JCT 600 Bradford League First Teams review May 31, 2008

Bradford & Bingley bowl out Brighouse for just 25

Posted: May 31, 2008

Veteran seamer Richard McCarthy took six for 12 and Will Briggs (4-12) as Bradford & Bingley skittled woeful Brighouse for just 25 to secure a 282-run win which enabled them to extend their lead at the head of the JCT 600 Bradford League Division One table to 18 points.

The match was a no contest with Bradford & Bingley hammering 307-6 before bowling out Brighouse in just 14.4 overs to claim a 20 point maximum. Hopefully much tougher tests lie ahead for Phil Slater's men.

Sri Lankan Amila Ranga (86), Scott Etherington (63), Carl Sharp (57) and Mark Beckett (49no) all plundered the Brighouse bowling attack.

Woodlands are now second on 100 points after their nail-biting two-wicket win over East Bierley. They looked to be heading for an easy victory when they reached 59-1 in reply to East Bierley's score of 110 all out, but Chris Elstub transformed the match with three overs during an inspired spell of seven for 43 which reduced Woodlands to 92-8.

Elstub's victims included opener Sam Frankland who played the game's outstanding innings on a wicket of variable bounce. Frankland hit 11 fours before surrendering his wicket when he was stumped by Greg Wood making an ill-timed charge at Elstub. Safraz Ahmed (20no) and young Adam Wood (4no) played sensibly to guide their side home to a victory that looked like being snatched away from them.

East Bierley, who have seen their title challenge fade with three successive defeats which have dropped them from first to fifth, never looked comfortable when they batted first. Gharib Razak fell to the first ball of the innings and that set the tone. Greg Wood top scored with 25 before he was brilliantly caught at silly mid off by Tosh Baker. Left arm spinner Chris Brice, having his first bowl since recovering from a serious knee injury, took four for four.

Pudsey Congs continued their revival by beating third-placed Baildon by 74 runs. Left arm spinner Glenn Roberts took five for 37 as Baildon collapsed from 105-2 to 127 all out. Matthew Duce top scored with 35.

Congs had set up their third successive win by making 201-5 when they batted first. Andrew Bairstow top scored with 43 before retiring hurt with a side injury. Skipper Matthew Doidge (40) was the other main contributor. The victory lifts Congs to sixth place.

Hanging Heaton and Cleckheaton are two more sides on the up. Hanging Heaton leap-frogged East Bierley into fourth place after beating Manningham Mills by five wickets. Chris Schofield continued his rich vein of bowling form by taking four for 16 as Mills were dismissed for 111. Paceman Nick Summerscales took three for 27. James Stansfield hit 33 not out as Hanging Heaton eased to their target.

Cleckheaton's third successive win was a 74-run triumph over lowly Bowling Old Lane. Mohammad Zaman continued his outstanding start to the season by making a rapid 74 not out off just 54 balls with three sixes and eight fours. He then followed up by taking five for 60 as Old Lane were restricted to 175-9 in reply to Cleckheaton's 249-4.

Overseas player Louis Aspelling made 79, his highest score for Cleckheaton, while Ian Nicholson made 52, Old Lane's top scorer was Mohammad Hanif with 54.

Second-wicket pair Mark Robertshaw (85no) and Michael Raikes (62no) shared an unbroken partnership of 135 as Pudsey St Lawrence coasted to a nine-wicket win over struggling Saltaire. The visitors had been dismissed for an inadequate 170. Javed Umarji top scored with 44 but his colleagues failed to cope with the off spin of Chris Marsden (4-27).

Yeadon climbed above Saltaire and Bowling Old Lane into 11th place after defeating Esholt by 41 runs in the battle of the promoted clubs. Opener Andrew Robertson battled his way to a top score of 56 as Yeadon made 158-8 despite the efforts of Paul Cummins (4-34), and Mark Cummins (3-34). Esholt's batting crumbled disappointingly. They plunged from 90-2 to 117 all out as off spinner Grant Soames took four for 26.

Idle made it seven wins out of seven as they gained a 20-point maximum against suffering Spen Victoria to strengthen their position at the top of Division Two.

Overseas player Mohammad Fayyaz had a superb game. He made 109 - his second successive century - to guide his side to a score of 243-8 before taking five for 33 with his leg spin as Spen were dismissed for 139. Fayyaz struck four sixes and nine fours and his efforts were built on by former Spen player John Barton who blasted 43. Spen's top scorer was tail ender Imran Amin who made 44.

Farsley are 11 points behind Idle in second place after a six-wicket victory over Windhill. Seamer Robert Thornton set up the win by taking four for 32 as Windhill were restricted to 183-8 on a good batting pitch.

Openers Harvey Anderson (56) and Danny Clayton (41) launched Farsley's reply with an opening stand of 95. In form Shabbir Rashid (40no) then steered his side home with eight overs to spare. Ammar Mahmood (3-47) was the pick of the Windhill bowlers.

Gomersal's third successive defeat saw them surrender third place to Keighley. The spirited efforts of Matthew Garside (40no) and Adam Greenwood (36) could not repair the damage done during a middle order collapse. Gomersal were bowled out for 153 to lose by 14 runs. Suleman Khan took four for 46 for Great Horton who made 167-9 with Mohammad Sharafat hitting 41 and Moin Ashraf (39no). Greenwood took four for 43 and Kashif Naveed (3-39).

Paul Quinlan took four for two and Russ Towler (3-48) as Keighley dismissed Lightcliffe for 73 to seal a 91-run win. Towler had earlier made 48not out as his side recovered from 73-6 to make 164-8. Opener Matthew Bottomley was the other main scorer while Joe Duffy (3-16) was Lightcliffe's best bowler.

Young James Hawley produced another key performance for Undercliffe. He took five for 11 as Hartshead Moor were dismissed for 119 to give Undercliffe a 64-run win. Another youngster, Andrew Duckworth, top scored with 67 in Undercliffe's innings of 183-9. Andy Waudby was the best Hartshead Moor bowler with four for 32.

Fast-improving Bankfoot had a crushing 151-run win over Morley. Once again South African Gareth Van Hosselin was in good form, making 85 as Bankfoot reached 217-6 batting first. Indifferent Morley were bowled out for just 66 with Andy Deegan taking 4-3 and skipper Robert Ellis (3-26).