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Woodlands win but Old Lane push them all the way Posted August 27, 2006
Woodlands, who are 26 points clear at the top of Division One and face Townville in the Black Sheep Champions Trophy final at Hanging Heaton on September 17, were pushed all the way by the Division Two leaders. In the end Woodlands' greater experience saw them through, but Old Lane deserve massive credit for shaking the Bradford League champions to the core with a gutsy performance which suggests that they will not be out of place in the top flight if, as seems likely, they win promotion this season. Those who had been predicting that Woodlands only had to turn up to win, were no doubt already planning their early get away from the ground when Old Lane were reduced to eight for three after being put in by Woodlands. The pace and bounce generated by opening bowlers Safraz Ahmed and Pieter Swanepoel unsettled the early order. Skipper Tahir Khan struck a four in Ahmed's first over but was caught at point two balls later trying to repeat the shot. W hen Swanepoel had Rashid Ramzan caught by Murphy Walwyn and bowled Wajid Hussain for a duck, Old Lane were in deep trouble. Their prospects looked even bleaker when veteran Murphy Walwyn, 51 years old and playing in a record 12th final, trapped Mohammad Hussain lbw in his first over. At 33 for four the Old Lane innings appeared to be in disarray. Former Farsley batsman Naeem Ashraf and Imran Mirza - the team's two best batsmen - had other ideas. While Mirza played cautiously, Ashraf attacked. He made a breezy 32 before perishing in the first over after drinks. He charged left arm spinner Chris Brice in his first over and was bowled. Mirza continued to gather runs with neat cuts and deflections, but the scoring rate remained slow. At 90 Raqeeb Younis was caught by wicketkeeper Nicky Rushworth to give Walwyn his second wicket Amjid Khan showed good application as he helped Mirza add 49 for the seventh wicket before he was bowled by Walwyn for 15.Sadly for Old Lane their last four wickets fell for just five runs and Mirza was left stranded on 49 when the innings ended. Many of the crowd were applauding his half-century when they discovered his partner Kamran Siddique had been run out for one. It was tough on Mirza who hit a six and five fours. He richly deserved a half-century but he was cruelly denied. Walwyn was the most successful bowler with four for 43, while Swanepoel took three for 20. Old Lane knew that their score was 30 to 40 runs under par, but they set about defending their total of 144 with a ferocity that turned the match into a compelling contest. Woodlands seemed to be moving along comfortably until Zubair Najeeb had Russell Murray caught at point by Younis for eight. Nicky Rushworth looked full of confidence as he played a couple of bold strokes before he was also caught by Younis from the bowling of spinner Mohammad Hanif. Skipper Tim Orrell got off the mark with a straight six off Hanif which went through the windscreen of a car, before he was caught at slip by Asraf off Amjid Khan's bowling. Overseas professional Malik Aftab returned to the attack to trap Adam Goldthorpe lbw for six before spinner Mohammad Hanif struck two crucial blows. First he had top scorer Scott Richardson stumped by Mirza for 41 and then trapped Walwyn lbw for 14. Old Lane's supporters had the scent of a famous victory in their nostrils when Greig Godfrey - a late replacement for Richard Pyrah who was on Yorkshire duty - was given out caught behind by Mirza off Khan. Old Lane were ultimately undone by their decision to delay the introduction of their fifth bowler. When they did in the final stages it went drastically wrong. Younis gave away eight runs in his only over. Skipper Tahir Khan took over and conceeded 16 as Pieter Swanepoel seized on some poor deliveries. Swanepool raced to 26 before being caught by Mirza off Najeeb, but when Safraz smashed the seventh bowler used Kamran Siddique for four off his only ball the game was won. Left arm spinner Mohammad Hanif bowled beautifully to retrurn figures of three for 18 in his ten overs while Amjid Khan (2-32) and Najeeb (2-14) served their side well. Swanepoel was voted the Man of the Match by former Yorkshire and England captain Ray Illingworth. Old Lane were disappointed in defeat but they should not allow that sentiment to detract from the fact that they performed in a manner which reflects immense credit on their club and Division Two as a whole. Woodlands are the team everybody sets their standards by now and Old Lane pushed the champions closer to a fourth successive final defeat than they would have ever dared to imagine.
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Woodlands have won the Sovereign Health Care Priestley Cup final. They completed the first part of what they hope will be a treble-winning campaign with a nervy two-wicket win over the brave battler of Bowling Old Lane at Wagon Lane.
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