STAR performances from pace bowler Peter Groves and batsman Simon Mason earned York Cricket Club their 12th win of the Solly Sports Yorkshire ECB County Premier League campaign.

Groves took 7-45 as hosts Rotherham Town were bowled out for 210 and Mason then smashed an 80-ball century to keep the Clifton Parkers 18 points clear at the top of the table.

Rotherham, who had won their previous seven matches, won the toss and opted to bat.

Dan Allen and Gerhardus Rudolph put on 42 in about half-an-hour before Allen was run out after a fine piece of fielding by York skipper Marcus Wood.

With the score on 50, Nick Kay had Rotherham skipper James Moorhouse lbw, but Rudolph and Jordan Lowe then put on 74.

They were out in successive balls from Groves and, apart from Nathan Smith, who made 31, none of the remaining Rotherham batsmen made more than 20.

In the final over of the innings, Groves again took wickets with successive balls, leaving Rotherham 210 all out with three balls of their overs unused.

Dan Wilson and Duncan Snell opened York’s reply against the pace bowling of Ben Sanderson and Nathan Smith.

In the fifth over, Snell mistimed a hook off Sanderson and was caught off a skier at long leg.

Wilson, having been joined by Mason, quickly moved on to 35 out of a total of 41, before he was caught at the wicket off Sanderson.

That brought Liam McKendry to the crease to join Mason.

After a quiet start, the pair took the score on to 97-2 by the end of the 20th over.

In the next 11 overs, Mason, with support from McKendry, battered the Rotherham bowling to all parts of the ground.

He reached his century off only 80 balls in 95 minutes before giving a catch to mid-on off Tom Knight’s bowling with York four runs short of victory.

Kay hit a boundary in the next over to seal a seven-wicket victory with 22 overs to spare.

McKendry was unbeaten on 52, made off 77 balls.

York claimed the maximum eight points from the triumph.


Downed by Cavaliers

YORK Cricket Club suffered their first defeat of the season as they went down by six wickets at home to West Indian Cavaliers in the area final of the ECB National Club Championship.

Simon Mason hit 46 in York’s 185 all out, and the Cavaliers, whose ranks boasted ex-England ace Alex Tudor, won with 15 balls to spare.