Batting’s simple for York’s Simon Mason. As he tells sports editor STUART MARTEL it’s all about hitting the ball further and further.

CAPTURING the first York wicket is a bitter sweet moment for opponents in the Solly Sports Yorkshire ECB County Premier League.

On the plus side, it means the end for either Dan Wilson or Duncan Snell, the Clifton Parkers’ prolific openers.

However, it also spells impending problems...the next man in is perennial big-hitter Simon Mason.

His motto in life, as revealed in the profiles section of the club website, is: “No matter how far the first one goes, the second must go further.”

The 28-year-old, whose cricketing hero is none other than Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff, has been following that motto to the letter this season.

An 80-ball century against Rotherham on Saturday took Mason’s haul of league runs this term to 654 at an average nudging 60.

Earlier in the campaign he smashed a rapid 154 against Castleford, while he has also plundered 79 League Cup runs, 193 in the Yorkshire Champions Trophy and 165 in the ECB National Club Championship.

Those scores have helped to propel York to the brink of an unprecedented fourth successive Yorkshire League crown and kept them in the running for an impressive trophy treble.

“We haven’t lost a league game since Harrogate away midway through last season (a run of 29 games),” said Mason.

“We have been going well so far, but we can’t take any game for granted. We have been winning games fairly comfortably, but we’ve got some tough fixtures ahead of us.

“I do feel that all the teams in the Yorkshire League have got some big-game players and that shows with a lot of the other teams beating each other.”

York boast big-game players in all departments, with Snell, Wilson, Mason and Liam McKendry backed by middle-order runs from Alex Collins, Nick Kay and Marcus Wood.

Pacemen Tom Bartram, Neil Laidlaw and Peter Groves are augmented by spin twins Daniel Woods and Tom Pringle.

Mason is glad to be playing a key role.

“It’s good to be getting in and getting runs,” he said.

“I had a good year last year, but I feel like I’ve had more opportunities this season and I am in pretty good nick.”

Aside from one season with home-town club Harrogate, in 2006, Mason has been a mainstay of York’s batting order for 12 years.

After spending his formative years in local league cricket with Bedale and Ripon, Mason joined the Clifton Park outfit at the age of 16.

And he is heartened to see the club still attracting some of the best talent from the York & District Senior League – the latest being former Thirsk opener McKendry.

“Liam has been brilliant – the only thing missing is a hundred,” said Mason.

“It is good that we are getting players from local leagues. People want to come and play for York.”

Mason believes the club is now set up for immediate and long-term success, with former Yorkshire batsman Jim Love overseeing a production line of talent.

“A couple of the senior guys have stepped down in the cups this season to allow other players to come in,” said Mason.

“They are getting a taste of first-team action and it shows the strong position of the club at the moment.

“We have got 13 or 14 players who can come in and make it a very strong team. That’s superb.

“Hopefully, we are going to get the second team into the York Senior League premier division this year. In fact, all our teams could win promotion this season.”

While Mason, who runs a gardening business in the city, is now settled with York, his desire to play at a higher level drew him to Harrogate in 2006.

His hometown club had just won the championship and Mason felt he could benefit from the county connections at St George’s Road.

He said: “I wanted a different challenge. I was looking to play at a higher level and there were a couple of contacts there that could have given me an opening.

“That never happened, but I don’t regret it because I had an excellent season. It was a different challenge because I was playing in a poor side and had to take more responsibility.”

Although he flourished, topping the run charts with 1,064 at an average of 59.11, Harrogate finished third from bottom.

Mason’s return to Clifton Park coincided with the start of York’s incredible sequence of success.

The club have won the title in each of the subsequent three seasons, adding the League Cup in 2008 and the Black Sheep Yorkshire Champions Trophy last term.

“York is a great place to play,” he said. “The facilities are brilliant, the ground is fantastic and it’s a very well-run club.

“It’s not all about the first team either. It’s important that all the teams do well and Jim Love has helped to bring the club together. It is in great shape.”

Mason played Minor Counties cricket for Lincolnshire in 2005 and 2006, and remains convinced he could still play at a higher level.

“Even now, I would jump at the chance,” he said. “I personally believe I am good enough. If I got the chance I would gladly take it, but that is not up to me. All I can do is keep scoring runs.”

And Mason’s unquenchable thirst for runs will resume when the first wicket falls on Saturday.