Riddlesden on verge of Craven League title after double win

The No.4 hit 131 not out off just 67 balls, including 14 fours and 11 sixes as the promotion chasers triumphed at Hepworth & Idle III in Division Four, with the target being passed inside 24 overs.

Captain Tom Snowden (31 not out) helped him add 168 unbroken in the eight-wicket triumph that meant that themselves, despite their 40-point deduction, and Bowling Baptist II are level on 143 points, 33 behind Sutton II.

Hepworth & Idle had made 176-5 before declaring after 27 overs of a rain-hit match, with the wickets falling to TJ Berry (3-40) and Tom Storrie (2-39).

Sutton II won by nine wickets at Long Lee II, who were all out for 81 after being sent in.

Jaison Joseph (4-15) led the Sutton attack, backed up by Jack Middleton (2-18) and Ali Hussain (2-11).

Their batters then made small fry of that target, with skipper Craig Thornton 41 not out and Stuart Tillotson 29 not out, adding 76 unbroken for the second wicket.

Nine-man Airedale II batted at Bowling Baptist II and were rolled over for 63, despite 26 from Simon Hunter and 14 from keeper Trevor Cox.

Baptist still took 21 overs to triumph by nine wickets.

Ingrow bucked the overall trend by scoring 233 at Menston Crompark II, with Ateeq Munir making 77 off just 57 balls, including 11 fours and four sixes.

It was a little disappointing that total, as they collapsed from 232-6, but Crompark were then toppled for 61, as Abid Hussain took 6-11.

Bradley II conceded to Denholme II.

Cowling, who will probably have to settle for second place in Division One, were second best in the Wynn Cup final as well on Sunday at Airedale.

Sent in at the Airedale Oval, Gargrave made 180, losing their last wicket with just four balls of their allotted 40 overs remaining.

Initially it looked as if Cowling had made a wise choice as Gargrave were 30-3, with Hamid Ullah (3-23) taking all the wickets.

But Matthew Simpson (24) and Dave Harrop (22) dug in to add 48 for the fourth wicket before Chris Lambert (15) and Joe Wood (25) put on 33 for the sixth.

Then, much to Cowling’s frustration, last-wicket pair George Beckwith (11) and Will Storr (18no) elevated the score from 143 with a partnership of 37.

Danish Hameed dismissed Simpson, Harrop, Wood and Lambert on his way to 5-25.

Cowling’s reply never got going, as they were dismissed for 75, with their best stand being 28 for the seventh wicket between Laiq Ur Rehman (18) and Irfan Ishaq (10).

Wood led the way with the ball, taking 4-16 and dismissing four of the top six, while decent back up came from Ben Howlett (2-18) and George Beckwith (2-14).

Riddlesden made the most of their double weekend, winning both matches to go 35 points clear in Division One.

On Saturday, Riddlesden made 213-9 after being sent in by visitors Haworth Road Meths, despite no batter topping 36.

That score came from captain Mohammed Gulnawaz, with other contributions coming from Saqib Hussain (31) and Ehsan Khan (30).

Meths had two players making 30s in the reply, but they only totalled 125, with opening bowlers Mohammed Zulfiqar (4-23) and Moin Ahsan (3-28) doing the damage.

On Sunday, Riddlesden played their re-arranged home match against Denholme and scored 236 after being sent in.

Opener Zafran Ghaffar made 50, while Hussain hit 43 at No.6, with Gulnawaz (35) chipping in too.

Tim Shires took 3-33 and Ryan Judson 2-48 in a seven-man Denholme attack.

The visitors made a decent fist of their reply, scoring 164-9, led by opener Mushtaq Ahmed (62), with Mohammed Arshad returning 3-43.

The day before, Denholme had had an easy win over Haworth, who sent in the hosts.

Denholme made 171-7, with Adrian Shires top scing with an impressive 68.

Damian Rowell did well to take 3-28 off his 12 overs.

Haworth were then rumbled for 52, with only two players reaching double figures, as Ryan Clark (7-19) and Shires (3-22) proved almost unplayable. 

Second-placed Cowling had a much happier time on Saturday, trouncing bottom-of-the-table Sutton at Royd Hill by 167 runs.

Opting to bat, Cowling made 241-5, with skipper Martyn Dalby (60) and Laiq Ur Rehman (65no) leading the way.

Sutton’s Jibin Jacob did well to come out of all that with 2-29, but only opener George Elrick (32) and Tony Walton (14) managed double figures in their 74 after tea as three bowlers took all the wickets.

Hamid Ullah bagged 3-22, Danish Hameed 4-13 and Dalby 3-6, leaving Cowling 35 points behind Riddlesden, while Sutton are 31 points adrift of second-from-bottom Eldwick & Gilstead, who have lost six of their last seven completed matches.

Glusburn are back on top of Division Two, but only just – by a point from Bradley as both leap-frogged Airedale.

The reason for that was Glusburn’s dominant win over the former leaders at Park Field.

Airedale may be regretting their decision to send Glusburn in as the latter made 205-9 (Asad Moghul 4-49), with six players reaching double figures.

Matt Lloyd (48) and Ryan Ridehalgh (29) put on 57 for the opening wicket and Airedale couldn’t wrap the innings up as all-rounder Irfan Khaliq (47no) dominated an unbroken a stand of 37 for the eighth wicket with Zahid Iqbal.

Airedale were toppled after tea for just 74 by Khaliq (4-22), Ridehalgh (3-19) and Umar Farooq (3-5).

Bradley made short work of hosts Ingrow, who elected to bat but only made 39.

The visitors only used three bowlers in the 16 overs needed, with Toby Meynell notching 4-8, Vince Grant 4-6 and Zafar Iqbal 2-14.

Bradley knocked the runs off in 12 overs for the loss of two wickets.

Thornton-in-Craven only picked up a point at Silsden, being rumbled for 82 after the home side won the toss, with Ahsan Rizwan (5-34) and Will Pullen (4-8) in charge.

Silsden captain Jack Roberts fell for a duck, but any fears were eased by a second-wicket partnership of 68 between Dom Mortimer (42) and Tom Greenwood (25no) as the target was reached in 14 overs for the loss of two wickets.

With Long Lee and Ingrow both losing, Silsden climbed out of the relegation places, which was vital as their demotion could prevent their second XI from being promoted from Division Four.

Skipton CI did the Cobbydalers a favour by defeating visitors Long Lee by 49 runs.

A wagging tail from No.8 and captain Paul Mason (24) and No 10 Muhammad Sabeel (20) proved vital in CI’s 111 (Jack McGrogan 4-60, Ian Roberts 3-13).

However, after tea only No.11, keeper James Fulwood (17), produced with the bat as Long Lee were skittled for 62, with Azhar Iqbal bagging 4-13 and Muddassar Khan 3-25.

Second-placed Cononley got a double bonus in Division Three.

Firstly, they defeated Menston Crompark in a match where ball dominated bat and then they discovered that third-placed Bingley Congs III could not raise a side to face Haworth II.

Asked to bat, Crompark could only muster 63, as Harry Parker (5-45) and the outstanding Herbie Starkey (4-7 from 10 overs) dominated.

Cononley were 44-6 in reply, however, but found the man for a crisis in Colin Stead (24no) as they won by four wickets.

They are now 42 points ahead of Congs, and immediately below them are Gargrave II, who lost by the same margin at Keighley III on Sunday.

Sent in, Gargrave were toppled for 97, with Rahim Hussain taking 4-11 and Tahir Mehmood 3-29.

Keighley took until the 22nd over to pass that total to ease their relegation fears, with Mehmood (36no) leading the way.

Skipton CI II conceded their match at Wilsden II, while that result has dropped Cowling II to second from bottom after they picked up five points at home to leaders Bowling Baptist.

The latter batted and made a respectable 164, Ubayd Ali, the fifth bowler used, taking 4-11.

Cowling’s reply of 86 was dominated by No.3 Haseeb Majid’s 49.

Bottom-of-the-table Haworth II received a walkover from third-placed Bingley Congs III.

Meanwhile, the Craven League’s annual dinner has been moved from Friday, October 13 to Friday, October 20 owing to the unavailability of Bradford & Bingley Sports Club on the initial date.