Unfortunate Haworth lose Craven League thriller at the death

They lost a remarkable match at home to Glusburn, whose last pair Harry Barker (28no) and Ryan Fountain (20no) put on 46 unbroken to give them a one-wicket triumph with two balls to spare.

Opting to bat, Haworth started well, with keeper Pete Gower putting on 70 for the second wicket with Jamie Rowell (15).

Rowell’s brother Damian then scored 54 off 41 balls, including six fours and three sixes, adding 79 for the fourth wicket with Gower, who was fifth out at 223 after making 88 off 133 balls, including 13 fours and two sixes.

Irfan Khaliq took 4-43 in Haworth’s 245-8, but a steady card in reply was just enough to get Glusburn over the line from 80-4 as captain Steve Brown and Umar Farooq each scored 40, Khaliq got 30 and Muhammad Hussnain and keeper Tamoor Munir 22 each before the late heroics.

Partnerships of 43, 29 and 27 followed the early stands of 43 and 33, but Glusburn still needed their last men standing to deliver an outrageous win.

James Roper was Haworth’s best bowler with 3-31, but more bad news followed for them as they dropped to the bottom of the table after Wilsden notched their first win of the season.

Defending champions Riddlesden handed Gargrave only their second league defeat of the season.

The Keighley side, sent in at Grange Road, made 204, with opener Omar Khatab leading the way with 71 off 85 deliveries, including eight fours and five sixes.

Keeper Tayyab Riaz (28) helped him add 49 for the third wicket and Arfan Mahmood chipped in with 46.

Gargrave started their reply with purpose, having a second-wicket stand of 45, but they lost three wickets at 90 and stuttered from 141-7 to 144 all out as Khatab completed a fine match by taking 3-30, Mohammed Zulfiqar bagging 3-41 and Mohammad Ishtiaq 2-26.

Only 18 points separate Haworth Road Meths, who also lost, in second from Glusburn in seventh, and among that group are Cowling, who won a low-scoring encounter to another potential podium finisher in Eldwick & Gilstead.

Cowling, sent in at home to the twin villages, were heavily reliant on Laiq Ur Rehman, who scored 76 of their 132, a knock that lasted 98 balls and included 15 fours.

Only two other players made double figures, however - Irfan Ishaq (19) and Ben Davy (21) - and they collapsed from 130-6.

E&G made a strong start, being 68-1, but they lost four wickets at 94, going from two down, and three more at 115, which was their final total.

Bradley lost at home to cellar dwellers Wilsden, but are still 41 points above a relegation place with five matches left.

Sent in, Wilsden made 161-9, with the wickets being shared between Mohammed Qadeer (4-27), Iklaq Ahmed (2-22) and Vince Grant (2-20).

Only Juni Ashraf (35) and Henry Meynell (23no) then troubled the scorers after tea as Bradley were dismissed for 119, handing Wilsden their first win of the league campaign.

Second-placed Silsden might have been worried during the tea interval as they had been castled for 91 after choosing to bat at home to Cononley in Division Two.

Keeper Tom Greenwood (25) and No 9 Bilal Mahmood (10no) were the only pair in double figures for the Cobbydalers, with Greenwood putting on 26 for the seventh wicket with Sam Barraclough (8).

Colin Stead (4-31) and Ikram Daulatzai (3-9) got among the wickets, but that was nothing compared to the damage that Silsden’s bowlers caused after the mid-innings break.

There were five ducks for Cononley as they were humbled for 26 in 19.2 overs, with Kieran Lawrence and Dom Mortimer both taking 3-5 and Cameron Knowles 3-6, Nathan Parker top-scoring with eight.

Airedale are up to third after winning their derby at home to Ingrow.

The hosts’ innings of 231-8, after they had been 46-3, was dominated by a fourth-wicket partnership of 149 between Raja Mohammad Adnan (60) and Matthew Gill (83).

Adnan’s runs came off 96 balls and included nine fours and a six, while Gill faced 94 balls and hit 13 fours and two sixes.

The wickets were shared between Atif Malik (3-58), Shahid Ajmal (2-37) and Phil Broadley, the seventh bowler used, who took 2-6.

Ingrow’s reply never really threatened, despite a 54-run stand for the fifth wicket between Ajmal (24) and Malik (38).

Captain Ben Weatherall made 27 up top but Ingrow collapsed from 166-7 to 167 all out, Scott Whittam-Ritchie taking 4-23 to leave the losers seven points from safety.

A more even contest took place at Royd Hill, where sixth-placed Sutton made 204-8 against Thornton-in-Craven.

However, that total looked unlikely when they were 59-5, despite Dave Snowden scoring 22.

Theo Reay (18) and keeper Oliver Gledhill (55) put on 52 for the sixth wicket, and Gledhill then proceeded to add 33 for the seventh with Rob Tedder (29no), who then put on 40 unbroken with last man Caleb Gledhill (26no).

Thornton were sitting pretty early doors in their reply with partnerships of 49 and 85 for the first two wickets, but they had a soft middle order, going from 158-2 to 175-6 on their way to falling just short at 198-9 as Snowden took 4-52, Richard Walker 2-31 and Sachin Abraham 2-28.

The win took Sutton up to fourth as they climbed above Skipton CI and Thornton, making those early-season worries even more of a distant memory.

Denholme climbed above Cononley to fourth from bottom after a thrilling win at home to Hepworth & Idle II, who recovered from 74-6 after being sent in.

They finished on 183-9, despite the outstanding Ben Burkill taking 4-16 off 12 overs and Adam Taylor a more expensive 4-68 off 10.

Denholme were 50-5 after tea, Burkill having made 23, but Matthew Shaw Burns (40) and Haseeb Lodhi (68no) then added 87 for the sixth wicket to pt them back in the hunt.

Lodhi’s knock of 83 balls contained six fours and two sixes, and he added 33 for the eighth wicket with Liaqat Ali (15) but they still needed a last-wicket stand of three to pinch victory in the 38th over.

Division Three leaders Long Lee were handed a concession by Bingley Congs III, but Keenan Wozny was the key man for Silsden II, who are bidding to make it a double promotion success for the Cobbydalers.

They sent in Bradford & Bingley III at Sandy Lane in Division Three, with Wozny taking 2-11 off 12 overs, five of which were maidens, and Toby Cunningham 4-34 in the home side’s 130.

Alarm bells were ringing when Silsden were 29-5 when they replied, but Wozny then shone with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 59 off 52 balls, including eight fours and a six, finding a willing partner in Seth Wiseman (35no) in an unbroken partnership of 103.

Finlay Nixon-Snowden chipped in with 13 as Silsden turned the match around to keep themselves just ahead of Cowling II and Menston IV.

Both Cowling II, who are now two points behind Silsden in third, and bottom-of-the-table Wilsden II were short-handed in their clash at Shay Gate, with Cowling, who only had nine players, realising the importance of batting out their overs after winning the toss.

As it happened they were dismissed five overs short, but still finished on a healthy 219 as they recovered from 40-3.

Haseeb Majid (54) and Shahid Hassan (94) put on 71 for Cowling’s fourth wicket, with Majid’s runs coming off 41 balls and including eight fours and a six, while Hassan faced 75 deliveries and hit 11 fours and a six.

Partnerships of 48 for the fifth and seventh wickets helped too as Ubaid Rauf finished on 34 and Mohammad Ishaq 14.

Wilsden, who had 10 men, were dismissed for 81, collapsing like a pack of cards from 73-3 as Ishaq took 5-24 and Awais Riaz 2-4.

Hosts Gargrave II put some distance between themselves in sixth and Sutton II in seventh by defeating them by eight wickets.

The home side chose to field and dismissed Sutton for 75, Jaison Joseph top scoring with 23 as part of a wagging tail that took them from 44-8, adding 27 with Reuben Tillotson for the ninth wicket, despite the latter not scoring a run!

Juniors Jack Middleton (11) and Will Tedder (14) also made double figures for Sutton, but Gargrave then won by eight wickets inside 21 overs.

Keighley III were involved in a decent contest against Menston IV at High Royds, making 167 after being sent in.

Keeper Abid Hussain dominated the innings, scoring 72 off 83 balls, including 11 fours, and he was backed up by Hrithik Patel (22) and openers Nadeem Khaliq (15) and Rahim Hussain (16), who put on 43 before Hussain and Patel added 89 for the fifth.

Menston, for whom under-17 Emily Burns took 6-37, then won by four wickets in the 31st over, despite Matt Mounsey taking 2-37 and loanee Aqib Choudhry 2-29.

Bradley II continue to lead Division Four after a maximum points haul against Hepworth & Idle III, who were dismissed for 99 in 26 overs at Cambing after being asked to bat.

Four wickets fell at 79, and others at 82, 89 and 99 as the Westfield Laners just failed to make three figures, with Luke Watson bagging 5-19 and Nasar Riaz 2-31.

Keeper Chris Kimberley (33no), Harry Andrews (32) and Riaz (21no) then shut the door on

Hepworth & Idle ambitions with partnerships of 47 and 53 unbroken as a nine-wicket win was achieved in the 28th over.

Second-placed Skipton CI II, who only had 10 men, lost at Ingrow II.

CI won the toss but could not capitalise on a bright start, being dismissed for 129 by Sufyaan Hussain (3-26), Shaun Robbeson (2-37) and Usman Butt (2-24).

Consistent batting, led by under-17 Aryan Chowdhory (38) and Ateeq Munir (40), then took Ingrow to a five-wicket triumph inside 24 overs.

Glusburn II remain fourth after also securing a five-wicket win, this time at home to Haworth II, who are a place below them.

Haworth chose to bat and made 158-8 in an innings which contained four run outs, captain Chris Smith top-scoring with 44 off 47 balls, including six fours, under-14 Zachary Fyfe-Gudgeon making 27 and keeper Paul Stephens 21.

Umar Dar then played a large part in Glusburn winning by scoring 84 off 75 balls, including 15 fours and two sixes.

Opener Rafaqat Hussain scored 27, and Glusburn’s two unbeaten batters were Alan Coney (10no) and Amir Javed (19no) as victory was achieved in the 28th over, under-12 Max Wareing taking 3-53 in 7.2 overs.