Year 3 & 4 Cricket Superstars!

The final week of half term saw the Year 3/4 cricket team travel to Shadwell Cricket Club to take part in the first round of the Drax Cup. Despite the showers the children managed to get all their games completed and comfortably won the competition! This means that they will move forward to the next round which will take place in late June, should they be successful there then they can look forward to playing at Headingley as part of the regional finals!! Well done guys!

The victorious 3/4 cricket team at Shadwell Cricket Club

Also a massive thank you to the parents who took time out of their busy days to transport the children to and from the venue. Letters for the next round will come out shortly.

Rothwell Schools Cross Country - 17th May

On Friday night the Methley Cross Country squads traveled to Woodlesford to take part in the Rothwell Schools Cross Country Event. Following last year's success confidence was high in both teams. Both teams did excellently and the girls were able to retain their title form last year. Mrs Reynard the club coach was very proud and congratulates everyone who took part, whether you were in a team or not. Also a massive thank you to the parents who took the time to get their children to Woodlesford for the event. Below are some pictures from the event

Methley Cricket Team Up and Running!!

The Year 5/6 Cricket Team - Brigshaw Trust Winners

Monday 29th April saw the Year 5/6 cricket team make the short trip to Brigshaw to play in their opening tournament of the year. With the overs shortened and NO boundaries in play this was going to be a tougher test than first thought. Playing against teams from Allerton Bywater and Kippax Ash Tree the team did really well and in the end were comfortable winners. With this victory the team will progress to take part in the East Leeds finals. Well done to all the members of the team on a brilliant performance and thankyou to all the parents for helping with transport and supporting the team!

Final table below:

Methley Primary School        469 pts
Allerton Bywater                   423 pts
Kippax Ash Tree                    388 pts

Invincible Methley are Netball Champions!!

The victorious Netball squad with their trophy.

Monday 22nd April, saw Methley compete in the final round of the East Leeds High Five Netball league. Over the past few weeks, the team has played exceptionally well and going into last night had only lost once! The team (Oliver Adamson, Molly Aitchison, Emily Johnson, Joe Oliver, Jessica Suggitt, Jack Maskill, Jamie Wedlinscky, Ella Cowan, Emily Sawdon, Gabi Scollan and Matthew Bryan) continued their devastating form last night and won all their games, which means they have been crowned champions of the league! A proud Mrs Reynard said "Well done to the whole team who have shown themselves to be brilliant netballers and also fantastic sports men and women throughout the games!" Mrs Reynard would also like to thank all the parents who have helped to transport and support the team over the past few weeks. Well done guys!!

Brigshaw Bike Competition - 24th November

Below are some of the snaps taken by Miss Russell at the bike competition on Friday. A big thank you to all of the parents who transported the children!!

West Yorkshire School Games

If you get chance take a look at the WYSG website through this link http://www.wysport.co.uk/know/events/wy-school-games-cricket-finals/

There are some fantastic action shots - see if you can spot anyone familiar!!

Headingley Heartbreak for Methley!!

Headingley Carnegie Stadium - Home of Yorkshire CCC

The Methley Cricket Squad

Tuesday 3rd July saw newly crowned West Yorkshire Champions, Methley, travel to Headingley to take part in the Yorkshire Asda Kwik Cricket Finals knowing that a win would take them to the North of England finals. Following last week's outstanding showing and the return of Euan Cowan to the squad, the Methley boys (Josh Neal, Harvey Walker, Liam Birrell, Euan Cowan, Ross Carrington, Joe Oliver, Luke Phillips, Finlay Rooke and Daniel Ford) were confident of doing themselves proud. Upon arriving Methley found themsevles drawn in group 1 alongside North Ferriby School (Hull), Richmond Middle School and Hunters Bar Primary School. 

MATCH 1 - Methley 277 beat Hunters Bar 218

Methley's first match saw the team put into bat and make a slow start. The opening pair of Josh and Luke batted well but were disappointed to only make 9 runs from their two overs. As the Methley team settled into their batting the runs started to flow a little easier and an imposing total of 277 was set for the opposition. Finlay and Euan adding 18, Harvey and Ross 30 and Daniel and Liam 20. With Methley knowing their awesome fielding potential the boys were very confident of defending this total and winning their first match. Some excellent bowling and fielding followed and regular wickets started to fall. Josh Neal (2), Luke Phillips (3) and Ross, Euan and Liam all taking one each. A fantastic start from the Methley team with special mention going to Ross for some devastating batting in the middle of the innings.

MATCH 2 - Methley 293 beat North Ferriby 220

Match 2 saw Methley skipper, Josh Neal, win the toss and put North Ferriby into bat. An unbelievable start followed for Methly 3 wickets in the first 3 ball of Josh's over and then 3 more for Daniel in the next saw North Ferriby lose 30 runs before they even scored a run. the rest of the bowling was well controlled and Liam added another wicket near the end of the innings. In response Methley batted excellently. With the opposition accepting defeat all too easily and some of their players not controlling themselves in the correct manner, Methley focussed on winning the game. Superb batting performances from Josh and Joe (31) and Daniel and Liam (33) meant that Methley had won their first two games and were looking strong!

MATCH 3 - Richmond 236 beat Methley 232

Approaching the final game Methley knew that only a win was good enough to see them through the semi finals. Fielding first, Methley were able to restrict their opponents to 236. Daniel taking one stunning one handed catch for a caught and bowled plus wickets for Liam and Ross meant Methley had a chance. Unlike the first two games though Methley faced a much tougher bowling attack but applied themselves well. Chasing the 236 the team batted well and lost few wickets. Going into the final pair of Daniel and Liam Methley needed 5 to win. Two fours from Liam and Daniel meant that Methley went four ahead but then with the last ball of that over a wicket meant that they lost 5 runs and slipped behind again. With six balls left Methley needed four to win! A single from Liam took the team to three behind, then two good 2s from Daniel meant that with two balls left Methley were ahead by 1 run! Victory was in sight! The fairytale ending looked like it was on. But Richmond had other ideas a wicket with the next ball put Methley back behind and with the last ball not being hit the Methley boys fell just short and were, devastatingly, out of the competition!

Despite falling just short of the semi finals the boys should be very proud of their run this year. They have played 15 games and only lost 3! In that run they have shown to be the Champions of the Brigshaw federation of schools, 2nd in the North of Leeds, 2nd in the City of Leeds finals and were able to win the West Yorkshire competition. At the end of the day Methley finished 5th in the Yorkshire competition - a hugely impressive effort! Well done boys, you were awesome. Thank you to all of the parents for taking their time to get the children there and staying to support them during the day. Hopefully next year we will be able to do just as well or perhaps...go one step further!!

Mighty Methley are West Yorkshire Champions!!

West Yorkshire Kwik Cricket Champions 2012 - Methley Primary School

On Tuesday 26^th June, the Methley Cricket Team (Josh Neal, Harvey Walker, Liam Birrell, Luke Phillips, Ross Carrington, Joe Oliver, Finlay Rooke and Daniel Ford) travelled to Weetwood Playing fields to represent Leeds in the West Yorkshire School Game Kwik Cricket finals. After finishing runners up in the previous stage and with key player Euan Cowan missing, the team were slightly apprehensive about the challenge that lay ahead of them. Upon arriving the team were drawn in Pool 1 alongside Bankfoot Primary School, Northawram Primary School, Cawley Lane J, I and N School and Stanley St. Peters.

Game 1 – Methley 258 beat Cawley Lane J, I & N School 204

The first game saw Methley produce a brilliant fielding and bowling performance. Three wickets in the first over from Josh Neal set the tone for the rest of the team to follow. 2 wickets for Luke Phillips and 1 a piece from Joe Oliver, Finlay Rooke and Ross Carrington meant that Cawley were only able to muster 204 runs. Baring in mind that each innings started on 200 runs this was some achievement. Buoyed by their brilliant bowling performance the Methley batsmen set about chasing the total. All of the pairs batted with excellent style but the final pair of Daniel Ford and Liam Birrell played some devastating shots, dispatching the bowlers all over the field to record 30 runs from their 12 balls.

Game 2 - Methley 301 beat Stanley St. Peters 214

The second game followed a very similar pattern to the first. Fantastic fielding and bowling from Methley restricted the Stanley team to 214. The wickets were again shared between the team with Josh, Ross, Joe and Daniel all grabbing a wicket each. The batsmen again set about destroying the bowling of the opposition. An opening stance of 42, including six sixes from Josh Neal, set the platform for the rest of the team. In addition to this 21 from Harvey and Ross and 29 from Liam and Daniel made for a comfortable victory.

Game 3 – Methley 297 beat Bankfoot 197

With their confidence now growing the Methley boys were becoming more ruthless in the quest for glory! Bowling first the team were able to keep Bankfoot to a mere 197 runs. This was in no small part down to the wickets taken by Josh (2), Daniel (2), Finlay (2), Harvey (2), Luke (1) and Ross (1). A fantastic achievement from the boys meant that they could go and enjoy batting and they duly racked up a large amount of runs. All of the team scored freely and the innings saw them only lose 1 wicket! Josh and Joe (26), Harvey and Ross (29), Finlay and Luke (18), and Daniel and Liam (31) made for a comfortable victory and meant that Methley now had 3 wins from 3 games! They knew that if they won their final game they would top their group!

Game 4 – Methley 286 beat Northawram 254

Game 4 saw the Methley team much more sluggish in the field. Some poorer bowling and fielding allowed the opposition to build an imposing total. But as heads started to drop an unlikely hero emerged! Coming in as a replacement to the team Joe Oliver took two vital wickets and halted the score this was then followed by a good over from Finlay and when Harvey took a wicket with the final ball of the innings the Northawram score of 254 didn’t look quite as imposing as it could have been. In reply, Methley got off to a slow start. The Northawram opening bowlers frustrated Methley and Josh and Joe had to work hard for their 9 runs. Another tight over began to frustrate Harvey and Ross. However, instead of letting their heads drop this seemed to inspire Harvey who set about annihilating the next bowler – 29 runs from 6 balls seemed to install some belief in the team. A further 22 from Finlay and Luke coupled with 25 from Daniel and Liam meant that Methley eased home unbeaten in their league.

Semi-final – Methley 257 beat Bell Lane 250

The semi final was a nervous affair with Bell Lane batting first. With the Methley team playing slightly over confidently they managed to pose a testing score of 250. In response Methley batted well and were able to make a total of 287 however with the loss of some silly wickets near the end the total was rounded down to 257. Thankfully this meant that Methley were through to the final where they would play against Northawram, from their original group.

Final – Methley 268 beat Northawram 197

The final saw Methley play some breathtaking cricket with all members of the team doing their part to ensure that they went home victorious. Whilst batting the Methley boys played some brilliant shots all around the ground with both Daniel Ford and Harvey Walker in particular showing some nice touches. Special mentions must also go to Joe Oliver, Ross Carrington and Luke Phillips who kept the runs ticking over. With a score of 268 Methley were confident that they could win however they knew, from their group game, that Northawram were a good batting team. The first over came from Josh Neal and set the tone for the rest of the team. Four wickets including a superb diving catch from Harvey meant that straight away Northawram had lost 20 runs. The wickets continued to fall, the catches got better, run outs were accurate and the team even managed a couple of stumpings. A shell shocked Northawram had no answer to the Mighty Methley fielders and as a result Methley were rightly crowned the champions of the West Yorkshire district!

A great performance from all members of the team and they should be extremely proud of their achievements. The performance seeming even more impressive considering this was a year six tournament and Methley only had two year six players in the team! The rest made up of year 5 and year 4! At the end of the tournament the Yorkshire coaches commented on the impressive fielding and bowling of the Methley team and it was most definitely this side of the game which won the tournament for the team. Next up for Methley is a trip to Headingley, home of Yorkshire CCC, to see if they can become county champions!! I am sure you will all wish the team luck as they try to achieve this. Finally, a massive thank you to all the parents who stayed for the full day to support the team, without you to get the children there none of this would be possible!

Cricket Superstars!

On Monday 18th June the Methley Cricket team (Joshua Neal, Harvey Walker, Liam Birrell, Euan Cowan, Ross Carrington, Cade Clibbens, Luke Phillips and Finlay Rooke) travelled to Weetwood playing fields in Leeds to take part in the Leeds Kwik Cricket final. Having finished second in the previous round to qualify Methley were unsure as to how they were going to find the competition. Upon arrival the team found out that they had been drawn in Pool 2 along with; Rawdon St Peters, Morley Victoria, Pudsey Southroyd and Alwoodly.

Match 1  Methley 299 beat Pudsey 232


The first game saw some brilliant fielding nd bowling perfomrances. Wickets from Euan and Ross and a run out meant that Pudsey could only manage a score of 232. In reply some devasting batting from Josh and Liam saw that Methley were able to win their first game comofrtably.

Match 2  Methley 247 beat Alwoodly 218


The second game saw Methley bat first and pose a good score. All of the team contributed well to the score but a big mention must go to Harvey and Josh who started the innings strongly and also to Ross and Liam who finished well. Whilst fielding the Methley team were in inspired form taking plenty of wickets and preventing teh Alwoodly batsmen from taking command. One performer however stood out and that was Euan who managed to take a hattrick and bowl a maiden over. This completely stopped Alwoodly in their tracks!

Match 3  Methley 242 beat Morley 230


The third game saw Methley face a more difficult challenge. Batting first methley soldiered to 242. A very respectable score, in which only the opening pair of Harvey and Josh got to double figures! This meant that again a good bowling performance would be needed. Methley duly delivered!! Finlay, Luke and Cade preventing the opposition from scoring freely whilst Harvey was able to finsih off the innings with some pacy and acccurate bowling.

Match 4 Methley 223 beat Rawdon 189


Going into the last match Methley knew that another win would see them progress to the final. Methley lost the toss and were asked to bat. Facing a much stronger bowling and fielding team Methley did very well to get to 223 but were far from confident as they took to the field. Little did they know what was about to happen. An absolutely sensational fielding perfomrance saw them take regular wickets and dismiss Rawdon for 189!! 2 wickets each for Josh, Ross and Finlay coupled with a wicket for Luke sent Methley into the final unbeaten!

Leeds final Farsley Fairfield 246 beat Methley 239


Methley entered the final confident but slightly nervous. Farsley batted first and some brilliant bowling and fielding saw them slowly build a score. Unfortunatley in the last over some sloppy mistakes allowed the batsmen to claim some easy boudaries and boost their score. In reply Methley chased hard and all of the batsmen should be proud of their performance but umltimately the boudaries in the last over proved the difference in the teams.

Methley will now progress to the West Yorkshire finals next Tuesday where they will represent the Leeds area. A massive congratualtions to the team - you were brillaint. Also a huge thankyou to the parents who helped transport the children to the venue and stayed and supported all day! Bring on the next round!!

Kwik Cricket

Just a quick note for your diaries - if we finish in the top two of the Kwik Cricket final on Monday then we will progress to another round. We will take part in the West Yorkshire final which will be played on Tuesday 26th June 2012. The venue is yet to be confirmed and I only received notification about this last night!! I have also been informed that the venue we are playing at on Monday will have 3G pitches and there is plenty of shelter so should the weather be bad we will still be able to play the tournament!

LEEDS KWIK CRICKET FINAL 2012

Fantastic news!! The Methley Cricket Team has made it into the Leeds City Finals which will take place on Monday 18th June at the University of Leeds. This is a massive achievement by everybody that has attended the cricket club not just this year but last year as well. Everybody who has been selected to play for school should be very proud and those who have been chosen to play in the final will be coming home with a letter with all the details tonight! For those who haven't made the team for the final we are hoping to arrange another tournament with the Brigshaw family of schools which will take place before the end of the summer term! I am sure you will wish the team lots of luck for Monday! Fingers crossed!!

Cross Country Super Stars

Just a quick note about the amazing performance of the Methley team at Woodlesford on Friday night. A huge number of children, proud parents and staff were there to support the participants in a brilliant night of cross country running.

Firstly the boys team, made up of Liam, Leon, Owen, Jack and Daniel put together a set of amazing times and places. The stand out performance coming from Liam Birrell who won the boys event with Daniel Easton and Owen also finishing inside the top 10!! These places added together meant that the boys finished in second place overall. Well done boys!!

The girls team, made up of Grace & Hannah Plater, Ella and Emily were able to go one better! Grace Plater, following on from finishing second in last years race, managed to win the girls event and the rest of the team placed in the top 10! This meant that for the first time Methley won the girls comp!! Absolutely brilliant effort ladies!

As well as these two successes there were many other children from school who took part in the all comers race and ran excellently and represented school fantastically well. Thank you to all the parents that attended and helped the children. Let's hope next year we can do equally as well!!

City Indoor Athletics semi finals as Boston Spa

A big well done to the athletics team who took part in this event of Tuesday night. Unfortunately the team came in 3rd and so will not progress any further however they should be very proud of their achievements as this is the furthest Methley has got in this competition in a very, very long time!! Mrs Reynard was very proud of the efforts and mentioned that their sportsmanship was fantastic. A huge thank you to all the parents that have helped transport the children to the various events and again a massive well done to the team members listed below!

Liam Birrell Grace Plater Leon Rymer

Hannah Plater Matthew Laverick Ella Price

Euan Cowan Ella Cowan Joe Oliver

Emily Johnson Oliver Adamson Molly Aitchison

Carrick Shields Mia Wedlinsky Ben Thompson

Jodi Stanley Tom Foster Gabbie Scollan

Tom Ibbeson Emily Ibbeson Emily Sawdon

Finally thank you to Mrs Rymer for helping Mrs Reynard with the club!

Yours in sport

Mr Smith

Girls Football Club

Following the success that our girls had at the recent Futsal tournament lots of people have asked if I will run an after school club for them. At the moment I am thinking of the club starting after half term and taking place on a Thursday night. In order for the club to be successful I need at least 10 girls to sign up who are committed to attending every week. If you would like to be part of the club add a comment to this post with your name and class. If we have enough people then I will send letters out in the next couple of weeks to let you know more details!

Thankyou

Mr Smith

Draw for Sportshall Athletics finals

This morning saw Methley drawn in the first semi final of the Indoor Athletics event next week. The team will be competing against schools including Horsforth, Lower Wortley, Westerton and an as yet unnamed school from the North of Leeds. The children will be competing at Boston Spa, next TUESDAY 24th JANUARY and will need to be at the venue for 2:45pm for a 3:00pm prompt start. Your child will be bringing home more information in the next couple of days if they have been selected to take part and this will outline the arrangements for children getting to the venue on time and leaving school early.

Good Luck Guys!!!

Sporting Successes for Methley!!

Monday night saw another night of sporting success for MPS as both the Key Stage 1 multi skills team and Key Stage 2 athletics club took part in competitions.

At Brigshaw, the Multiskills team made up of Daniel McCourt, Alex Cree, Matthew Bridge, Sam Gilbert, Poppy Huntridge, Erin Hosty, Ashley Bhebhe, Elise Westmoreland, Ella Dodsworth and Bailey Warburton took part in a series of events against other schools from the Brigshaw trust. Supported by very vocal parents and staff the team performed fantastically in the speed bounce, sprint shuttle, basketball bounce, bean bag target throw, mini hurdles, standing long jump and distance throw and should be very proud of their second place finish! A massive thank you to all the parents for making sure that the children were transported to and from Brigshaw also to Miss Bellido, Miss Gott and Mrs Westermann for their fantastic support!

Elsewhere the Key Stage 2 Athletics club travelled to Boston Spa to take part in the East Leeds indoor athletics final. The squad of 20 athletes including Grace Plater, Hannah Plater, Emily Johnson, Molly Aitchison, Mia Wedlinsky, Ella Cowan, Ella Price, Gabi Scollan, Leon Rymer, Liam Birrell, Tom Foster, Emily Sawdon, Jodi Stanley, Euan Cowan, Matthew Laverick, Oliver Adamson, Carrick Shields, Ben Thompson & Joe Oliver were fantastic and have amazingly qualified for the Leeds City Semi Finals which will take place at Boston Spa next week! Mrs Reynard would like to thank all of the parents who gave up their time to help transport the children to and from the venue and for your vociferous support!!

Well done to all our fantastic athletes and good luck to our Athletics team at next week’s Leeds semi final!

Girls Futsal Tournament 28th November



On Monday 28th November Methley girls football team travelled to Brigshaw to take part in the Futsal tournament. With lots of the team playing in competitive games for the first time there were a few nervous people but these nerves soon disappeared!

Game 1 – Methley Primary School 2 – 1 Kippax Ash Tree

In their first game the girls played against Kippax Ash tree. With the games lasting 9 minutes they had plenty of football to play and unfortunately soon found themselves 1-0 down. The girls didn’t get down hearted though and with excellent team work from Chloe Glover in defence and Grace Forbes in midfield they passed to Emily Johnson who scored with a long range effort to make the game 1-1. With the passionate Methley fans looking at their watches for full time Methley broke down field for one final attack and Molly Aitchison was on hand to pounce for a winner with the last kick of the game. With her powerful tackling and good organization Emily Johnson was the MVP in the first game.

Game 2 – Methley Primary School 2 – 1 Kippax North

Next up the girls played Kippax North. Again the girls started cautiously and when a free kick was awarded to Kippax they took full advantage by placing a powerful drive past Chloe Glover in goal. Again the girls didn’t let their heads go down and after tirless work in midfield Jodi Wade raced away from the defenders to make the score 1-1. With plenty of time still on the clock Methley began to pile on the pressure looking for a winning goal. The excellent Grace Forbes seemed to be on a mission to score and after having three good efforts well saved by the keeper she finally got her reward with a good finish to make it 2-1. With the time ticking away Methley nearly scored a third when Emily Johnson hit the bar with a good effort. The second match showed great determination from the team and this was typified by the MVP Jodi Wade who never stopped running for the whole game.

Game 3 – Methley Primary School 1 – 0 Allerton Bywater

In their final league game Methley played a very organized Allerton team. Emily Johnson dropped into goal Chloe Glover moved up to martial the defence. As the game wore on it was a close encounter with some fearsome tackling from Jodi Wade and Molly Aitchison in midfield giving Methley to get on the attack. As time passed it looked as if the game was heading for a 0-0 draw however Methley’s superstar striker Grace Forbes had other ideas. After shrugging off a couple of would be defenders she broke from the half way line and blasted a stinging shot passed the keeper. At the final whistle the girls were tired but had finished top of the league with a perfect record!!

Team P W D L F A Points

Methley 3 3 0 0 5 2 9

Allerton Bywater 3 2 0 1 4 1 6

Kippax North 3 1 0 2 2 6 3

Kippax Ash Tree 3 0 0 3 1 5 0

Unfortunately the final game for the girls saw them lose to Allerton Bywater 3-0 but the girls should be very proud of their fantastic effort on the night. After a quiet start to the evening they all finished full of confidence and their noisy supporters were very proud of their efforts and their second placed finish. Well done girls-you were awesome!!

Final Heartbreak for Methley

Friday evening, 1st July 2011, saw Methley Rugby team travel to Castleford Rugby League Club to take part in a 4 team tournament. Having come third in this year 6 tournament last year with a year 5 team confidence was high. Methley (Harrison Scott (c), Jake McCaffrey, Charlie Dobson, Jordan Jepson, Ethan Noland, Annis Padgett, Georgia Scollan, Kyle Patrick, Tom Foster & Lewis Flockton) would be up against teams from Kippax North, Allerton Bywater and Swillington.

Methley were straight into action, playing their opening game against Kippax North. Methley made a great start passing the ball well and making probing runs every time they had the ball. In defence Methley were equally organised and committed making it very difficult for Kippax North to make any progress. Fantastic defence from Georgia Scollan and Ethan Noland allowed Methley to gain possession of the ball and build the first meaningful attack of the game. With Harrison Scott marshalling the attack Methley broke through Charlie Dobson down the right. Although tagged he was able to make a quick play the ball and the ball was spread down the line to Ethan Noland who sidestepped his marker and dived over in the corner. With plenty of time to go Methley knew that they had to keep their wits about them and set about defending their lead. Kyle Patrick and Tom Foster came on from the bench and helped the team with amazing chasing and diving tackles. Just after the half way mark came the moment of the game. Methley moved forward with pace and again, after another quick play the ball, Harrison Scott found himself with the ball. He broke forward at speed, beating two players and spinning past a third he scored a second try and Methley now looked comfortable. Annis Padgett replaced Georgia Scollan and Lewis Flockton replaced try scorer Ethan to help the team defend their lead. Although Kippax managed to sneak over for a try near the end, the final whistle eventually came and Methley were victorious 2 tries to 1. A great start to the tournament. Game one MVP-Ethan Noland.

Next up Methley took on Allerton Bywater. After their great performance in the first game Methley started the game with purpose and drive to go forward every time they had the ball. Once Methley soaked up some early pressure from Allerton Bywater a turnover allowed Jordan Jepson to move into dummy half and start to link up with Harrison Scott. With the Methley still only just off their own defensive line Harrison set off and again showed his pace. He burst through the line and went the full length of the pitch for an unbelievable solo try. A change of tactics from Allerton saw them try and close down Methley’s captain every time he had the ball. However Methley had several other aces up their sleeve! Strong running from Kyle Patrick and Jake McCaffrey allowed Methley to make good yards up field and then came the best handling move of the tournament. The ball came wide to Charlie Dobson who fed Harrison; he then drew his man and put Ethan Noland in in the corner. A great team try. With the team playing well Methley made changes and introduced Lewis Flockton who handled the ball confidently and ran with purpose. It was from one of Lewis’ great passes that Charlie Dobson managed to set off on a mazy run to score a third try and end Allerton’s fight. Or so they thought! Allerton came straight back and scored a great try in the far left corner and then came again at Methley. However Methley’s defence, brilliantly organised by Tom, Charlie and Kyle, held firm and kept them at bay until the full time whistle. A 3-1 victory for Methley. Game 2 MVP-Tom Foster.

After a 20 minute wait Methley’s final game saw them play Swillington. With Methley already certain of a place in the final there was a chance that complacency might set in however this thought was quickly dismissed as Charlie Dobson danced his way into the corner with the first attack of the game. This lead was quickly built on as good carrying from Annis Padgett, Kyle Patrick and Jake McCaffrey saw Methley move into Swillington’s half. It was from here that Jordan Jepson again linked up with Harrison Scott with the latter spinning his way through the defence to score Methley’s second try of the game. Whilst the year 6s had a break from the action Methley’s three year 5s (Tom Foster, Kyle Patrick and Lewis Flockton) were showing the opposition all of their skills. And it was after these three linked up that Methley’s third try came. A strong break from Kyle took Methley into Swillington’s half. Lewis then moved in and linked up with Tom who drew his man and fed Harrison the ball who had the easy task of strolling over for Methley’s third try of the game. Although Swillington finished strongly and did manage to score a try towards the end Methley’s defence was brilliant throughout especially from Georgia Scollan who made numerous tags defending her wing. Another 3-1 victory and a top of the group finish for Methley. Game 3 MVP-Harrison Scott.

The final, played on the main pitch at Castleford, saw Methley take on their opponents from the first game, Kippax North. The starting line up of Harrison, Jake, Charlie, Ethan, Jordan and Annis began nervously with a few handling errors but quickly settled into their rhythm. After a good break from Charlie Dobson the ball was fed by Jordan Jepson to Harrison Scott who broke threw a dummy and stepped through the defence for a Methley try. This however seemed to spur their opponents on. After putting three phases together they fed their winger who despite the diving efforts of the Methley defence managed to score and bring the scores level. As the game went on Methley constantly looked threatening. Ethan Noland reacted quickly to a dropped pass and managed to sprint half the length of the pitch for Methley’s second try but to the disbelief of the players and Methley supporters the referee disallowed it and brought play back for a Methley play the ball. Next came more frustration for Methley as Harrison Scott broke down the left wing. He beat his winger and evaded a second defender but was judged to be just in touch and again play was brought back despite Harrison having a clear run to the line. As the final whistle went the scores were still tied at 1-1. With Methley unbeaten throughout the tournament surely victory was theirs? Unfortunately not! Heartbreak for Methley as Kippax were awarded the victory as they had scored more tires throughout the tournament.

Despite the disappointment of the final everyone who played in the tournament should be very proud of the way they played; several comments were made by Castleford coaching staff about the fantastic way in which the team played. This of course made it difficult to choose an overall MVP however one player had caught the eye throughout the tournament. He led by example on the pitch and scored and created many of Methley’s tries. A real captain’s performance from Methley’s MVP-Harrison Scott. Finally, a massive thank you to all the parents who gave up their Friday evenings to help with transporting the children and showing fantastic support throughout the tournament.

Methley Hit Opposition for Six!!

On a sunny Wednesday evening Methley Cricket squad travelled to Brigshaw to take part in a round robin competition against Kippax, Swillington, Allerton Bywater and Lady Elizabeth Hastings primary schools. The A team (Jake McCaffrey (c), Harvey Walker, Liam Birrell, Euan Cowan, Ross Carrington, Josh Neal, Tom Foster and Finlay Rooke) were quietly confident about their chances whilst the B team (Josh Gill (c), Ethan Gray, Tom Ibbeson, Emily Ibbeson, Jack Maskill, Jack Hanson, Cade Clibbens and Luke Phillips) were a little more nervous. However after their first games both teams were much more confident!

On pitch A Methley A team took on Allerton Bywater and elected to bat first. Immediately the opening pair of Jake McCaffrey and Harvey Walker began building a big score, their opening partnership of 45 being the largest by any team in the tournament! This set the tone for the rest of the innings as Euan Cowan & Finlay Rooke followed them with a partnership of 37. With excellent support from the remaining pairs Methley were able to set a mammoth total of 138. Excellent fielding and bowling from all team members meant that Allerton Bywater could not get anywhere near Methley’s total and a commanding first victory was achieved. The pick of the bowling in the first match came from Ross Carrington and Tom Foster who both bowled accurately and kept runs to a minimum.

Whilst this match was taking place Methley’s young B team were playing against Kippax on pitch B. Under the guidance of Mr Mohammed they were able to field and bowl brilliantly-Emily Ibbeson and Cade Clibbens both taking wickets and the rest of the team supporting them with good catches. After this fantastic fielding display Methley were then able to score the required runs to win the match. Both teams were off to great starts but still had a lot to do to reach the final.

In their next match the A team took on Swillington. They knew that this would be a much tougher challenge with Swillington’s coach also having coached many of the Methley players. After winning the toss Jake decided to ask Swillington to bat. Again Methley bowled and fielded with commitment and accuracy. They managed to restrict Swillington to a modest score thanks mainly to the bowling of Liam Birrell and Euan Cowan. After their excellent batting display in the first match Methley were confident of reaching their total however things didn’t go to plan. After a steady start from the opening pair of Josh Neal and Tom Foster wickets fell during the game. With runs deducted from the total each time this happened the game looked as if it was going to be close. When Euan Cowan and Finaly Rooke had finished their innings Methley were still only 7 runs ahead and the final pair knew they had to remain composed to guide Methley home. Far from being reserved Jake and Harvey set about finishing the game in style. Their final stand of 33 meant Methley won comfortably and now were set for the final!!

As the A team finished their game Methley B team had been playing against Lady Elizabeth Hastings knowing that the winner of the game would play Methley A in the final. With the A team watching, the B team worked hard to try and made it an all Methley final. Good bowling from Jack Hanson and Luke Phillips meant that coming into bat Methley B team had an excellent chance of making the final. Unfortunately despite the fantastic batting of Tom Ibbeson and Jack Maskill the total proved just too much and the B team were beaten narrowly by 3 runs! Although disappointed, the B team should be very proud of their achievement. With a team made up of year 3s and 4s, some of whom have never played in a tournament before, they managed to come third in a year 6 tournament! A fantastic effort!

This meant a final for Methley A team versus Lady Elizabeth Hastings. The result of the semi final seemed to spur the A team on. After losing the toss Methley were asked to field, a fact that pleased the Methley team. Having just watched Lady Elizabeth Hastings beat Methley B the A team set about taking wickets and winning the game. Fantastic fielding and bowling from all members of the team meant that Lady Elizabeth Hastings found it very difficult to score runs and with the team taking a total of 19 wickets the chances of a Methley victory looked promising. As Methley came into bat, Captain Jake McCaffrey roused his team with a strong team talk and they set about winning the game. Following on from their fantastic fielding display the batting was equally as good-Ross Carrington and Liam Birrell running well between the wickets and playing some aggressive shots. They were well supported with good batting performances from Tom Foster, Josh Neal, Finlay Rooke and an impressive Euan Cowan. It then fell to Harvey Walker and Jake McCaffrey to guide the team home, something they did with good style. At the close of the game Methley had managed victory by close to 100 runs! An amazing performance which meant Methley A were crowned champions.

After collecting the trophy all that was left to do was name the two players of the tournament. After watching the B team Mr Mohammed said that it was very difficult to pick a star performer. He was impressed with the team work and also the brilliant bowling of all the players. However in the end he opted for Ethan Gray who batted and fielded well throughout the whole tournament. In the A team competition for the accolade of Methley MVP was fierce. Brilliant batting displays from Jake, Euan, Liam and Harvey were also backed up with excellent bowling from Finlay and Josh Neal. As well as this excellent fielding from Tom made him a candidate however in the end, for a combination of all these attributes the Methley A star player went to Ross Carrington.

Everybody who took part should be very proud of their achievements. An excellent victory but more importantly some fantastic sportsmanship was shown throughout the tournament with Methley players and supporters also cheering on other teams. Finally a massive thank you to all the parents who helped to transport children between school and Brigshaw and also for staying and showing your support through a slightly longer than anticipated evening of cricket!

Keep your eyes open for the up coming tennis competition and High 5 netball competition.

Miss R