Westgate A started their campaign with a maximum points haul at home to newly promoted Ingleton as they chased down 151 with relative ease. The visitors looked to be taking the game away in the first innings, but some quality moments by those that have been doing it for years were preceded and followed by several of them by prospects that hope to end up in the same bracket.

After a minute’s silence was held for the late Club President Ced Dyson, Ingleton won the toss and home captain Khan Puffett threw the ball to Joe Bradshaw (2-21) coming up the slope. It was quickly apparent that Ingleton skipper Graham Kellett (60) knew his game plan, going after anything in his half whether that be straight, wide or anything in between. The first two deliveries flashed through the gully for two and four.

Bradshaw and Ryan McMenamin (0-45) both bowled a maiden each in their first two overs before Bradshaw breached Hughes’ defence and removed him without troubling the runs column. He earned his second wicket in similar fashion, knocking over France for 5.

Kellett was fortunate to get a couple of boundaries off the edge from McMenamin but he connected with shots down the ground and through cover. He also made use of the poorer balls, dispatching a shorter ball through extra cover and pulling a full toss for six over mid-wicket.

Ingleton accelerated with Chamberlain (74) also now at the crease with a similar game plan, though quite exclusively between long on and mid-wicket, clearing room and sending McMenamin sailing for an almost straight six.

Freddie Whatmuff (0-33) asked different questions with his off spin, but the batting pair were sure to pounce on anything loose on the comparatively short leg side boundary, but several attempted hoicks also landed safely. Chamberlain’s audacious scoop was misjudged and spewed up to Dakshina De Silva at 45, but he couldn’t hold on while backpedalling.

The pair amassed 126 in 18 overs, both reaching their half centuries. Peter Wilson’s first five overs were tight and included a couple of aerial scares which came to nothing, as well as another Chamberlain scoop which raced for four. Nevertheless, with Ingleton cruising at 147-2, his sixth over would cause somewhat of an avalanche.

With both straight fielders back to Chamberlain, he failed to connect as he would like, leaving Dave Hannigan at long on with some distance to cover travelling forward and to his left. As happens more often than not, he held on to a tough chance.

Westgate will have wished that moment had come fifty or even a hundred runs earlier and still had a lot to do to stop the game being well out of their reach. The pair had crossed while the ball was in the air, leaving the other main threat Kellett on strike, but Wilson (4-33) removed him by means of LBW immediately. He completed a fantastic hat-trick in the same manner, this time Scott was the victim.

There was further carnage at the other end, as Standrine (0) stroked a Sharjito Islam ball nicely to Whatmuff at cover, but a great pick up and a shy at the stumps ended in a direct hit, with the two batsmen caught dithering in the middle.

The first ball of Wilson’s next over brought further misery for Ingleton, as a fourth wicket in as many deliveries came at the expense of Whittaker (0) and his stumps.

Some fine left arm swing into the right handers by Islam (3-11) brought the innings to a close in his final two overs. First, G Brown (1) was adjudged LBW before Islam castled McGonnigal (1) and S Brown (0), McGonnigal delivery an especially impressive swinging yorker.

Westgate had taken the final eight wickets for four runs and had prevented the game being over before they’d had chance to chase it. They got off to a confident start, Hannigan running Chamberlain (0-21) down to third man and keeping things ticking along with Puffett.

Hannigan (10) fell to Gorst (1-34) in the eighth over, bottom edging an attempted pull onto his stumps. At the other end, Puffett treated us to a few rasping drives through extra cover on his way to 71 at more than a-run-a-ball.

Whatmuff (17) never looked in trouble until he was dismissed by a smart grab at Gully by Hughes off the bowling of France (2-32).

Joel Frith (7*), trusted five places up the order at four, looked steady and was unlucky not to clear the in field on several occasions with some tidy shots, however he was dropped at point.

Puffett eventually tried one big drive too many and was bowled by France and David Hughes added 12 before succumbing to Kellett (2-26) who had him caught.

When Bradshaw (0) suffered the same fate as Hughes, Westgate had slipped from 116-1 to 131-5, still requiring some composure and twenty runs.

De Silva (12*) punished a full toss through the leg side for four and threw his arms at one outside off stump which went for another three.

The win was eventually sealed with four byes and Westgate can be happy to have dealt with what was looking like an uphill struggle at one point, doing so with notable performances in all three aspects.

Match ball sponsor: Brian Taylor

Scorecard available here.