JCT 600 Bradford League Second Teams review 2008

Leaders Esholt judge their run chase to perfection

Posted: May 25, 2008

Leaders Esholt recorded their fifth straight win when they judged their run chase to perfection to beat Farsley by two wickets with three balls to spare.

Teenage opener Dave Hester (83) set the tone for the innings and his good work was built on by his dad Chris (39) and John Morton (40) before Chris Dawson (57no) made the final push as Farsley's score of 273 was overhauled.

Farsley owed their total to a magnificent innings of 143 not out from Steve Cockshott who struck six sixes and ten fours. Cockshott shared an opening stand of 102 with James Higgins (46).

Champions East Bierley also have five wins out of five. They Reduced Esholt's lead to four points with a three wicket win over Lightcliffe. Paul Ellis raced to a half-century off 26 balls on his way to an unbeaten 89 which enabled East Bierley to pass Lightcliffe's score of 242-9. John Davis (68) was East Bierley's other main scorer.

The Lightcliffe inning included a determined century from opener Steve Hartley. He made 102 and was well supported by fellow opener Rob Crooks (48).

Third-placed Keighley maintained their good form with a three-wicket win over Yeadon. Alex Towler (4-34) and Paul Wilkinson (4-40) bowled out Yeadon for 127. The top scorers were Darren Machell (44) and Graham Simpson (34). Opener Tim Burnley made 39 as Keighley squeezed home.

The bottom two, newly-promoted Spen Victoria and Cleckheaton both recorded their first wins of the season. Spen beat Baildon by 34 runs with opener Derek Warriner continuing his good form by making 89 not out. Teenager Sean Raven hit 38 in a total of 202-8. Baildon were dismissed for 168.

Cleckheaton, last year's Division Two champions, scored a crushing nine-wicket win over Pudsey St Lawrence. Andy Porritt took four for 68 as St Lawrence were dismissed for 149 despite an unbeaten 46 from James Milligan. Cleckheaton romped to victory with Marcus Walmsley (74no) and Rhys Jowett (59) leading the way.

Bowling Old Lane recorded a 118-run win over Hanging Heaton. Old Lane piled up 302-9 with Shahid Alishan (77), Fazal Hussain (57) and Saeed Afsar (49) making the key contributions. Hanging Heaton were bowled out for 184 with Hussain taking four for 20.

Chris Brice, last year's Division One all-rounder of the year, marked his return after a cruciate ligament injury by scoring 68 and taking two for five as Woodlands defeated Pudsey Congs by 204 runs. Adam Wood (59), Tom Smallwood (39) and Greig Godfrey (37) also made telling contributions to a Woodlands total of 264-4. Congs were dismissed for a paltry 60 despite an unbeaten 40 from skipper Michael Oldfield. Spinner Michael Pearson took four for 20.

Manningham Mills joined Morley at the top of Division Two after a thrilling two-wicket win over Gomersal. Asif Amir (56), Amjad Tariq (55no) and Nadeem Ghalid (51) hit half centuries as Mills made 267-8 to snatch a 20-point win. Gomersal had made 263 with Zamir Hussain hitting 76. The best Mills bowler was Adnam Mahmood (4-27).

Morley chalked up their fourth win in five starts as they defeated Saltaire by four wickets. Graham Roberts took four for 32 and Dave Goodlad (3-19) as Saltaire were dismissed for 133, then Andy Hayward top scored with 31 as Morley edged home.

Great Horton looked in deep trouble when they plunged to 18-5 against Bradford & Bingley, but they recovered to make 230 all out on their way to a 94-run win. Masood Rana (76), Zubair Ashraf (45) and Shabir Ellahi (45) masterminded the recovery despite the efforts of Danny Trowers (4-35) and Adam Swallow (4-66) Bradford & Bingley were dismissed for 136 with Mohammad Ramzan picking up four for 35.

Danny Barlow blasted a rapid 92 not out to speed Hartshead Moor to a six-wicket win over Bankfoot in the basement battle. Barlow hit three sixes and 14 fours. Bankfoot, who batted first, were dismissed for 164 as Andy Halford claimed five for 39. Daniel Barstow top scored with 65 for Bankfoot.

Veteran Andy Wilsdon helped Undercliffe defeat Idle by seven wickets. He took four for six as Idle were dismissed for 137 and made 36 as Undercliffe secured victory. Liam Brearley also made 36.

Opener Luke Heinemann top scored for Idle with 55 while tail-ender Paul Wright chipped in with 32.

Richard Clow (55) and Andy Evans (47) inspired a four-wicket win for Windhill over Brighouse who were dismissed for 207. Danny Maguire (3-27), Lewis Dean (3-32) and Dave Pearce (3-55) bowled well for Windhill while Nigel Elkin top scored with 67 for Brighouse.