Whitby’s new recruit Joel Lloyd shines in opening win against Richmondshire 2nds

The home side looked to be in trouble after being dismissed for 127, Morris top-scoring with 48, but then Whitby skittled Richmond for just 66 to earn victory, mainly thanks to a five-wicket haul by debutant Lloyd.

Morris said: “It was brilliant to start with a win against a good Richmondshire 2nds side. First and foremost it was a serious effort from the groundstaff to get the game on, which I’m very grateful for, after another week of poor weather.

"After all the weather around lately it felt like a really important toss, so to lose that and be stuck in was a bit of a blow as we all knew batting would be hard work and would get slightly easier as the day went on.

Whitby are, Back, from left, Ron Lyth, Joel Lloyd, Ricky Hall, Paul Buck, Kobie Boocock, Steve Allen; Front, from left, Theo Clarke, Tom Steyert, Kai Morris, Joe Crowther and Lewis Brearley. PHOTO BY BRIAN MURFIELD

"The Richmond lads bowled really well early on and made the most of favourable conditions which made it really difficult for our top order.

"Myself and Joel managed to get stuck in and bat some time and try to get us back in the game. We knew that a couple of good partnerships would give us half a chance as the conditions would be helpful for the bowlers all day.

“Full credit to our middle order who worked really hard and managed to get us up to 120 and kept us in the game. At the break we were very confident that we would be able to defend it if we bowled well and took a couple of early wickets.

"Joel and Kobie were exceptional with the new ball, consistently putting the ball in great areas and putting their batsmen under lots of pressure. Joel in particular was outstanding. it was brilliant to see how quickly he adapted to conditions on his Whitby debut and it was really pleasing for him to get five wickets which was due rewards.

"He’s settled into the club seamlessly and all signs point towards a really successful season for him. Special mention to the other bowlers who complimented Joel and contributed massively to an excellent win.

"Looking ahead to Saturday we’ve got another tough game at Guisborough, who have strengthened over the winter and could easily be one of the contenders. But we go there with an unchanged team and full of confidence so there’s no reason why we can’t build on another great start and go two from two.”