Posted July 23, 2006

Farsley skipper Ashley Metcalfe guided his side a giant step closer to avoiding relegation when he made an unbeaten 139 to help his side defeat second from bottom Keighley by 57 runs.

Metcalfe justified his decision to move up to opener by dominating his side's innings. He struck two sixes and 15 fours as he guided Farsley to an impressive total of 268 for five.

Steve Simpson (36) and Alex Blakeborough (33) gave him good support as the Keighley bowlers were made to toil.

Keighley made a spirited response but were dismissed for 211 despite a battling 51 from opener Steve Bottomley and 39 from skipper Steve Reape. Jan Gadzina (4-66) and Chris Henry (3-43) were the pick of the bowlers.

The result has enabled Farsley to climb above Cleckheaton in the table while Keighley remain rooted in the bottom two, 16 points adrift of Cleckheaton who are now third from bottom.

Cleckheaton whose form has been inconsistent all season, lost out by one-wicket to Pudsey Congs in a nail-biting game.

Cleckheaton looked to have little chance when they were dismissed for 150. Their innings went into decline after an opening stand of 51 between Adam patel (31) and John Wood (30). Of the remaining batsmen, only Khurram Shehzad (30) made an impact. The surprise destroyer was Babar Butt with five for 13.

Congs made hard work of overcoming Cleckheaton's modest total. All of their first six batsmen made double figures, yet Glenn Roberts (36) was comfortably their top scorer. Spinners Shehzad (4-59) and Tom Pringle (3-31) posed problems but Congs just squeezed home when overseas player Mohammed Azhar-Ullah hit a six to decide the outcome.

The value of the win became apparent when news filtered through of Pudsey St lawrence's six-wicket defeat by Baildon. That meant that Congs returned to second place, 22 points behind leaders Woodlands.

St Lawrence once again faltered at home. Their defeat by Baildon was their fourth at home this season and was a shattering blow to their hopes of honours.

Baildon were superior in all departments and were good value for their win. Baildon's bowlers exploited the damp wicket to the full with left- arm spinner Mushtaq Ahmed bowling magnificently to take five for 37.

St Lawrence who had been given a good start by openers Mark Whitehead (51) and Alex Stead (29) who shared a stand of 72, subsided to 208 for nine. Skipper Andrew Doidge (32) tried to rally his side but without success.

St Lawrence knew they had to exploit the conditions in similar fashion if they were to win, but their bowling was simply dreadful. Baildon's openers Colin DeGrandhomme and Simon Davies launched a withering assault.

It was easy to see why teenager DeGrandhomme is rated so highly in his native Zimbabwe. He hit the ball with ferocious power and launched a withering assault on St Lawrence's off spinner Chris Marsden when he joined the attack.

DeGrandhomme raced to his half-century off just 38 balls and had made 60 when he was bowled by Doidge. His partnership with Davies was worth 96.

Skipper Ian Philliskirk blasted a rapid 45 and Davies compiled an attractive 56 as Baildon cruised home with 15.4 overs to spare.

Champions Woodlands recovered from their poor batting display against Bradford & Bingley to secure a six-wicket win at Hanging Heaton.

Opener Scott Richardson - the former Yorkshire player - made an unbeaten 98 with three sixes and 14 fours as Woodlands overhauled Hanging Heaton's score of 197.

Nicky Rushworth (35) was the other main contributor for Woodlands as they secured victory with 20 overs to spare.

Hanging Heaton had owed their total to the contributions of skipper Alan Mynett (53no), Zak Morris (52) and Thilan Thushara (41). Left arm spinner Chris Brice again impresed with four for 54 while Richard Pyrah took three for 51.

Brighouse were the only winners on Saturday, but they came back to earth with a bump as Idle beat them by 53 runs to reclaim fifth place.

Openers Javed Umarji (52) and Paul Cummins (44) set Idle on course for a total of 221 for eight. Overseas player Rizwan Ahmed (3-61) and veteran David Jay (3-61) were Brighouse's chied wicket takers.

Brighouse lost wickets at regular intervals in reply. Richard Barron (43) and James Stansfield (34) fought hard, but Imran Dawood (5-17) ensured victory for Idle as Brighouse were dismissed for 168.

The outlook is bleak for Morley following their three-wicket defeat by Bradford & Bingley which leaves them rooted to the bottom of Division One.

Once again they paid dearly for a poor batting display. They plunged to 62 for five, and only recovered to reach 160 thanks to a fourth successive good knock from overseas Shehzad Butt. He again top scored with 45. Off spinner Matthew Cockshotyt was the pick of the Bradford & Bingley bowlers with four for 35.

Bradford & Bingley looked to be cruising to victory when skipper Carl Sharp (54) and Scott Etherington (27) added 84 for the first wicket. However the game took on a new look when the two openers fell in quick succession.

Spinners Steve Lane (4-29) and Dave Nebard (2-41) then made further inroads, but Richard McCarthy saw his side home with an unbeaten 26.

Paceman Greg Lambert took five for 36 as East Bierley defeated falteering Saltaire by 78 runs. Off spinner Grant Soames chipped in with three for four as Saltaire were dimsissed for 112. Gulsheraz Ahmed was their top scorer with 35.

East Bierley relied on the efforts of skipper Gavin Hamilton and overseas star Jaffer Nazir as they recovered from an uncertain start to make 190. Both Hamilton and Nazir made 59 while Imran Arif (5-38) and Mansa Khan (3-19) were the pick of the home bowlers.