JCT 600 Bradford League First Teams review 2008

Unbeaten Bradford & Bingley take over at the top

Posted: May 24, 2008

Bradford & Bingley are the new leaders of the JCT 600 Bradford League Division One after an eventful afternoon which saw Woodlands lose their 32-game unbeaten record and East Bierley suffer their first defeat of the season.

Bradford & Bingley are now the only unbeaten team after recording their fifth straight success when they beat Esholt by six wickets. Sri Lankan all-rounder Amila Ranga took Bradford & Bingley to the top with a maiden century for his new club.

Ranga hit five sixes and nine fours in an unbeaten 106 which enabled Bradford & Bingley to overhaul an Esholt score of 214-6 which owed much to the efforts of opener Mark Cummins (69) and Phil Carter (47).

The win secured 17 points for Bradford & Bingley and took their tally for the season to 79 - which is two more than East Bierley and Baildon who share second place.

The biggest surprise of the day was Cleckheaton's six-wicket win over Woodlands which ended the champions' 32-match unbeaten league run which stretched back to September 3, 2006 when they were beaten by East Bierley in a 25-overs a side contest.

Cleckheaton, who had lost their three previous games, were swept to victory by an unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 147 between Mohammad Zaman (79no) and Craig Thornton (63no). They had come together with their side struggling at 43-4 in reply to a Woodlands total of 188-8.

Woodlands had been floundering at 56-6 before Tosh Baker revived his side with a superb innings of 85 not out. Big-hitting Safraz Ahmed (38no) joined him in a late flourish which threatened to take the game away from Cleckheaton.

East Bierley lost the leadership and their unbeaten record when they suffered a six-wicket defeat at Pudsey Congs. Babar Butt made a sparkling 88 not out as Congs timed their run chase to perfection in pursuit of East Bierley's total of 250-7. Andrew Bairstow (46) and Alexis Twigg (36) also made valuable contributions as Congs secured their second win of the season with eight balls to spare.

East Bierley's in form batsmen Greg Wood (86) and Andrew Rennison (59) shared a third-wicket stand of 120 which provided the main substance to their innings.

Baildon skipper Ian Philliskirk promoted himself to opener and blasted 110 as his side defeated Saltaire by 67 runs to move level with East Bierley in the table. Philliskirk's aggressive innings helped Baildon to post a score of 256-7 as Jonny Reynolds (37) and Ahsan Butt (34) built on his efforts. Saltaire's new Indian spin bowler Rahul Kunwat took four for 62 on his debut. Saltaire were restricted to 189-9 with Mohammad Nadim (47) their top scorer.

The day's highest scorers were Pudsey St Lawrence who piled up 339-2dec in 46.1 overs a s they thrashed bottom team Brighouse by 165 runs. Openers Alex Stead (187) and Mark Robertshaw (104) batted splendidly as they set a new club record opening stand of 281. Stead hit two sixes and 26 fours while Robertshaw struck two sixes and 15 fours.

Brighouse's innings was dominated by opener Faisal Butt who made a fluent 109 as the rest of the batting crumbled. Brighouse were dismissed for 174 with Gareth Clough taking four for 48.

Opening bowler Nick Summerscales took five for 18 as Hanging Heaton beat Bowling Old Lane by 109. He received good support from Chris Schofield (4-22) as Old Lane were bowled out for 110 despite a knock of 51 from Riaz Kail.

The Rashid brother Amar (54) and Haroon (35) set the tone for Hanging Heaton's total of 219-6. Skipper Alan Mynett, as he does so often, chipped in with an unbeaten 44 to swell the score.

Muenoddin Kadri (52) and Adil Islam (42) steered Manningham Mills to a three-wicket win over Yeadon who were bowled out for 161. Jon Henry top scored for Yeadon with 42.

Idle have taken over at the top of Division Two after defeating previous leaders Gomersal by two wickets. Left hander Greg Pickles, a winter recruit from Follifoot, made a magnificent 88 and skipper Dan Shuffe (44) as Idle made it five wins out of five and inflicted a first defeat on Gomersal.

Idle had to fight hard for their success and survived a late wobble against the bowling of left arm spinner Kashif Naveed (4-36) and Nasser Hussain (3-54) before securing their victory.

For Gomersal, opener Richard Gould made 87 to take his aggregate in the last three games to 355. He was well supported by Bradley Parker (27) and Naveed (34) as Gomersal reached 170-2 before suffering a dramatic slump which saw them restricted to a score of 202-8 which was far less than seemed likely when Gould was at the wicket. Leg spinner Mohammad Fayyaz caught the eye with three for 15.

Ashley Metcalfe had a mixed afternoon for third-placed Farsley in their 92-run win over Hartshead Moor. Out first ball as Farsley made 293-5, Metcalfe bounced back by taking five for 21 with his off spin as Hartshead Moor were dismissed for 201.

Farsley's impressive total owed much to the efforts of Shabbir Rashid who struck three sixes and nine fours in an unbeaten innings of 102. He shared a fourth-wicket stand of 155 with his skipper David Syers who hammered two sixes and seven fours in his score of 89.

Hartshead Moor skipper Simon North took four for 55 and followed up by top scoring with 67 as Hartshead Moor were dismissed for 201. Matthew Evans (55) was their other main contributor.

Fourth-placed Undercliffe proved too good for inconsistent Morley as they recorded a seven-wicket win. Morley plunged from 76-2 to 135 all out after skipper Matthew Taylor (42) departed. James Hawley was the main destroyer with five for 33.

Undercliffe cruised to victory with Mark Gilliver (39), Nawaz Sardar (37) and Andrew Duckworth (34) inflicting a third defeat of the season on Morley who find themselves third from bottom after their latest reverse.

Windhill's impressive overseas player Ammar Mahmood made 101 against Bankfoot but despite the efforts of himself and Luke Holroyd (69), they suffered an eight-wicket defeat at Bankfoot. Simon Curry (90), Gareth Von Hoesslin (77) and Micky Hutchins (47) carried Bankfoot past Windhill's score of 266 all out and ensured their side cashed in on the efforts of Nigel Hanson (5-67).

Keighley's batsmen inflicted more misery on Spen Victoria's suffering bowlers. Richard Robinson (86), Matthew Bottomley (84no) and Stuart Ratcliffe (65) powered their side to a score of 283-2 which set up a 95-run win. Spen's overseas player Naeemuddin Qazi (67) again impressed while James Baker chipped in with 55 before their side collapsed to 188 all out. Robinson (4-45), Ross Towler (3-59) and Max Davidson (3-29) shared the wickets.

Opener Mohammad Said (69), Suleman Khan (45) and Ziafat Ashraf (34no) carried Great Horton to a six-wicket win at Lightcliffe. Ashraf had earlier taken four for 29 as Lightcliffe made 190-9 with Sean Robinson making 74.