ALL 16 ties in the first round of the ENCO Halifax League’s Parish Cup were completed, despite mid-evening thunderstorms, and the only shock was the defeat of Premier Division Oxenhope - by two wickets at First Division Upper Hopton.
The Keighley team were asked to bat first and could only post 121, of which Will Rankin hit 53, Thomas Wilson taking 4-20.
The Hopton reply, almost single-handedly, surrounded skipper Harvey Lockwood, whose 79 not out in 86 balls guided his team to 124-8 and into the next round, despite Lewis Brown taking 4-11 in nine overs.
The last time Parish Cup cricket featured at Hullen Edge was thought to be back in the 1920s, and Warley & Elland ensured its return was celebrated with a win as they beat Oakworth by six wickets.
The latter batted first and scored 139, with no batter managing to reach 30.
Perhaps it was appropriate that W&E’s top scorer was Nolan Bottomley (48), a former Elland cricketer having now done a full circle, as he led his team to a winning 140-4.
At Walton Street, Sowerby Bridge’s poor league form continued, losing to fellow Premier team Shelf Northowram Hedge Top by eight wickets.
Batting first, Bridge could only reach 97, with just Tim Helliwell (28) scoring in the twenties as five Hedge Top bowlers shared the wickets.
The visitors required less than 18 overs to move into the next round at 101-2.
Last season’s treble winners Thornton also had an easy passage to the next round, although bottom of the Second Division Leymoor had some moments against the cup holders.
The visitors chose to bat first and scored 98, Glenn Barnard (36) and Jack Roberts (34) being their top scorers as Dominic Anderson took 4-21.
Thornton then chose to open with Josh Hutchinson, which was rather daunting for the visitors, and he helped himself to 79 not out with seven fours and eight sixes, as they won by 10 wickets.
Josh Hutchinson ran riot against a weaker bowling attack than he is used to facing. (Image: Alex Daniel Photography.)
Second Division rivals Bridgeholme and Queensbury met at Eastwood, and it was the visitors who came away with a six-wicket win.
The home team were inserted and no batter consolidated his knock to score into the forties, Oliver Challis taking 4-25 as they were dismissed for 155.
When Queensbury reached 40-4 in reply, the odds were on a home win, but that was the end of any wicket taking as Michael Davies (90no) and Gareth Walker (36no) shared an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership of 117 to reach a winning 157-4.
Muhammad Ali, who took the first four wickets for 46, is probably still scratching his head in disbelief.
Illingworth St Mary’s reached the second round but not as easily as they may have thought at the tea interval.
They had dismissed hosts, First Division leaders Great Horton Park Chapel, for a well-below-par 79, five bowlers sharing the wickets.
St Mary’s changed their usual batting order, and at 56-5 some frowns were appearing on their supporters’ faces.
However, Gary Fellows (19no), batting at an unusual No.6, righted the situation to take his team to a winning 83-5.
It was déjà vu time at Clayton as there was a repeat of the previous day’s league encounter at Low Moor Holy Trinity.
On this occasion, the home team batted first and struggled to 108, not helped by being 15-4 and 47-7, with five Trinity bowlers sharing the spoils.
In reply, the visitors were in exactly the same dire situation at 47-7 and victory looked unlikely, but up stepped Kaden Lancaster, whose 41 not out managed, just, to get his team over the line, needing No.11 Connor Briscoe to block five balls as Trinity reached 110-9.
For the second time in 48 hours, they won by the narrowest of margins, after triumphing by one run the previous day.
The all- Second Division clash at Outlane, where Mount visited, was easily won by the latter, with a 112-run margin separating the teams.
Mount batted first and, with contributions from eight batters, led by Ahmed Sallu (48), reached 236-8.
The home team were never in the hunt and only Indranath Nimalshantha (47) caused Mount any problems, whose Mahmadbhai Makda took 4-18 with Outlane 124 all out.
Old Town were forced to concede their home tie against Cullingworth, due to the delayed drainage work at Boston Lane.
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