Gargrave in rare defeat but continue to have title in sight

After suffering a 60-run defeat at defending champions Riddlesden they found out that nearest rivals Haworth Road Meths had also lost - to Hepworth & Idle.

Gargrave won the toss and sent Riddlesden in, who made 204, despite George Beckwith, the fifth bowler the visitors used, taking 6-49.

Opener Brad Gardner (31) and captain Matt Simpson (30) then put on 45 for Gargrave’s second wicket, and keeper Max Bell finished on 64 not out, made off 66 balls and containing three fours and five sixes.

However, they lacked support and the visitors collapsed from 141-7 to be all out for 144.

Only 18 points separate Meths 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.

Glusburn notched a remarkable victory at Haworth, with last pair Harry Barker (28no) and Ryan Fountain (20no) putting on 46 unbroken to give them a triumph with two balls to spare.

Irfan Khaliq took 4-43 in Haworth’s 245-8, but Glusburn were 80-4 after stands of 43 and 33 before their middle and lower order gave them a sniff.

Partnerships of 43, 29 and 27 followed, but they still needed their last men standing to deliver an outrageous win.

Steve Brown and Umar Farooq (40 each), Khaliq (30), Muhammad Hussnain and keeper Tamoor Munir (22 each) preceded the final-wicket heroes.

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 in Cononley’s innings 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.

A much 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).

Ian Holden (3-31) and Rob Cockell (3-40) got among the wickets for Thornton, who were sitting pretty early doors in their reply as Scott Howarth-Hynes put on 49 for the first wicket with David Holt (30) and 85 for the second with James Mellin (22).

Howarth-Hynes was eventually out for 96, made off 117 balls and including 16 fours and a six, but he was part of a collapse from 158-2 to 175-6.

A partnership of 20 then put the visitors in with a chance again, but they finished on 198-9 - an agonising seven runs short of victory - 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.

CI were at home to leaders Bowling Baptists, who made 156-8 after winning the toss in what was a consistent batting card.

Azhar Iqbal (2-22) and Qamar Zulfiqar (3-39) were CI’s most successful bowlers, but they were 94-6 in reply before eventually making 143, chiefly thanks to 66 by Muhammad Sabeel at No 7.

Captain Danny Smith (18) and Sam Smith (16) also made double figures for CI who lost their last three wickets on their final score.

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 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 as Kieran Ashley (4-6), Will Storr (3-20) and Ben Wood (2-33) held sway.

Opener Neil Fraser-Dibb then dropped anchor, scoring an unbeaten 11 as Gargrave won by eight wickets inside 21 overs, Wood hitting 42 off 40 balls, including five fours and a six.

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, which reduced the Sandylanders’ lead over Bowling Baptists II to 11 points.

CI won the toss but could not capitalise on the bright start handed them by opener Naveed Hussain (20) and No 3 Sean Williamson (51), with Mozzam Khan (16) and Muhammad Zeeshan (24) the only other players to reach double figures.

Consistent batting then took Ingrow to a five-wicket triumph inside 24 overs, despite Zeeshan taking 2-28 and Rashad Mahmood-Taj 2-6.

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.

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.