JCT 600 Bradford League First Teams review July 28, 2007

Posted: July 28, 2007

Picture Gallery: Gomersal v Yeadon ........>> Click

Chris Brice gave another excellent all round performance as champions Woodlands extended their unbeaten run in the JCT 600 Bradford League Division One this season to 17 games with a 76-run win over relegation threatened Idle.

Brice top scored with 62 in the Woodlands innings of 204-9 and followed up by taking four for 36 as Idle were dismissed for 128.

Opener Sam Frankland (51) was the other main contributor for Woodlands, while Paul Cummins (46) was top scorer for Idle.

The result earned Woodlands 19 points and helped them to extend their lead over second-placed East Bierley to 30 points. Losers Idle collected five points and they enabled them to move off the bottom at Bowling Old Lane's expense on games won.

Second-placed East Bierley might have feared the worst when they were dismissed by Saltaire for 113. They lost their last seven wickets for 26 runs as Saltaire skipper Ijaz Khan claimed six for 23 with his off spin. Bierley were indebted to their skipper Gavin Hamilton (44) for ensuring they weren't dismissed for an even smaller total.

Saltaire made a bad start to their innings and never recovered. Greg Lambert (4-12) and Jaffer Nazir (3-32) joined forces to skittle out Saltaire for just 60.

Third-placed Pudsey Congs were forced to fight hard for their 17-run win over Cleckheaton. They were in trouble at 44-5 but Matthew Doidge (47), Elliott Wilson (37no) and Glenn Roberts (28) guided them to a score of 157-9. Young bowlers Ian Wardlaw (3-33) and Tom Pringle (3-46) bowled well.

Cleckheaton were dismissed for 140 in reply with Mark Bray claiming four for 18 and Tom Glover (3-66). Seven batsmen got into double figures, but nobody was able to play the decisive innings Cleckheaton needed. Skipper John Wood top scored with 34.

Promoted Manningham Mills are now fourth, their highest position of the season, after defeating Baildon by eight runs in a thrilling encounter. Opening bowler Gamaal Hussain continued his excellent form by taking six for 41 to seal his side's success. He clinched the final wicket, that of Baildon opener Simon Davies who made a fine 88, three ball from the end of the game.

Manningham Mills' total of 190 was built around the contributions of Muenoddin Kadri (45) and overseas player Asif Hussain (40). Indian fast bowler Suyash Burkul took four for 33 for Baildon.

The battle at the bottom is really hotting up. Brighouse eased their relegation fears with a 20-point maximum against Farsley. They won by145 runs, a result that leaves their rivals deep in trouble.

Haroon Rashid, the eldest brother of Yorkshire's Adil Rashid, showed once again what a good player he is by hitting 117. He was well supported by Mark Gill and overseas Rizwan Ahmed who each made 52.

Farsley were soon in a spin when they replied. Brighouse's slow bowlers Rizwan Ahmed (5-16) and Chris Greenwood (4-37) bowled them out for 111. The only real defiance came from opener Matthew Green who made 51.

Bradford & Bingley took another big stride towards safety when they defeated Pudsey St Lawrence by ten runs in a low-scoring encounter. South African pace bowler Ethi Mbhalati (5-30) and Chris Thompson (3-22) skittled out St Lawrence for just 97.

Bradford & Bingley must have feared another defeat when they were bowled out for 107, Craig Cockshott top scoring with 31, but their bowlers had other ideas.

Hanging Heaton also gave their hopes of avoiding the drop a lift when they beat fellow strugglers Old Lane by eight wickets. Old Lane, who are now bottom of the table, were dismissed for just 94 as Nick Summerscales took six for 35. Hanging Heaton cruised to their target for the loss of two wickets with opener Chris Schofield making an unbeaten 54.

Leaders Yeadon won the top-of-the table battle with Gomersal by three wickets. Overseas batsman Aamer Sajjad (49) and stand-in skipper Grant Soames (48) were the main contributors as yeadon overhauled a Gomersal score of 168-4.

Gomersal paid dearly for twice dropping simple catches offered by Saif Malik who went on to make an unbeaten 21 as Yeadon sealed a victory which earned them 14 points. New Zealander Garrick Sutherland was Gomersal's best bowler with four for 40.

Gomersal, who chose to bat first, were kept in check for much of their innings by tight Yeadon bowling and keen fielding In form opener Richard Gould was the mainstay of the innings with an unbeaten 89 which contained three sixes and ten fours. His main support came from wicketkeeper Matt Garside in an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 70.

Yeadon's lead at the top has been cut to four points by Morley who leap-frogged over Gomersal after beating Lightcliffe by60 runs. Nineteen-year-old off spinner Tom Smith picked up his second successive five wicket haul. He took five for 29 as Lightcliffe, despite 42 from opener Michael Brooke, were dismissed for 128.

Morley had made 188-6 batting first. Wicketkeeper Micky Cooper, promoted to opener, made 50 while Ed Galek top scored with 53 and overseas Shoaib Khan made 39. The win secured 18 points for Morley who are now ten points ahead of Gomersal.

Esholt and Keighley both revived their promotion hopes with easy wins. Esholt dismissed Great Horton for just 87 as Ben Lister took five for 44 and Nadeem Hanif (3-34). Esholt knocked off the runs for the loss of two wickets with skipper Richard Whitehurst finishing unbeaten on 45.

Keighley defeated fast-fading Undercliffe by six wickets. Richard Robinson took four for 28 as Undercliffe were restricted to 113-8. Darren Blenkiron was the only batsman to shine with an unbeaten 58.

Robert Hopkinson (37no) and Stuart Ratcliffe (34) steered Keighley to their victory target and a welcome 14 points.

Spinner Chris Allen recorded his best ever figures of five for 19 as Spen Victoria defeated Windhill by five wickets. Left arm spinner Nick Robinson (3-39) was the other main wicket taker as Windhill were dismissed for 127.

Spen's innings was dominated by an unbeaten 55 from Chris Elstub which enabled them to claim a welcome 16 points.

There was no joy for bottom team Hartshead Moor. Bankfoot's Nigel Hanson took seven for 27 as they were dismissed for just 112 despite a bright 32 from Nicky Ward. Bankfoot cruised to victory by eight wickets with Ashfaq Ahmed making 34 not out and Danny Lloyd (31).