Scorching temperatures and red hot cricket |
Posted June 10, 2006
The scorching temperatures were matched by some red-hot cricket on a day of high scores, drama and some surprise results.
Champions Woodlands piled up 348 for six on their way to victory over Farsley, Keighley climbed off the bottom after pushing Pudsey Congs all the way in a high-scoring thriller, and Bradford & Bingley inflicted a third successive home defeat on Pudsey St Lawrence.
That result opened the way for East Bierley to climb up to third after defeating Idle by 105-runs so there are now four genuine contenders for the league championship.
The drama wasn't confined to Division One. The leading two, Great Horton and Bankfoot were beaten by Bowling Old Lane and Spen Victoria respectively. The tightness of the competition is reflected by the fact that just 28 points seperate leaders Great Horton and ninth place Spen Victoria.
After so many damp and cold days it was nice to have scorching conditions and pitches which gave the batsmen the chance to shine.
Champions Woodlands are now five points clear of Pudsey Congs at the top after their 83-run success against Farsley. Last season this fixture was mired in controversy, this time it will be remembered for some fine batting.
Yorkshire player Richard Pyrah led the way for Woodlands with a stylish 91 which contained three sixes and 11 fourrs. He was joined in a third wicket stand of 114 by the in-form Nicky Rushworth who made 56.
After they had departed the fireworks started. Skipper Tim Orrell, coming in at number six after a run of disappointing scores, blazed his way to a 24-ball half-century which included two sixes and nine fours.
But even his efforts were upstaged by Adam Goldthorpe. He hit four sixes and six fours as he sprinted to a half-century off just 17 balls - the fastes of the season. Orrell finished unbeaten on 62 while Goldthorpe was dismissed for 56 as Woodlands finished on 348 for six.
It was to Farsley's credit that they made a very positive reply. They were eventually bowled out for 265, but not before their two in-form batsmen Ashley Metcalfe and Steve Simpson made their mark.
Opener Simpson made 64 with 60 of his runs coming in boundaries, two sixes and 12 fours. But the top innings of the game came from skipper Metcalfe who struck four sixes and 17 fours while makingan impressive 115. His efforts ensured that Farsley secured maximum batting points to go with the three bowling points they earned.
Woodlands bagged their first maximum of the season and look to be clicking into top gearas the season heads towards the halfway stage.
Like Metcalfe, Keighley's Australian batsman Rob Bartlett made a century in a losing cause. He hammered five sixes and 12 fours in an innings of 114 which threatened to give Keighley a shock win over title-chasing Pudsey Congs.
Opener Matthew Bottomley (61) shared a second-wicket stand of 158 with Bartlett as Keighley pursued Pudsey Congs' score of 270 for seven. After Bartlett departed Richard Robinson (31no) was Keighley's main hope, but wickets tumbled annd Keighley finished on 255 for seven.
Neil Gill (3-23) and Glenn Roberts (3-90) were the most successful bowlers for Congs who had earlier built their formidable score around on the fine base set b y openers Bradley Parker and Andy Bethel. They shared a stand of 153 with Parker continuing his run of good scores with 84 and Bethel making a season's best 74.
Congs collected 18 points to move into second place while Keighley, by virtue of the eight points they earned, moved off the bottom at the expense of Morley who suffered a six-wicket defeat against Baildon.
East Bierley are now third after collecting 20 points against Idle.The highlights of their 105-run win were a magnificent 135 from opener John Proud and another five wickets for Jaffer Nazir.
East Bierley's 275 for six, which also included a stylish 43 from Thomas Owens, proved too big a challenge for Idle. They were bowled out for 170 despite a promising 41 from their new Sri Lankan batsman Sudjit Janaka. Nazir finished with five for 54.
East Bierley are now two points ahead of faltering Pudsey St Lawrence who lost at home for the third successive week. This time their conquerors were Bradford & Bingley who eased home by 32 runs.
The visitors, fresh from a narrow one-wicket win over Baildon, appeared full of confidence as they batted first and made 256 for six to guarantee maximum batting points.
Skipper Carl Sharp made a welcome return to form with a fine innings of 90 and he was well supported by Craig Cockshott who made 61 and Mark Beckett (36no).
St Lawrence's highly-rated batting line up again cracked under the pressure of chasing a challenging score. They were restricted to 224 for eight by some good bowling from off spinner Matthew Cockshott (4-38). Mark Robertshaw (44), Andrew Doidge (36), Gary Fellows (34) and Alex Stead (32) all got starts but could not make the big score that St lawrence needed.
Saltaire's match with Cleckheaton featured two century opening stands, but while Saltaire cashed in on theirs, Cleckheaton were left to rue the fact that they didn't.
Everything looked to be going smoothly for Cleckheaton when Adam Patel (75) and Mark Gill (60) added 135 for the first wicket. However, their remaining nine wickets yielded only 70 runs and they were bowled out for a disappointing 205 given the start they had. Gulsheraz Ahmed was the most successful bowler with three for 50.
Saltaire's innings was launched with a partnership of 136 by Gharib Razak (95) and Wasim Munawar (58). Razak hit 14 fours while Munawar struck a six and nine fours. Saltaire past their opponents' score for the loss of just their openers to record an emphatic eight-wicket win.
Morley slipped to the bottom of the table when they suffered a six-wicket defeat against Baildon. Once again their brittle batting cracked with only Colin Nuthall (37) and Gavin Goodlad (23no) making any kind of impression as their side were dimsissed foor 123 with spinner Mushtaq Ahmed taking three for 30.
Baildon, who have shown indifferent batting form this season, slid to 34 for four before wicketkeeper Matthew Duce hit an unbeaten 56. His half century came up off 36 balls with two sixes and eight fours.
Brighouse ended their recent slump with a 75-run win over lowly Hanging Heaton. Rizwan Ahmed (67) and Haroon Rashid (56) were in fine form, while Mark Gilliver (35) and skipper James Stansfield (34no) chipped in with valuable runs as a total of 238 for nine was posted.
Ahmed enjoyed a fine all-round display and took five for 49 as Hanging Heaton were dismissed for 163. Chris Schofield (64) was the one Hanging Heaton batsman to look at ease.
Division Two leaders Great Horton saw their unbeaten record shattered as they suffered a two-wicket defeat against Bowling Old Lane - a side who seem to specialise in close results.
Mohammed Sharafat tried hard to rally his side making the top score of 58 as his side made 198 all out and followed up by taking four for 40 as Bowling Old Lane edged home.
Ziafat Ashraf (42) was the other main contributor for Great Horton as Mohammed Hanif (3-41) and Malik Aftab (3-51) proved to be the main wicket takers for Old Lane.
Every batsman made double figures for Bowling Old Lane when they replied. Opener Khalid Rehman top scored with 31.
Old Lane's win moves them into third-place while Great Horton, who started the day with a 17-point lead, now have only a seven-point advantage over Manningham Mills.
The Mills moved into second place with a three-wicket win over Undercliffe. Sohail Hussain hit an unbeaten 77 to steer his side home after they had plunged to 81 for six in reply to Undercliffe's score of 195 all out. James Clarke (55) top scored for Undercliffe.
Bankfoot, who started the day in second place, dropped to fifth after losing by seven-wickets to Spen Victoria. Chris Elstub continued his good form for the home side with five for 52 as Bankfoot were dismissed for 147. Opener Simon Curry made 59 for Bankfoot.
Spen skipper Matt Taylor found his form by making 69 as Spen eased home. Elstub 34 not out steered his home to their target.
Esholt moved into fourth place with a 36-run success over Lightcliffe. Basil King (95) and skipper Richard Whitehurst (81) were in great form as Esholt were dismissed for 261. Dean Heyhoe (3-58) and James Horne (3-69) were the most successful bowlers.
Lightcliffe lost wickets at regular intervals, but continued to chase the runs. Jonathan Wilson added 46 to his growing tally of runs while Aleem Ladak struck out boldly hitting six sixes and five fours in an unbeaten 56 which guaranteed Lightcliffe four batting points. Ben Lister took four for 51 for Esholt.
Gomersal have climbed to sixth after three straight wins. Their latest success, by just 18 runs against bottom team Windhill, owed much to a fine performance from skipper Rob Burton.
Gomersal were struggling at 94 for six when Burton was joined at the wicket by 17-year-old bowler Joel Pollard. Together they shared an unbroken stand of 158 with Burton making an impressive 106 not out and Pollard hitting his best league score of 48 not out.
Burton's innings contained three sixes and 14 fours. He followed it up by taking three for 14 as Windhill, after some positive strokeplay from Kevin Dewhirst (72) and Maz Bhatti (49), faltered and were dismissed for 234.
Hartshead Moor climbed out of the re-election position at the expense of Yeadon who they defeated by six wickets. Overseas player Shoaib Khan (57) and Graham Hilton (42) steered their side home as they overhauled a Yeadon total of 203 for four. Steve Lawrence's consistent form continued as he made 58 for Yeadon while John Henry made 51.
