JCT 600 Bradford League First Teams review July 19, 2008

Posted: July 19, 2008

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Baildon's Matthew Hoggard bowls to Pudsey St Lawrence opener Mark Robertshaw.

England's loss was Baildon's gain as Yorkshire opening bowler Matthew Hoggard helped them to a valuable seven-wicket win over Pudsey St Lawrence at Tofts Road.

While England's bowlers were struggling to make an impact against South Africa just a few miles down the road at a Headingley ground the experienced swing bowler knows so well, Hoggard enjoyed his second outing of the season with Baildon.

His figures of two for 50 may not have been as outstanding as he might have hoped for, but his presence was crucial to a Baildon side which currently has three of its seam bowlers, Craig Hitchenor, Stuart Lemon and Andy Walker all injured and unable to bowl.

All eyes might have been on Hoggard at the start of the game, but by the end of it the man everybody was talking about was all-rounder Ahsan Butt. He took six for 51 as Pudsey St Lawrence subsided to 183-9 and then made an unbeaten 72 as Baildon, despite losing 12 overs to rain, reached their victory target in 34 overs.

Butt, who hit two sixes and 11 fours, was joined in a decisive third-wicket stand of 113 by his skipper Ian Philliskirk who struck three sixes and six fours in a robust innings of 67 before being bowled by Gary Severn (3-61) when victory was in sight.

In the St Lawrence innings, young Michael Raikes caught the eye with a patient innings of 61, while skipper James Smith made 42. Together they added 71 for the fourth-wicket, but once they were parted the innings quickly subsided as Butt weaved his magic.

The win earned 17 points for Baildon and with four of their fellow title rivals, East Bierley, Pudsey Congs, Bradford & Bingley and Cleckheaton frustrated by the rain, it was sufficient to move them from sixth to third place.

The only other side in the title race to beat the weather were leaders Woodlands. They defeated Manningham Mills by 26 runs and they had to thank their giant pace bowler Safraz Ahmed for their latest triumph.

Safraz took five for 31 as Mills were dismissed for 103 in reply to another disappointing Woodlands score of 129-9. Former Yorkshire opener Scott Richardson (38) was their top scorer while Amjid Khan picked up three for 38 for Mills.

The win enabled Woodlands to extend their lead from three to nine points on an afternoon when it looked for a while as if they might be surrendering top spot to East Bierley.

The second-placed club powered to 301-5 against a much-weakened Hanging Heaton side, Andrew Rennison led the way with an unbeaten 97 which contained five sixes and eight fours, while Lee Goddard (48), Greg Wood (46) and Gharib Razak (46) all punished the makeshift Hanging Heaton attack.

Bierley's hopes of victory were shattered when rain shaved five overs off the Hanging Heaton innings. To secure the ten points for the win they had to bowl their opponents out, but Hanging Heaton clung on at 177-6 to ensure they did not achieve their objective. East Bierley had to settle for ten points from the game.

Even that tally was better than the points returns achieved by Pudsey Congs, Bradford & Bingley and Cleckheaton. Bradford & Bingley dropped from third to fifth when play was abandoned without a ball being bowled in their match at Yeadon.

Pudsey Congs were hoping to repeat last Sunday's Sovereign Health Care Priestley Cup quarter-final triumph at Esholt, but the rain ruined the possibility of an exciting finish. Congs reached 201-6 in their 50 overs with Essex all-rounder James Middlebrook making 57, Adam Patel (37) and skipper Matthew Doidge (36no). Esholt started well in reply with the Cummins brothers Paul (65no) and Mark (44) sharing a stand of 108, but the rain was the eventual winner with Esholt finishing on 140-2 off 41 overs. Congs picked up seven points.

Cleckheaton had to settle for six points when their game at Saltaire was abandoned with the encounter evenly poised. Cleckheaton were 113-6 in reply to Saltaire's 145-8 in a match reduced to 44 overs a side by a delayed start. Mohammad Zaman was not out 50 when rain finally washed out play while Tim Linley (5-53) had given Saltaire hope. Overseas player Rahul Kanwat (39) was Saltaire's top scorer while leg spinner Tom Pringle took four for 56 for Cleckheaton.

To add to Saltaire's frustration they dropped into the relegation zone because Bowling old Lane defeated Brighouse in the basement battle by eight wickets. Ayaas Akram took five for 30 and Zubair Najeeb (3-18) as Brighouse, despite 38 from James Crighton, were dismissed for 112

Old Lane knocked off the runs in 20 overs with Rashid Ramzan continuing his good form with an unbeaten 57 which contained two sixes and six fours.

Third-placed Gomersal suffered a setback to their hopes of snatching one of the promotion places in Division Two when they suffered a 97-run defeat against Keighley.

For once the powerful Gomersal batting line up malfunctioned with only overseas player Kashif Naveed (50no) showing any real resistance as they were bowled out for 130 with Ross Towler taking four for 55, while Max Davidson (3-44) and Dale Towler (3-21) completed the demolition.

Naveed might consider himself unfortunate to end on the losing side because he also took a hat-trick in Keighley's innings of 223-8. Nasser Hussain (4-35) was the most successful Gomersal bowler while the main scorers for Keighley were opener Richard Robinson (74) and Paul Quinlan (31no).

Farsley extend their advantage at the top to 14 points with a 37-run win at Great Horton. Jamaican Lorenzo Ingram again caught the eye with 63 while Shabbir Rashid continued his good form with 35 in a Farsley total of 207-8. Great Horton laboured in reply with Moin Ashraf (43) their top scorer as Harvey Anderson picked up three for five with his occasional spin.

Farsley collected 18 points - two more than second placed Idle achieved for their 43-run win over Bankfoot. Once again skipper Dan Shuffe with 56 was the main contributor to a disappointing score of 135 all out. Andy Deegan (4-24) and Nigel Hanson (3-44) were the pick of the Bankfoot bowlers.

Bankfoot were dismissed for 92 - a score that would have been considerably lower if the last wicket pair of Deegan (25no) and Andrew Stothart had not put on 35. Tahir Mahmood took four for 11 for Idle while former Bankfoot bowler Andy Marshall picked up three for 20.

Spen Victoria climbed out of the re-election positions at the expense of Morley who they d defeated by two wickets. Imran Amin took four for 31 as Morley were dismissed for 126. Spen edged home thanks largely to veteran Maz Bhatti (26no) while former Spen junior Tom Smith took three for 29 for Morley.

The day's only century was scored by Undercliffe's overseas player Nawaz Sardar. Five sixes and 11 fours flowed from his bat as he made 113 in his team's total of 273-6 against Lightcliffe. James Hawley (44no) and Ben heritage (39) were the other key contributors.

Lightcliffe plunged to 29-5 as Sardar took four for 20, but had recovered to 151 without further loss when play was abandoned. Australian Sean Robinson was 78not out and Paul Ramsden (41no).

Bottom team Hartshead Moor suffered a 102-run defeat against Windhill in a match reduced to 35 overs a side after a delayed start. Iqbal Khan (51no), Mohammad Altaf (47) and Sadaqat Zaman (31) steered Windhill to a score of 187-6. Hartshead Moor could only manage 85-8 in reply.