KEIGHLEY had a nightmare trip to relegation-threatened Morley at the weekend in Division One of the Bradford Premier League, losing by nine wickets.

Keighley were looking to reverse their previous weekend's defeat to high-flying Carlton, and it looked like a good start when stand-in Keighley skipper Billy Whitford won the toss and elected to bat first on what looked to be a good batting track and to avoid his team fielding and toiling in the afternoon heat.

And it was Whitford himself who led from the front with a bright 37 before his innings came to an untimely end when he was caught in the deep.

Overseas star Noah McFadyen, as consistent as ever, picked up the baton but he couldn’t find a partner as wickets tumbled with some poor shot selections.

McFadyen eventually fell for 41 and other than a quickfire 22 from Ijaz Ahmed, the Keighley innings crumbled to a very disappointing 152 all out in just the 40th over.

Seizing the advantage, Morley’s opening pair of Jack Rowett and Matt Baxter gave the Keighley bowling attack no time to settle in and with both batsmen playing positively, it was always going to be hard to defend such a low total.

Simon Bailey managed to remove Baxter for 63 but Rowett held firm and his 75 not out steered his side to a nine-wicket thrashing in just the 19th over.

Keighley’s next fixture will not be any easier when they entertain table toppers Jer Lane at Lawkholme this coming weekend.

Keighley’s reserves are back in the mix for promotion though after they beat visiting Hopton Mills by five wickets in Reserves Division Two of the Bradford Premier League.

Keighley skipper Jamie Wilmshurst lost the toss and was inevitably asked to field first on another flat batting deck.

The away team started brightly and soon had 33 on the board, but the canny Wilmshurst changed tactics, taking pace off the ball at both ends.

Using his young spin attack of Louie Wilkinson (3-52) and Mohammed Abbas proved key as the Hopton batsman struggled to get the ball off the square, with the ball also getting extra bounce and spin.

Abbas was particularly impressive, taking 5-50, as Hopton Mills batted out their allotted 45 overs and made 175-9.

In reply openers, Humayan Shahzad (48) and Ben Weatherall (29) got the home side off to a great start putting on 76 for the first wicket.

But then came a mini collapse, as the Lawkholme Laners went from 76-1 to 92-5.

Fortunately, Lucas Keslinke and Mohammed Hussain (24 not out) held their nerve and put on an unbeaten partnership of 84 to get Keighley to the winning target in the 39th over with five wickets to spare.

Keslinke finished unbeaten on 67 and that win puts the seconds up to third in the table.

They travel to Brighouse this coming Saturday, who are top.