THE three-way battle for promotion in Mewies Solicitors Craven League Division Two could well run for the last three Saturdays.
Leaders Bradley have 212 points, Glusburn 197 and Airedale 195.
Bradley had a narrow victory at Silsden, making 184-7 after being sent in, with Toby Meynell (48) and keeper Juni Ashraf (60) adding 101 for the fourth wickey.
Silsden were 43-5 in reply as Meynell (2-39) and Zain Naeem (3-40) put the skids under them, but they recovered to close on 170-9 before they ran out of overs, Keenan Wozny (39no) top scoring.
Glusburn made short work of their trip to Long Lee, who were dismissed for 88 after opting to bat, with Irfan Khaliq (4-34) and Tamoor Munir (4-22) doing the damage.
Skipper Steve Brown then scored 60 not out off 61 balls, including nine fours and three sixes, as Glusburn won by nine wickets inside 20 overs.
Airedale became the latest side to defeat Bradford & Bingley III, who were dismissed for 114 after choosing to bat, which was a recovery from 41-6 as Saqib Javaid (4-32) and Josh Coppack (3-25) got among the wickets.
Put on the right track by an opening stand of 49, Airedale stumbled to 87-7 before the reliable Mathew Cox (45no) helped see the hosts home in the 34th over.
Ingrow made a modest 126 at Thornton-in-Craven, which was largely down to Atif Malik (53).
But the hosts could not build on an opening partnership of 47 and fell for 101 as change bowlers Mo Chowdhory (4-24) and Shahid Ajmal (5-28) held sway.
In Division One, Riddlesden are assured of a top-two place but not yet the championship as they bid for three league titles in successive seasons, all in different divisions.
Haworth chose to bat but could only make 132, with Mohammed Arshad taking 3-18.
There was no rapid reply this time from Riddlesden, who won by four wickets in the 33rd over, with opener Ehsan Khan scoring 39 and captain Mohammed Gulnawaz 43, with the wickets shared between Damian Rowell (2-34), Charlie Jackson (2-36) and Jamie Rowell (2-36).
Cowling are doing their best to keep Riddlesden waiting for the silverware and batted first at home to Denholme, scoring 151.
That was largely due to No.3 Danish Hameed (62), as Guy Flanagan took 5-24 and Mohammed Irfan 3-37.
However, Denholme’s scoring card was also patchy and they could only make 125, most of which came from Mushtaq Ahmed (40) and keeper Adam Khan (36), with Ubaid Rauf bagging 4-30 and the outstanding Hamid Ullah 2-10 off nine overs.
At the bottom, Sutton’s goose is nearly cooked.
The cellar dwellers need maximum points from their last three matches, while hoping that Denholme only pick up 12 and Haworth Road Meths two.
Sent in at Wilsden, Sutton could only make 110, with captain Sam Solley scoring 31 at No.8 as only three team-mates also reached double figures.
It took Wilsden until only the 23rd over to pass their target for the loss of two wickets.
In Division Three, the top two of Bowling Baptist and Cononley had big wins but while the Bradford side are virtually there, Cononley are not quite guaranteed promotion yet.
Baptist, sent in at Scotchman Road by Keighley III, made 186, with Cian Cryer taking 5-68.
Keighley captain Zahid Bashir scored 14 in the doomed reply, as his side were dismissed for just 47.
Visitors Wilsden lost only four wickets in making 93 off their 45 overs against Cononley, but the wicket looked different when the home side batted as they knocked off the runs for one down in 29 overs.
Andrew Starkey (71no) took Cononley home with ease.
Gargrave II are third, 42 points behind Cononley, after an easy win over Haworth II, despite Gargrave being 73-6 after being sent in.
However, they finished on 151 after Matthew Dempster (4-35) and Oliver Shoesmith (3-13) had caused problems.
Haworth had an opening stand of 24 between they soon fell away and were toppled for 59.
Cowling II did Haworth II and Skipton CI II a favour in the three-way battle to stay up, however, by conceding to Menston Crompark I, leaving Haworth II on 88 points, Cowling II on 91 and CI II on 94, with Keighley III next up on 103.
There was a top-of-the-table clash in Division Four when leaders Sutton II hosted Silsden II in what turned out to be a low-scoring contest.
Silsden, sent in, made 76, with No.11 Alex Nelson’s 17 crucial as captain Tom Snowden (17no) was the only other player in double figures, the last-wicket duo adding a vital 28.
Change bowlers Jaison Joseph (3-7) and Ali Hussain (4-34) did the damage for Sutton but their reply was floundering at 43-6, before Stuart Tillotson (24) and Paul Williams (7) added 21 to put them in the driving seat.
However, the last four wickets fell for two runs as opening bowler Nelson (6-19) finished them off alongside Toby Cunningham (2-8).
Sutton now have 199 points and Silsden 176, which keeps Bowling Baptist II in the picture on 165, even though they lost by three wickets at fourth-placed Glusburn II.
Choosing to bat, Bowling made 139-6, with Mark Pickles taking 4-57.
Opener Amir Javed (52no) then played a sheet-anchor role as the hosts won at the end of the 36th over.
Denholme II had a low-scoring match at home to Hepworth & Idle III, who made 80 after being sent in, with Tim Shires taking 6-34.
Liam Clark (24) did more than his bit in Denholme’s reply, but they were skittled for just 69.
Bradley II won an entertaining clash at home to Airedale II by 50 runs, with Harry Andrews batting through the 40 overs for 123 not out off 116 balls in Bradley’s 217-6, as Warren Coppack took 3-58.
Airedale II replied with 167-6 with poor Coppack left on 49 not out, his fine individual display earning little reward.
Finally, Ingrow II had a walkover against Long Lee II.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here