JCT 600 Bradford League First Teams review July 12, 2008

There's no escape for Woodlands as Mushtaq weaves his magic

Posted: July 12, 2008

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Undercliffe's overseas player Nawaz Sardar is bowled by Farsley's Robert Thornton

Baildon blasted the JCT 600 Bradford League Division One title race wide open by beating champions Woodlands by 23 runs.

Left arm spinner Mushtaq Ahmed was his side's match-winner with figures of six for 22 as Woodlands crumbled to 116 all out in reply to Baildon's 139-9 in a match reduced to 40 overs a side.

The result means that Woodlands' lead over East Bierley has been cut to three points and just 24 points cover the top six teams. It all makes for a fascinating finale to the season.

After a number of lucky escapes in recent matches where they have scraped narrow wins, Woodlands' luck finally ran out at Jenny Lane.

Once again their brittle batting cracked under pressure from the magnificent Mushtaq. Only opener Sam Frankland (40) played with any assurance.

In the Baildon innings, Simon Webb top scored an unbeaten 35, while skipper Ian Philliskirk (27) and Matthew Duce (25) made valuable runs. Chris Brice was the pick of the Woodlands bowlers with three for 16.

Baildon who are in sixth place will no doubt look at the 24 point gap between themselves as Woodlands and believe that their title hopes are alive again.

The same is most definitely true for East Bierley, Bradford & Bingley, Pudsey Congs and Cleckheaton who will all draw strength from Woodlands' defeat.

East Bierley moved to within three points of the leaders with an emphatic seven-wicket win over Yeadon. Chris Elstub (3-24) and spinner Luke Jarvis (3-11) helped put the skids under their lowly visitors who were dismissed for 108. East Bierley powered to victory in just 14 overs with Lee Goddard making 42 and Greg Wood (38).

Bradford & Bingley are a further nine points back in third place after a hard-fought 20-run win over Cleckheaton at Wagon Lane. Skipper Phil Slater (40) and overseas player Amila Ranga (38) fought hard to carry their side to a score of 139 all out on a pitch which assisted the bowlers. Leg spinner Tom Pringle took five for 18 for Cleckheaton.

The visitors also found runs hard to come by with only Ian Nicholson (38) coming to terms with a Bingley attack spearheaded by old maestro Richard McCarthy (3-21) as they were dismissed for 119.

Pudsey Congs climbed above Cleckheaton into fourth place, two points behind Bradford & Bingley, after a six-wicket win over Bowling Old Lane. Andrew Bairstow (49no) and Adam Patel (41) led their side to victory as they overhauled an Old Lane score of 151-7. Rashid Ramzan (37) was the top scorer for Old Lane who were kept in check by a Congs attack spearhead by Tom Glover (3-40) and Mohammad Naved (3-41).

All-rounder Chris Schofield opened the batting and the bowling for Hanging Heaton as he produced a match-winning performance in their eight-wicket triumph over Saltaire. Schofield first made an impact with the ball as he took five for 49 as Saltaire made 178-9. Overseas player Rahul Kanwat batted well for 56 while former Hanging Heaton stalwart Javed Umarji hit 32.

When Hanging Heaton batted, Schofield was in a hurry. He hit three sixes and nine four in an unbeaten 91. He shared in a second wicket stand of 144 with Haroon Rashid who made 56.

Brothers Paul Cummins (50) and Mark Cummins (39no) shared an opening stand of 84 as Esholt defeated Brighouse by nine-wickets. Brighouse were dismissed for 98 with Gulsheraz Ahmed taking three for 27.

Skipper James Smith hit three sixes and six fours in an unbeaten 69 as Pudsey St Lawrence defeated Manningham Mills by 49 runs. Thanks to Smith, St Lawrence posted a score of 174-7 before restricting their hosts to 125-8. Off spinner Chris Marsden took three for 31.

Farsley are 12 points clear in Division Two after defeating promotion hopefuls Undercliffe by 94 runs. Farsley blossomed after a cautious start and made an impressive score of 194-6. Shabbir Rashid led the way with a robust innings of 63 which contained four sixes and four fours. He shared in a crucial fifth-wicket stand of 83 with Ashley Metcalfe (33).

Undercliffe lost two wickets in Chris Henry's opening over before a run had been scored and they never really recovered. They were eventually all out for 100 with Henry finishing with three for 17

Idle, who were relegated along with Farsley last season, recorded a valuable 52-run win at keighley in a match reduced to 35 overs each.

Idle recovered from 39-4 to post a challenging 166-7 thanks to the efforts of Andy Marshall (36no), John Barton 933) and Mark Nicklin (28). Keighley were restricted to 114-8 in reply as spinner Mohammad Fayyaz took four for 39 and Andy Marshall (3-30).

Third-placed Gomersal proved too good for faltering Morley. Richard Gould (76no) and Bradley Parker (70) powered them to a six-wicket success at Scatcherd Lane. Morley made 171-7 with Dave Nebard making 43 and Michael Davies (34). Skipper Rob Burton was the pick of the Gomersal bowlers with four for 51, while Nasser Hussain took three for 46.

Nigel Hanson (3-39) and Andy Stothart (3-20) helped bowl out Spen Victoria for 103 as Bankfoot secured a four-wicket win. Imran Amin took four for 44 for Spen who had too few runs to defend.

Lightcliffe leap-frogged over Spen and out of the relegation positions as they defeated bottom team Hartshead Moor by eight wickets. Skipper Richard Nichols took four for 22 and off spinner Dean Heyhoe (5-17) as Lightcliffe dismissed Hartshead Moor for just 58. Jonathan Wilson hit an unbeaten 21 to steer Lightcliffe to victory.

Overseas player Ammar Mahmood took four for 18 and Dan Drake (3-33) as Windhill dismissed Great Horton for 104 on their way to a four-wicket win. Mohammad Sharafat (3-28) and Suleman Khan (3-42) bowled well for Great Horton but Windhill eased home by four wickets.