Nick Wright previews this weekend's clash between York City Knights and Hull FC
Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
James Tompkinson reviews an excellent pre-season victory for the York City Knights against Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rhinos
York's players arrived for their first and most crucial fixture of their season eager to reinforce last year's Roses superiority, when the White Rose dominated.
I could form a better wicket in my bath
However, things soon took a turn for the bizarre when it became apparent that the pitch hadn't been covered overnight - despite the heavy showers that were forecast. Cricket was barely playable in the conditions, but this is Roses, and the captains agreed a 24 over match to decide who would earn four crucial points.
Lancaster stumbled to 82/7 after their 24 overs, and looked set for successive Roses defeats. But the Red Rose was not to be denied and they stole the tightest of games - winning by one run.
Remi Remington described the umpiring as 'poor', after being given out for 1. He was given out LBW to a right arm over bowler, not unusual in itself, but Remington is a left handed batsman. "It's just impossible to do, and it definitely wasn't the right decision this time because it pitched half a foot outside leg stump" said Remington.
York lost wickets consistently through their innings, with only Vanner (45) offering any real resistance. "We just lost key wickets at the wrong times" offered Captain Hudson in explanation.
With two balls left, York needed three runs for the win, but when President Nick Hudson was diving to steal a single he was awarded out, despite feeling he had successfully grounded his bat 'a yard' inside the crease.
York felt they were on the wrong end of many close decisions, and felt let down by the umpiring. When decisions are too close to call, umpires are supposed to err on the side of the batting team. So when one of the match umpires said to the York side "...'that was one for the tv replays wasn't it..." the defeated side was stunned.
Wicketkeeper Remington summed up the astonishment by commenting, "if he's saying that [the decisions] were that tight then he's got to give [the decisions] to the batsmen hasn't he?"
York will be gutted, in an away Roses you cannot afford to lose the close contests, especially one with such a bitter aftertaste. In a contest worth four points this will be a hard blow for the whole of York University to recover from.
Notable York performances came from Vanner, who scored 45 runs, Smith who bowled 5 overs for 2 maidens, 9 runs and 3 wickets and Hudson, who bowled 5 overs for 3 maidens 4 runs and 0 wickets.
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