Keighley renewed their Bradford League Specialist Ducting Supplies Second Division promotion claims with a vital last-over win over Aire Valley rivals Bradford & Bingley on the day Brighouse batsman Richard Robinson hit the highest score of the season in either division.
Defeat for Keighley at Wagon Lane would have been a serious blow to their promotion hopes, but their two-wicket win against third-placed Bingley leaves them only six points behind their neighbours with a match in hand.
It proved to be a costly defeat for Bingley because second-placed Bankfoot, who began the day level on points, are now six points ahead after a nine-wicket win at bottom club Hartshead Moor while leaders Saltaire won their 16th match of the season with a four-wicket success at Esholt.
Robinson's superb innings came in Brighouse's home match against Morley at Park Avenue.
Opening the innings, he made 174 featuring four sixes and 23 fours to become the highest aggregate score in the league this season and leaves himself with 957 runs, only 43 short of the coveted 1,000.
Robinson received good support from Jamie Marchant who made 63 not out as Brighouse totalled a massive 301 for four.
Morley also made good use of what was clearly a favourable pitch as they settled for a one-point draw at 238 for eight of which Colin Nuttall made 92.
Bingley's total of 208 for six against Keighley always looked vulnerable, but it would have been much lower but for a swashbuckling innings of 67 not out at the end by Richard McCarthy who shared an unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 51 with New Zealander Lance Shaw.
Keighley were always up with the required rate before captain mark Beckett swung the match decisively in their favour with a hard-hitting 80 before he was caught and bowled by McCarthy.
The visitors then survived some anxious moments as they lost four wickets for 14 runs before winning with four balls to spare. It was only Bingley's second defeat of the season - both of them at the hands of Keighley.
Bankfoot bowled out Hartshead Moor for 129 with skipper Greg Colehan taking four for 28 before Garry Wainwright (66) and overseas all-rounder Saleem Mughal (47) led them home with an unbroken second wicket stand of 101.
Saltaire were indebted to a superb spell of bowling from skipper Ijaz Khan. Bowling unchanged, he took seven for 81 in 24.5 overs to bowl out Esholt for 199 of which overseas batsman Viveck Nahajan made 103, including one six and 18 fours to take him to 947 runs for the season. Saltaire made a bad start, losing their first three wickets for 39, but Salman Benzafar made 54 before Tariq Alam (24) and Omar Khatab (28) saw them home with an unbroken seventh wicket stand of 63.
Great Horton's overseas player Naved Arif produced an outstanding bowling performance, taking eight for 30 in the nine-wicket win at Windhill.
Arif captured the last four wickets in success deliveries as he ripped through to bowl out next to the bottom Windhill for a mere 62.
Salts beat Lightcliffe at home by eight wickets after bowling them out for 128. Opener Sarfraz Ahmed then made 67 not out as Salts cruised to an easy victory.
Manningham Mills also enjoyed an eight-wicket win at home to Drighlington. Naeem Hanif took six for 32 to bowl out the visitors for 125 and then completed a fine all round performance by scoring 84 in Mills' reply.
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