JCT 600 Bradford League second teams review May 26, 2007

Posted: May 26, 2007

Farsley maintained their position at the top of the JCT 600 Bradford League Second Teams Division One table with a hard-earned three-wicket win over Baildon.

They squeezed home with five balls to spare thanks to the efforts of wicketkeeper Matthew Green (63) and Asif Amir (54). Baildon had made 196-7 batting first with Mohammad Abbas hitting 59 and Chris Curtis (47)

Sovereign Health care Priestley Shield holders East Bierley are now second. They defeated Keighley by four wickets to capitalise on Lightcliffe's surprise 67-run defeat by lowly Saltaire.

The Abbott brothers were the East Bierley heroes. Dan took five for 33 as Keighley were dismissed for 171 - despite a bold knock of 85 from opener Andrew Waggett - then brother Leigh took over by hitting an unbeaten 64 as East Bierley claimed another valuable win. Ashley Robinson took four for 69 for Keighley.

Saltaire were impressive as they recorded only their second win of the season against Lightcliffe. Their total of 247 for six was built around good contributions from Robert Worsnop (78) and Awais Ijaz (53). Lightcliffe were dismissed for 180 with Paul Ramsden making the top score of 31. Tausef Arshad took three for 29.

Bowling Old Lane continued their good run by defeating Gomersal by 17 runs. Talat Sajawal, better know for his bowling exploits, starred with the bat. He made 67 while Gaz Rehman (58) and Haseeb Younis (30) swelled the score.

Gomersal looked to be in with a good chance of victory when Usman Saleem (88) and Jonathan Boynton (46) were at the wicket, but once they were parted Old Lane skipper Haqueq Siddique took four for 50 with his off spin to seize victory for his side.

Craig Bagley (3-27) and Andy West (3-39) bowled Esholt to a 99-run win over Pudsey Congs. Only James Lindley-Dawe (48) held them up for long as Congs were bowled out for 118 in reply to Esholt's 217 for nine. Derek Wilkinson (54) and Massava Massadique (53) were Esholt's main contributors.

The tightest finish was at Tofts Road where Pudsey St Lawrence defeated Hanging Heaton by one wicket. Craig Trapps took five for 63 and Wasim Rafiq (3-35) as St Lawrence bowled out their opponents for 177. The Saints then lost wickets steadily but eventually edged home thanks to 36 from Nial Coleman.

Champions Woodlands suffered their fifth defeat in six games as they went down by six-wickets to Yeadon - a result which sends them to the bottom of the table.

Woodlands were dismissed for just 70 as Richard Wood (3-15) and Richard Machell (3-31) struck. Yeadon lost four wickets in reply but knocked off the runs in 11.4 overs.

There are joint leaders in Division Two. Cleckheaton defeated Great Horton by eight-wickets to join Spen Victoria who suffered a 36-run defeat against Bradford & Bingley.

Craig Ignatowski took five for 36 as Cleckheaton dismissed Great Norton for 133, despite a defiant 51 from Wahid Iqbal. Dean Worrell (73) and Matthew West (32not out) sped Cleckheaton to their victory. Cleckheaton and Spen Victoria are just two points ahead of Manningham Mills.

Mills had a nail-biting two run win over idle. Qasim Shafiq (54), Shahid Saleem (43) and Fazal Hussain (33) guided Mills to a score of 197 despite the efforts of Gareth Teasdale (4-35) and Graham Dobson (3-56).

Idle made a brave bid to go for the runs. Skipper Dobson set them on their way with 50, but a middle order collapse wrecked their hopes and even the late antics of Paul Howker (37 not out) and Nicky Hardaker (18 not out) couldn't quite force victory.

Having bowled out Bradford & Bingley for 102, Spen Victoria must have fancied their chances of securing another win, but a brittle batting display saw them bowled out for 66. Only skipper Mark Loker with 28 not out offered any resistance to Richard Slater (6-26). For Spen, Chris Hester (3-20) and John Ireland (3-23) bowled well.

Windhill picked up their second win of the season when they beat Brighouse by one wicket. Tahir Amin (46) helped them to edge past Brighouse's score of 161 all out. Dave Pearce was the pick of the Windhill bowlers with four for 18.

Sonny Matharu took six for 38 as Undercliffe defeated Bankfoot by 89 runs. His fine bowling meant Bankfoot were dismissed for 126 in reply to an Undercliffe total of 215-9 in which openers Sofian Khan (83) and Jed Din (61) sparkled.

Morley added to the woes of bottom team Hartshead Moor as they inflicted a nine-wicket defeat on them. Skipper Dave Goodlad (58not out) and Sam Medley (50 not out) shared an unbroken second wicket stand of 109 to see their side home. Medley had earlier taken three for 18 as Hartshead Moor were dismissed for 112. Andy Cutt picked up three for 21.