Yorkshire v Scotland 24, 25 & 26 August 1938 by Cricket Scotland

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Ground:	St George's Road, Harrogate
Scorecard:	Yorkshire v Scotland
Event:	Scotland in England 1938

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DateLine: 30th January 2013

 

 

Day 1:
Scotland's early batsmen gave their side a strong start against Yorkshire at Harrogate, but the fall of the last five wickets for 30 runs led to the innings realising only 193.

 

The modest score was largely the work of two men. P.A. Gibb gave the innings real substance by countering the depleted attack of his county colleagues for two hours and a half. No chance marred his cricket, and his seven 4s were chiefly the yield of clean driving.

 

Driving also accounted almost entirely for the six and eight 4s by A. K. McTavish. The later batsmen failed, and Smurthwaite, a youthful off-break bowler from North Ormesby, bowling for the first time in big cricket, took chief bowling honours.

 

Yorkshire were given a fine start with an opening stand of 103 in an hour and three quarters before Barber and Mitchell fell to successive balls. Yorkshire, however, had to earn their runs, for the Scottish attack always remained accurate, and, with A. B. Sellers failing, the county finished 54 behind with seven wickets standing.

 

Day 2:
No play due to rain.

 

Day 3:
Although Yorkshire started the final day at Harrogate 54 runs behind Scotland, with seven wickets standing, and despite the fact that the cricket was restricted to three hours forty minutes, the county won by eight wickets.

 

The Yorkshiremen established a lead of 17, but their batsmen were always struggling on a drying pitch. W. K. Laidlaw, the Right-arm slow leg-break bowler, made the ball turn nastily, and six wickets fell to him for 6 runs each.

 

Scotland failed dismally. They lost Gibb before the arrears were wiped off, and the side was dismissed in eighty-five minutes for 56. Smailes, bowling off-spinners round the wicket, was unplayable. In fifteen overs he claimed seven wickets for 24 runs, and reached his hundred wickets for the season.

 

Needing 40 to win, Yorkshire had only twenty-five minutes to bat, but they got the runs with a few minutes to spare.

 

Smailes now requires 52 runs to complete 1000 and achieve Yorkshire's first "cricketer's double" since Wilfrid Rhodes and the late Roy Kilner did it in 1926.

 

There was a curious ending to the match. When Yorkshire needed four runs to win, their former player, Davidson, bowled under-arm. The crowd Resented Davidson's tactics and he reverted to over-arm bowling.

(Article: Copyright © 2013 Cricket Scotland http://cricketscotland.com)