The YCF are aiming to shine the spotlight on cricketers in Yorkshire by recognising top performances with the bat or ball.
It was a day Hedley Paul Keegan, better known around South Kirkby CC as “HP” , will never forget after producing a remarkable spell of bowling against Knottingley in the Pontefract Cricket League returning figures of 10-11 from 12.1 overs.
Speaking after the match, HP admitted that from early on he felt conditions were working in his favour.
“Everything just felt like it was going my way. The pitch definitely gave me a bit of assistance, and I felt I was getting rewards for putting the ball in the right areas.”
As wickets continued to tumble, thoughts of something special gradually started creeping into his mind. While taking all ten wickets in an innings is the stuff of cricket folklore, HP says belief only truly started after wicket number eight.
“Up until then I was just enjoying it and trying to keep going. But once I got to eight, I started thinking maybe something incredible could actually happen.” “Even the opposition batsman at the non strikers end were saying it could happen which made it feel even closer”
That belief had already been planted by one of his South Kirkby teammates earlier in the spell.
“After I got my sixth wicket, one of the lads said, ‘You’re getting all ten today.’ I laughed it off at first, but after a while you start thinking… what if?”
With nine wickets beside his name, tension around the ground began to build. HP’s spell was nearing its end and suddenly time seemed to slow down.
“The gap between wickets nine and ten felt like it dragged on forever. I knew the end of my spell was getting close and I was thinking, ‘Please just let one come my way.'”
Thankfully for HP, the final breakthrough arrived and with it a place in club history and league history. Ten wickets in an innings and a performance unlikely to be forgotten anytime soon but his and teammates focus has not shifted to challenging for the league title. “The aim now is to win it, we will give it a good go and the start we have had has put the team in a great position, we still have plenty of work to do and challenges to overcome but I am looking forward to it as are the boys. Personally, I would like to get to 50 – 60 wickets”
