JCT 600 Bradford League First Teams review June 14, 2008

Hoggard makes his mark on the Division One title race

Posted: June 14, 2008

Yorkshire and England opening bowler Matthew Hoggard made his mark on the JCT 600 Division One title race in his first outing of the season for Baildon.

Hoggard took five for 39 as his side recorded a thumping ten-wicket win over Bradford & Bingley at Wagon Lane - a result which knocked the home club off the top of the table.

Bradford & Bingley, who saw their seven-match winning run come to an end at Woodlands last week, were bowled out for just 105. Baildon openers Simon Davies (56no) and skipper Ian Philliskirk (50no) knocked off the runs in 18.2 overs.

Bradford & Bingley's misery was compounded by the fact that they didn't pick up a single point and now find themselves second in the table nine points adrift of champions Woodlands who thrashed Yeadon by ten wickets.

Safraz Ahmed (5-34) and Pieter Swanepoel (4-36) dismissed Yeadon for just 61and then opener Scott Richardson hit a six and nine fours in a blistering 42no as Woodlands knocked off the runs in just 5.3 overs.

Although Woodlands head the table they know that the title race is hotting up. Just 17 points cover the top six clubs after wins for East Bierley, Pudsey Congs and Cleckheaton.

East Bierley's left arm spinner Luke Jarvis took five for 13 as they bowled out bottom team Brighouse for 115. Opener Christian Dunkerley provided the only real resistance with 40. East Bierley breezed to their victory target with Gharib Razak hitting 56.

Pudsey Congs and Cleckheaton both made it five wins on the trot. Congs defeated Manningham Mills by 98 runs and Cleckheaton beat Hanging Heaton by 51 runs.

Openers Alexis Twigg (75) and Mark Gill (69) shared a first-wicket stand of 142 as they laid the foundations for a Congs score of 268-4. Andrew Bairstow (54no) and skipper Matthew Doidge (35no) also chipped in with valuable runs

The target proved far to daunting for Mills who were restricted to 170-9 as former Yorkshire and Somerset off spinner Jeremy Batty took five for 42. Opener Adil Islam was the pick of the Mills batsmen with 51.

Cleckheaton's fifth straight victory was sealed by a fine spell of six for 30 from Ian Wood as Hanging Heaton were dismissed for 172 after getting off to a bright start through Chris Schofield (47) and overseas player Rizwan Ahmed (34).

South African opener Louis Aspelling led the way with 70 as Cleckheaton made 223-7 batting first. Mohammad Zaman (35) was the other main contributor while Nick Summerscales (3-63) was the most successful Hanging Heaton bowler.

Esholt moved further away from the relegation zone with an 80-run win over lowly Saltaire. Opener Mark Cummins was again in fine form making 54 and following up by taking three for 17 with his left arm spin as Saltaire perished for 81, Opening bowler Ben Lister (3-15) was the other main wicket taker.

One man who didn't deserve to be on the losing side was Saltaire's Indian spinner Rahul Kanwat. He took eight for 47 in Esholt's innings of 161-8.

Bowling Old Lane's relegation fears increased as they suffered a seven-wicket defeat against Pudsey St Lawrence. Teenage opener Chris Marsden thumped an unbeaten 104 for St Lawrence which included a six and 14 fours. Marsden shared in an unbroken third-wicket stand of 99 with skipper James Smith who blasted an unbeaten 56 as St Lawrence eased past the Old Lane score of 204-6.

The highlight of the Old Lane innings was the unbeaten 62 made by 17-year-old Fahid Rehman, the captain of the Bradford team in this year's Joe Lumb Competition. Mohammad Hanif (36) was the other main contributor to an Old Lane score of 204-6.

Just like Woodlands and Baildon, Division Two leaders Idle also recorded a ten-wicket win. They bowled out Great Horton for just 69 with leading wicket taker Mohammad Rassol taking seven for 34 and Tahir Mahmood (3-22). Idle knocked off the runs in 18 overs with overseas player Mohammad Rasool making 53 not out.

Idle have a four-point lead over Farsley who hit the day' s beat score of 308-9 as they defeated Morley by 104 runs. Former Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire batsman Ashley Metcalfe ended his run drought by making 111, while Jamaican Lorenzo Ingram blasted 101 - his second century for the club. Metcalfe struck three sixes and 14 fours, while Ingram hit two sixes and 14 fours. Nathan Bromby was easily the best of the Morley bowlers with five for 67.

Morley made 204-8 in reply with Danny Lloyd making a defiant 53 and Bromby (37) as Chris Henry took three for 47.

Bankfoot maintained their good run with a seven-wicket win at Undercliffe. Once again South African batsman Gareth Von Hoesslin played a key role. He made 59 not out and shared an un broken fourth-wicket stand of 96 with Craig Johnstone (36no). Earlier Undercliffe had found the going tough as Nigel Hanson (4-30) and Robert Ellis (3-30) put them under pressure.

There was joy for the bottom two who both pulled off impressive wins. Lightcliffe defeated Gomersal by 119 runs and Hartshead Moor beat Spen Victoria by eight wickets to record their first win.

Sean Robinson (47no), Javed Iqbal (38), James Horne (34) and Richard Nichols (33) helped Lightcliffe to post a challenging score of 224-6 before dismissing the normally free-scoring Gomersal side for 105. Adil Ladak took four for 35.

Matthew Evans struck a stunning 121 and opener Graham Hilton (77no) in a second-wicket partnership of 213 which was instrumental in guiding Hartshead Moor to victory as they overhauled a Spen Victoria score of 258-7 which included a second century of the season for Naeemuddin Qazi. The left hander made 106 and was well supported by Mohammad Maroof (76) before Evans picked up four for 48.

The loss of six overs to rain proved crucial in the game between Windhill and Keighley. It meant that Keighley could only bat for 44 overs while their opponents had the full 50 and so the game was declared incomplete with both teams collecting two points plus bonuses.

Windhill made 192-8 thanks to and unbeaten 47 from Iqbal Khan and 44 from Sadaquat Zaman. Keighley replied with 177-9.