JCT 600 Bradford League First Teams review April 26, 2008

Veteran McCarthy skittles Old Lane on opening day

Posted: April 27, 2.11

Pudsey Congs batsman Babar Butt is bowled by Pieter Swanepoel of Woodlands

Veteran seamer Richard McCarthy got Bradford & Bingley off to a flying start by taking a remarkable eight for 12 as they scored a crushing 142 run win over Bowling Old Lane.

Old Lane had no answer to McCarthy's bowling as they crashed to 44 all out in reply to Bradford & Bingley's score of 186 for eight which owed much to a fine half-century from Mark Beckett. He was joined in an important sixth wicket stand of 64 with Chris Thompson (40).

Bradford & Bingley were one of three teams to collect 18 points from their opening fixtures - Hanging Heaton and Baildon were the others after crushing wins over the newly-promoted pair of Esholt and Yeadon respectively.

Hanging Heaton looked to be in trouble when they slipped to 30 for four, but all-rounder James Stansfield (87) and skipper Alan Mynett (44) revived their side with some positive batting and helped them post a score of 196 for seven. New boy Mark Cummins (3-76) was the most successful member of an under-strength Esholt attack

Esholt's batting was their strong suit last season, but that wasn't the case yesterday. They were skittled out for just 55 with only overseas player Shahzaib Khan (15) reaching double figures as Hanging Heaton's new signing Imran Arif took six for 27 and Nick Summerscales (3-18).

Like Esholt, Yeadon were quickly made aware of the demands of playing in the top flight. They were dismissed for just 76 as they suffered a 101-run defeat against Baildon at Jenny lane.

Spinners Ahsan Butt (3-7) and Mushtaq Ahmed (3-15) were the men who put the skids under Yeadon's brittle batting.

Baildon had made 177 when they batted first. The top contribution to their score was the 37 extras conceded by Yeadon. New signing Greg Lambert provided the one glimmer of home for Yeadon by taking five for 44 on his debut.

Champions Woodlands won the game of the day against Pudsey Congs by three wickets. Their skipper Tim Orrell produced the match-winning performance with a timely knock of 40 which enabled his side to pass Pudsey Congs' score of 165 for seven with nine balls to spare.

Tosh Baker (31) shared az crucial fifth-wicket stand with Orrell as Woodlands eased home despite some fine spin bowling from former Yorkshire player Jeremy Batty (2-35).

Pudsey Congs had found runscoring hard on a damp wicket and slow outfield when they were asked to bat first, Their skipper Matthew Doidge (35) top scored but nobody was able to break free from the shackles imposed by the Woodlands seam attack in which Safraz Ahmed (3-26) was again the outstanding performer. Full scorecard

Former Spen Victoria all-rounder Chris Elstub had an outstanding debut fort East Bierley. He took five for 16 as St Lawrence were dismissed for 101 and made a timely 32 not out as East Bierley recovered from a nervy 44 for five to win by five wickets. Elstub shared an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 57 with Andrew Rennison (27no).

Cleckheaton got their season off to a winning start with a comfortable eight-wicket win over new-look Brighouse. The host were restricted to 119 for nine by tight Cleckheaton bowling.

Opener Mally Nicholson stroked an unbeaten 53 to steer his side home. New overseas player Louis Aspeling made a good start to his Cleckheaton career with 36.

The fragile Saltaire batting crumbled as they suffered a disappointing four-wicket defeat against Manningham Mills. Opener Wasim Munawar (36) was the only player to make an impression as they posted a paltry 104 for nine.

Manningham Mills eased home with 19.4 overs to spare despite the efforts of Saltaire's new bowler Tim Linley (3-40).

The relegated duo of Farsley and Idle began life in Division Two with valuable wins. New boys Charlie Hall (37) and Johno Evans (27) helped Farsley to make a total of 156 when they batted first against a Bankfoot attack in which Andy Deegan (3-26) was the most successful member.

Off-spinner Harvey Anderson, a winter recruit from Idle, celebrated his debut by taking five for 12, but he would be quick to acknowledge the excellent efforts of fellow newcomer Oliver Howick who claimed four for 11 in 14 overs.

When Idle plunged to nine for four as Lightcliffe skipper Richard Nichols claimed three wickets in four balls, their prospect of winning looked slim. Even after their new captain Danny Shuffe had made a battling 44 to take them to 104 all out the odds still looked to be stacked against them Nichols finished with six for 22.

Lightcliffe's batsmen found runscoring even more difficult as Idle's new overseas player Mohammad Fayyaz took five for 16 and Mohammad Rasool (4-17). Lightcliffe were dismissed for 84 to lose by 20 runs.

Highly-fancied Undercliffe came unstuck at Spen Victoria where the home side recorded a 76-run success. New skipper Peter Jackson made a great start for Spen Victoria by hitting a superb 85 as he shared in a second-wicket stand of 134 with new overseas player Naeemmuddin Qazi who made 54 on his debut.

Former Spen Victoria left armer James Russell took five for 52 on his return to Spen Lane but his joy was short lived when his side were dismissed for 100 in reply to Spen's healthy score of 176 for eight. Imran Amin, who joined Spen Victoria from Undercliffe in the close season, claimed three for 20 and the wily ex-Manningham Mills spinner Mohammad Maroof picked up three for 29.

Keighley came out on top in the game with fellow promotion hopefuls Morley at Scatcherd Lane. They dismissed the home side for 112 with teenage seamer Max Davidson taking four for 50. Keighley eased to their target with skipper Steve Reape making 37.

Gomersal's new overseas player Kashi Naveed soon made his mark. Naveed, who had a fine season for Great Horton in 2007, made 84 as he helped his new side to defeat Windhill by 151 runs. Former Yorkshire player Bradley Parker (54) was the other main contributor as Gomersal made the highest score of the day of 218 for six.

In reply Windhill were skittled for just 67, a score which would have been even smaller if it hadn't bean for a determined innings of 44 not out by new overseas player Ammar Mahmood. Skipper Rob Burton was the pick of the Gomersal bowlers with four for 29.

Great Horton had little trouble accounting for last season's bottom team Hartshead Moor. Great Horton dismissed their rivals for just 82 despite 38 from Danny Squire. Mohammad Sharafat marked his return after a spell playing in Leicestershire with three for five. Sharafat also made an unbeaten 35 as Great Horton eased to victory.