SOMETIMES a person’s face just fits at one club but not at another.

That is emphatically the case with 19-year-old opening batsman Matthew Hastings.

The tall teenager was a bit-part player with Addingham last season but has blossomed since moving to Burley-in-Wharfedale this campaign.

In 10 innings for Addingham last year he only mustered 160 runs, but for Burley in 2021 he has already scored 191 in just three innings.

His skipper Redmond Bolton, with whom Hastings has already had partnerships of 54, 106 and 71, admitted after their comfortable Waddilove Cup preliminary-round victory over Horsforth Hall Park on Sunday: “I just told Matthew to carry on where he left off on Saturday (against Horsforth) and he did it to perfection.

“I am still wondering how Addingham let him go – it is a very odd one. Maybe a case of a face not fitting or a fall-out somewhere, but at the moment he is our best player.”

Hastings pointed to a change in his character, saying: “Burley are a better club and I just fancied a change as things weren’t really going my way at Addingham.

“I wasn’t really getting what I wanted and I got dropped every so often because I didn’t really keep my mouth shut, but I have changed completely now and I am very happy. They are a top set of lads and have made me feel so welcome.”

As for his start with Burley, he admitted: “It could not have gone any better really. It is just the way it goes sometimes. I am just doing my own thing but I need to push on.

“I have surprised myself – I haven’t batted that long in ages as I did here – but I haven’t set myself a run target for the season. I just bat and go along with the flow.”

Division Two Hall Park, who like top-flight Burley have won both their opening league matches, made a decent 234-4 on a good Burley track on a sunny but chilly afternoon.

The tall Michael Kelsey put on 72 for the first wicket with keeper Steve Phillips before being out for 44 and, while Phillips soon followed for 37, former Farsley player Joe Greaves (78 not out) took Hall Park to the interval with stands of 57 with Steve Wilkinson (26) and 56 with Tom Watson (22) before Greaves played second fiddle to captain Ben Waller (18no).

Shane Etherington (2-38), Nick Brook (0-27) and Joe Hall (2-26) kept a lid on the scoring, but Burley showed after the tea interval just how good the wicket was.

Hall Park were never able to keep a lid on the scoring as boundaries and singles became a regular occurrence and they knew they were beaten well before Hall drove the final boundary down the ground with nine overs to spare. Bolton, reigning in some of his more attacking instincts, made 30; Hastings, whose powerful off-driving was a feature, scored 74, including 14 fours, and the contest was finished off by some elegant flicks off the legs by Nick Brook (83 not out from 73 balls, including 11 fours and a six) and straight-driving by Hall (33 not out, including for fours and a six).

Hastings and Brook added 107 before the former holed out at mid-wicket, with Brook and Hall then putting on 60 unbroken for the third wicket to book a first-round home tie against Guiseley on Sunday, May 9.

Elsewhere in the Waddilove Cup 2021 Preliminary round, Rawdon CC beat Follifoot CC by 34 runs away from home.

Pool CC also won, thrashing Leeds Modernians CC by 243 runs. A total of 314 runs compared to their opponents total of 71, was enough for victory.

Robert Goldthorp hit an impressive 120 runs with the bat.