, no way. I went to Nostell St Oswald Cricket Club.

There aren't many opportunities to play cricket on a Tuesday night in Yorkshire, but the two-division Pontefract & District Leagues Evening League has Tuesday as its match night.

The horrendous queues on the A1 near Darrington for bridge works put me off going to Frickley Colliery Cricket Club in South Elmsall.

f central Pontefract wasn't that sticky a planner once thought it was a brilliant idea to put two roundabouts next to each other i thought i could get to Nostell, via Featherstone, in plenty of time. And i did.

When I arrived, there was only one other person in the parking lot: a Nostell player, who was sitting with the driver's door open and enjoying the warmth, passing the time.

He was keen to get the cricket over with as quickly as possible so he could at least catch the second half against England and, er, who they probably wouldn't play so well against later that evening: Slovenia!

A Division One match between Nostell (below) and Kippax (above) didn’t necessarily mean I was in for a close encounter. But, as it happened, Nostell completely pushed the unbeaten leaders aside before bravely losing by 18 runs.

The Nostell site, Garmil Lane (where the entrance is located), is opposite Nostell Priory, a Palladian-style house with grounds now managed by the National Trust.

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I have visited the monastery, designed and built by the Winn family between 1727 and 1785, a few times. On neither occasion did I see the cricket pitch. I blame the thick, high hedge that separates the cricket pitch from the busy A638, the arterial route from Wakefield to Doncaster.

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On the other side of Garmil Lane to Nostell St Oswalds neat facilities is another smaller cricket ground. It belongs to Wakefield Independent School. Neat pavilion I must say.

Being early, I went for a walk. Unfortunately, the gates of the monastery were now locked and barred to visitors, so I walked along Garmil Lane and its neighbour, Swine Lane. There was not much to see: the school grounds are off-limits, as are the apparently gigantic grounds of a brick manufacturer.

It gave me time, back on the field, to admire the work that cricket clubs do before a match: the walk around the boundary to put up the marking flags; the final rolling up and down of the wicket; the preparations in the bar for thirsty spectators.

I assume Nostell, which has an eagle as its logo, takes its name from the Augustinian (and medieval) priory of St Oswald, which was demolished to make way for the Georgian home of the super-rich Winns.

The Winns made their money, during the Tudor period, in the London textile trade. In the century that followed, the family invested wisely in property and land, including the purchase of the Nostell estate.

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A deal for the 2024 season will also see Garmil Lane stadium used by Mirpur Royals, members of the Quaid e Azam Premier League, a Sunday league.

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The partnership sees Royals duo Azad Arif (captain and opening bowler) and Aqeel Saleem (opening batsman) join Nostells’ Premier Division team on Saturday.

From the parking lot at the site on the (west) side, the Nostell field slopes gently down to the square. It is not a small field. But considering the amount of reserve grass available on the north side, it could be a lot bigger.

The clubhouse, opened in 1987, occupies the south-east corner. In June, as the sun continues to circle, the terrace is perfect for sun worshippers.

It is a single-storey building with changing rooms and a bar/party room. The score box is a partially integrated feature. For the Kippax match a separate, manual scoreboard was used.

Trees, a mix of mature evergreen and deciduous species, line the grounds to the south, providing ample shade. By the end of the match, the wicket was in the shade.

The rest of the ground is very open. Traffic noise from the A638 is a minor annoyance, although the number of vehicles for evening matches is relatively low.

We started at 6.15am. Kippax batted first. No toss I was told, so I assume (again!) the away team bats first in the Ponte Evening League.

We had two good referees, Paul Kemp and Dave Myers, which impressed me. In some midweek competitions that I watch, players are required to stand.

From the first throw of the evening, Nostell made what looked like a regulatory slip catch (sitting on your backside and just watching makes cricket look easier!).

Almost immediately, however, Kippax lost Imran Rawat (0 off 3), with just one run on the board. No 1 Syed Hussain (26 off 26) and No 3 Munawar Chariwala (24 off 21) then added 47 for the second wicket.

An equally valuable 40-run unbroken stand for the seventh wicket between No. 8 Museji Bhoola (21 off 22) and No. 7 Yunus Valimulla (12 off 15) took the visitors' total from 83-5 and 96-6 to 136-6 from 20 overs.

A full 20! Ah, these light evenings! Simon Rayner took 3-16 and John Barton 2-29, each from four overs.

Number 2 Troy Brownlow (30 off 33) gave Nostell, who at one point was 46-4, a chance 35 off the last 18 balls, but that chance only disappeared when number 8 Robert Clegg departed, who was bowled out by Chariwala, for 18 (off 16).

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Frustratingly for Nostell, only three runs were scored in the last over. They were 118-8, with Ihsanullah Dost (2-21 from four) the best bowler. It was Kippax's fifth win from six games. Their other match was called off due to bad weather.

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When I got home and heard that England-Slovenia was goalless at half-time, I refused to listen to the second half on the car radio. Why ruin a perfectly good evening?

Considering how easy it was to get to Nostell from York, even at teatime, I hope to get to Glasshoughton Cricket Club or maybe both! Featherstone Town Cricket Club before the 2024 Pontefract & District Evening League season ends.

Did you enjoy reading?

You can read about Andrew's other club visits in his column, Miles per gallon.

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