Dominant York celebrate title in style as Harrogate settle for second-best

Ryan McKendry set up the 140-run victory at Clifton Park by making 104 and taking three wickets. McKendry had a fifth-wicket partnership of 125 with Nick Kay, who made an undefeated half-century as York totalled 289-5. Harrogate never looked like reaching the target and were ousted for 149 in 39.5 overs, Kay taking 4-37 and Dan Woods joining McKendry in grabbing three wickets.

York celebrated their title in style yesterday with a 10-wicket trouncing of Sheffield Collegiate, Duncan Snell hitting an unbeaten 91 and Ryan McKendry taking 5-49, while Harrogate lost by five wickets at Barnsley.

Aamir Sajjad, Driffield Town’s Pakistan ‘A’ batsman, has set a new league runs record for a season, breaking the mark of 1,452 reached by Dan Wilson for York in 2009. Sajjad passed Wilson’s total in Driffield’s seven-wicket defeat at home to Cleethorpes on Saturday, an innings of 96 taking him to 1,565. Then yesterday he scored just five in another seven-wicket reverse at Castleford to take his final total for the campaign to 1,570.

Scarborough amassed a massive 377-2 at home to HullHull at on Saturday, captain Andy Simpson and Samrat Sharma piling up 330 for the second wicket.

It was the second-highest partnership in the league’s history, 36 runs short of the record set by Shaun Beck and Alexis Twigg for Sheffield United against Barnsley in 1999. Simpson’s undefeated 161 contained 22 fours and two sixes, Sharma cracking 26 boundaries in his innings of 154 as Scarborough won by 103 runs.

Dave Barrick took 7-40 for Hull at Sheffield United yesterday and Rory Osmond struck an unbeaten 128 for Cleethorpes at Scarborough. Best bowling of the weekend was 8-56 on Saturday by Alex Leyshon in a 118-run win over Sheffield Collegiate.