THE Hawks Cricket Club travelled to Aysgarth School near Bedale to play Harrow Wanderers CC in the first Howard Reeve Memorial Match.

After both sides stood for a minute's reflection beforehand, the Hawks batted first on a pitch that looked better than it played.

This made scoring runs difficult and, despite 33 from Damon Reeve, 43 from Murphy Walwyn, 29 from Joe Garforth and a super 60 from Ian Priestley, the Hawks could only manage 201-8 from their 40 overs.

After lunch, the Hawks captain Ted Lester made a very moving speech about Howard which culminated in a long round of applause to mark all the positive aspects of Howard's life – including the 50 he scored in this fixture a year ago.

This was followed by the Wanderers innings, which went at pace as the pitch dried out in gorgeous cricketing conditions.

As a result, the total was reached in just 28 overs with John Rapier scoring 39, Fred Fife 36 and Harry Turner 72 not out, with only Bradley Reeve shining with the ball as he took 3-41 off eight overs.

After the game the Harrow skipper Fred Richardson also spoke about Howard and reminded everyone gathered about his immense cricket knowledge and quiet humorous ways.

Howard's father Brian awarded the new man of the match award to Harry Turner for his match-winning innings.

The day, albeit a sad one, was thoroughly enjoyed by all players and the large number of friends and family who made the trip for this special occasion.

This Sunday, the Hawks visit Spofforth CC to take on the Druids CC in a match starting at 1.30pm.