Farsley go top but it's oh so close

Posted: June 4, 2011

Paul Hutchison in action for East Bierley against Manningham Mills Picture: Copyright JCT600 Bradford League

It is proving to be the closest and most unpredictable season that the JCT600 Bradford League has seen in Division One for many years.

There are just 32 points between new leaders Farsley and bottom team Baildon after another day of surprise results.

Bradford & Bingley suffered a stunning 180-run defeat at Hanging Heaton to lose the lead, while Manningham Mills recovered from 87-8 to defeat East Bierley, and Baildon collected a welcome win as they defeated Gomersal by 94 runs.

Farsley, who overcame champions Pudsey Congs by 42 runs, and in form Woodlands, 37-run winners against Cleckheaton took advantage of the dramatic goings on elsewhere.

The closeness of the table is best illustrated in the way Hanging Heaton climbed from tenth to fifth after their victory over Bradford & Bingley but are still only 13 points off the bottom.

Rob McFarlane had an outstanding all-round game for Hanging Heaton. He took 6-27 as Bradford & Bingley were skittled out for just 67. McFarlane had earlier made 47 as his side posted 247-7, with James Stansfield making a fine 89 and Nick Bresnan (51)

McFarlane's bowling figures were eclipsed by Baildon skipper Craig Hitchenor. he took 6-15 in 15 overs as Gomersal were bowled out for 96 to clinch a well-deserved 94-run win for Baildon. Ahsan Butt (77) and Simon Webb (57) both made important contributions to Baildon's 190-9.

The best innings was the 103 made by Manningham Mills' overseas player Imran Khalid as he rescued them from 87-8 and guided them to a total of 194 which was sufficient to earn them a 19-run win at East Bierley.

Khalid, who struck a six and 16 fours, was given staunch support by his team's last two batsmen Zeeshan Qasim and Tuseif Arshad. Khalid and Qasim (27) added 47 for the ninth wicket, before Arshad joined Khalid in a last-wicket partnership of 60.

Skipper Lee Goddard (53) and Thomas Owens (45) gave East Bierley hope of victory before both became victims of that man Khalid (4-61) as Mills secured a valuable win which hauled them out of the bottom two.

Lorenzo Ingram took his personal tally of league runs to 713 with an innings of 68 as Farsley made 237 before bowling out Pudsey Congs for 195. Opener Steve Simpson continued his good form with 84 as Farsley made good progress despite the efforts of Muhammad Naved 4-43, Eugene Burzler 4-65.

Former Otley player Josh Atkinson made 52 for Congs and Glenn Roberts (35) but the big guns never fired against some steady bowling from Andrew Duckworth (3-29) and Ingram (3-43).

Two teams have have got into the winning habit of late are Woodlands and Undercliffe.

Woodlands were involved in a high-scoring encounter with Cleckheaton at Albert Terrace which included some explosive hitting from Sarfraz Ahmed who made 80 from 36 balls with seven sixes and six fours.

Scott Richardson (74) and Tim Orrell (55) also made half-centuries as Woodlands posted 270-8.

That total started to look even more daunting when Cleckheaton lost two wickets to Ahmed (3-41) before a run had been scored. It was to their credit that they rallied to make 233 thanks to a defiant 52 from Mark Cummins and solid contributions from Marcus Walmsley (42), Ian Nicholson (42), Iain Wardlaw (37).

Fourth-placed Undercliffe timed their pursuit of Pudsey St Lawrence's 224-8 as they inflicted a fourth-defeat on the Tofts Road side. Opener Ammer Mirza set the tone with 73 and former Yorkshire player Ashley Metcalfe completed the job with an unbeaten 49.

There were half-centuries for left-handers Chris Marsden (53) and Dave Hester (52), plus 43 from David Stiff but St Lawrence's score was below par on a good batting track and credit for that is due to Tom Hudson (4-45) and Nawaz Sardar (3-61).

Gulsheraz Ahmed of Manningham Mills in action at East Bierley. Picture Copyright JCT600 Bradford League

Division Two

Whereas 32 points covers all of the teams in Division One, Lightcliffe head Division Two by a wider margin - 42 points to be exact.

They took another step towards promotions with a comfortable 30-run win at Morley.

Left-arm spinner Chris Greenwood weaved his magic again with 5-20 as the Morley innings faltered after 15-year-old opener James McNichol departed for 38.

There was late resistance from Morley skipper Dave Nebard (38) before the home side were dismissed for 147 in reply to Lightcliffe's 177-6.

James Horne (58no) and Alex Stead (52) proved the bulk of the Lightcliffe runs.

Second-placed Bowling old lane became the latest victims of in-form Great Horton. Saqdaqat Zaman took 5-28 as Old Lane perished for 154 in reply to Great Horton's 243-9. Junaid Bashir (37no) and Raheel Ahmed (35) led the way despite the efforts of spinner Mohammed Hanif (4-82) and Zubair Najeeb (3-39).

Hartshead Moor's Reece Jennison made the day's highest individual score of 131 but ended up on the losing side. Jennison hit five sixes and 16 fours and shared in an opening stand of 114 with Graham Hilton (40) as Hartshead Moor made 292-7.

Bankfoot were undaunted by the size of the target and were guided to a six-wicket victory with ten balls to spare as opener Gary Wainwright struck an unbeaten 121. He struck a six and 16 fours and received good support from James Houldsworth (76) and Micky Hutchins (48) who both added quick runs at just the right time

Third-placed Keighley picked up maximum points as they defeated Saltaire by 61 runs. Steve Reape (55), Simon Bailey (53), Jonathan Wilkinson (42), and Freddie Pearson (30) took them to a total of 261-7, then Richard Robinson (5-33) and Ross Towler (3-36) struck as Saltaire - despite 61 from Javid Umarji - were bowled out for 200.

Off spinner Damon Gormley returned season's-best figures of 6-24 as Yeadon bowled out Brighouse for 90 to secure a 199-run win. Earlier, Kassir Maroof continued his good form with 86, while Oliver Halliday chipped in with an unbeaten 64 and Shabhan Raheem (41).

West Indian all-rounder Carleon Brome took 7-34 as Idle dismissed Windhill for 93 as they triumphed by five wickets. Nick Sugden top-scored for Idle with 34.

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