Posted: April 21.2007

East Bierley's Greg Lambert is stumped by Bowling Old Lane's Imran Mirza

It was a day for the new boys on the opening day of the JCT 600 Bradford League season with promoted Manningham Mills taking top billing with a thrilling one-run win over Cleckheaton.

Mills batted first and made an imposing 237 for nine with Nasser Jamal (53no) and Syed Ahmed (44) launching a late assault on a Cleckheaton bowling attack in which Ian Wood (4-14) was easily the most successful.

Cleckheaton started dismally in reply and were soon 38 for three, but new overseas Mohammad Zaman showed why he has established such a big reputation by making 80 on his debut. With skipper John Wood making (40) Cleckheaton looked set for victory as they reached 200 for four before Zaman departed. He was bowled by Jamal Hussain who followed up with the wickets of Craig Thornton and Tom pringle in successive balls to secure a hat-trick

Jamal Hussain (5-66) and Nassar Jamal (4-38) seized their chance. Mills finally secured victory and a maximum 20 points when Jamal dismissed Ian Wood for 20 off the fourth ball of the final over.

Opening bowler Tom Glover made a sensational debut for Pudsey Congs taking eight for 32 as he helped his new side to an emphatic 103-run win over Hanging Heaton on the opening day of the JCT 600 Bradford League Division One season.

Glover, recruited from Yorkshire League side Harrogate, bowled superbly as Hanging Heaton were dismissed for 97 in reply to Pudsey Congs' score of 200 for five in which opener Scott Cunningham top scored with 50. Matthew Doidge (36) and Andrew Bairstow (34) were the other main contributors.

The win earned Congs 19 points, but champions Woodlands went one better. They secured a maximum 20 points from a 56-run win at Saltaire.

Once again the new boys showed up well with opener Sam Frankland, a winter recruit from Elland make an impressive 72 and Tosh Baker, back in the Bradford League after a spell at Wrenthorpe, hitting 37. There was also a valuable 45 from the dependable Nicky Rushworth against his old club as Woodlands made 238 for eight. Saltaire's best bowler was Imran Arif with three for 45.

Saltaire found the going tough against the impressive Woodlands attack. Safraz Ahmed took three for 31 as Saltaire were dismissed for 182. Gulsheraz Ahmed (44) and Mansha Khan (34) were the pick of the Saltaire batsmen.

It was a Bradford League old boys who was key to Baildon securing the quickest win in the top division. Former Yorkshire off spinner Jeremy Batty took six for 33 as Farsley were dismissed for a paltry 99. Opener Steve Simpson (34) was the only batsman to offer prolonged resistance as all ten wickets fell to the spinners. Mushtaq Ahmed (3-13) and Jamie Abbott (1-11) completed the demolition.

Baildon's openers Simon Davies (46no) and Jonathan Reynolds (47no) shared an unbroken opening stand of 105 as Baildon sealed a comfortable win.

Pudsey St Lawrence's new Australian batsman Tom Stray was quick to make his mark. He hit 77 as his side collected 19 points from an eight wicket win over Idle.

Stray hit two sixes and 11 fours during his 88 ball innings and shared in an opening stand of 121 with Alex Stead who hit four sixes and seven fours in his 72. With Nottinghamshire all-rounder Gareth Clough hitting an unbeaten 52, St Lawrence e eased past Idle's total of 215 with 9.2overs to spare.

Idle's innings was dominated by 86 from opener Javed Umarji which was laced with 14 boundaries, while Paul Cummins (40) and Danny Shuffe (31) made useful contributions before James Smith (4-42) and Andrew Doidge (4-49) sparked a collapse. Doidge claimed the day's second hat-trick, bowling Umarji and Imran Dawood before trapping new boy Michael Allen lbw.

Bowling Old Lane's return to the top flight ended in disappointment. They fought hard but suffered a 26 run defeat at East Bierley who secured a maximum 20 points.

Paul Hutchison took 5-64

Paul Hutchison took five for 64 as Old Lane were dismissed for 200 in reply to East Bierley's 226 for nine. Amjid Khan (46) and Imran Mirza (33) were Old Lane's top scorers.

Earlier Old Lane had given East Bierley a scare reducing them from a commanding 145 for two to 155 for seven. Debut-making opener Gharib Razak had made 59 and Lee Goddard (30) before the slump was triggered by a remarkable catch at gulley by Tahir Khan to dismiss Toby Drummond. Bilal Ejaz, on his debut for Old Lane, took four for 61, but skipper Gavin Hamilton revived East Bierley with a crucial unbeaten 44.

Bradford & Bingley skipper Carl Sharp hit top score of 80 and was well supported by new recruits Phil Slater (38) and David Clow (33) as Bradford & Bngley made 260 for six on their was to a 99-run win over Brighouse. Tim Linley was Brighouse's best bowler with three for 64.

Brighouse were given a good start by their skipper Mark Gilliver. He made 50 but the rest of the batting was disappointing as Brighouse were dismissed for 161. Chris Thompson was the main destroyer with four for 43 while spinner Matthew Cockshott collected three for 22.

Esholt's Baz King produced the innings of the day.He made 149 as his side racked up 287 for four on their way to a 199-run win at Hartshead Moor which earned them a 20 point maximum.

King hit three siixes and 16 fours as he tore in to the Hartshead Moor attack and was joined in a second wicket stand of 138 by opener Phil Carter who made 54. Shahid Bashir (33no) also weighed in with valuable runs.

Hartshead Moor, missing a number of regular players, were soon in trouble when they replied and were dismissed for 88 as Ben Lister took four for 26 and Shahid Khan (3-4). Danny Squire was the one Hartshead batsman to make an impression with a knock of 31.

Morley won a tense encounter with Undercliffe by two wickets. They had seamer Richard Winn (5-21) and opener Richard Haikins (66) to thank for their triumph. Undercliffe made a disastrous start and were 18 for four before Andrew Duckworth sparked a revival with 50. There was also an unbeaten 29 from old-stager Andy Wilsdon who returned to first team action once again despite announcing he would only be playing second team cricket at the end of last season.

A total of 145 was insufficient although Morley made hard work of securing their win. Peter Oldham took five for eight to spark a collapse which threatened to snatch the game away from them, but in then end Morley held their nerve for a valuable win.

Gomersal's new Kiwi opening bowler Garrick Sutherland announced his arrival by taking five for 32 as Gomersal shot out Windhill for 72 as they raced to a nine-wicket win. Yorkshire leg spinner Mark lawson took three for ten.

Spen Victoria's Matt Speck is bowled by Tahir Mahmood of Yeadon Picture by Richard Seddon

When Gomersal batted they recovered from losing an early wicket to win thanks to an unbeaten stand of 73 for the second wicket between new signings Bradley Parker (49no) and Richard Gould (23no)

Another new boy, this time Bankfoot's Danny Lloyd, was a match-winner. he made 53 and took three for 37 in a three-wicket win over Keighley. Lloyd hit 11 fours in his innings while James Holdsworth (34) and Micky Hutchins (30) added impetus to the run chase after Keighley had been restricted to 160 for nine. Paul Wilkinson was the top Keighley scorer with 40.

Grant Soames marked his return to Yeadon with a fine all-round contribution as his side won by six wickets at Spen Victoria. Soames took three for 37 and Andrew Robertson - a new recruit from Harrogate - bagged three for 15 as Spen were dismissed for 118. Their top scorers were opener Callum Geldart and Jonathan Rudge with 23 each.

Yeadon were in some trouble at 53 for four before Soames guided his side home with an unbeaten 39 in an unbroken stand of 66 with John Henry (29no)

Great Horton got off the mark with an easy six-wicket win at Lightcliffe. They dismissed the home side for 141 with Nasser Hussain taking five for 41. Mohammed Altaf (55) and Khalid Naveed (58no) powered their side to their victory target.