At long last fine weather resulted in a full programme of matches and probably the result of the day in the First Division came at Pendle Forest where Carleton were the visitors.
The villagers batted first and rattled up 217-8, Martyn Windle scoring 51, Steve Carling 39 and Adam Greenwood 37 as Nick Daniel took 4-54.
The Fence side's reply was stunning and they cruised home by nine wickets with nearly eight overs to spare, Ajmal Choudry scoring the first century of the season with 107 not out and being ably assisted by Andrew Townsend, 66 not out, whose innings included eight sixes.
Another impressive performance was that of Cowling up at Haworth. The South Craveners made 203-6 with Mark Richardson scoring 93 and M Dudley 37. The Bronte side's reply petered out at 148 with Stuart Ratcliffe making 56 as Simon Spencer took 4-17 and Martin Rishton 3-31.
There was a nail-biting finish up at Oakworth with the home side getting home by two wickets with just one ball to spare. Visitors Sutton had made a creditable 171-6, Gary Williams and Alan Robertson both leading the way with 45 and Paul Williams chipping in with 35. The Cure Hill side's reply was struggling at 105-7. However Tim Walsh with 32 not out shepherded the tailenders to get them to the required total. John Crossley also made 32 as Gary Williams took 3-76.
Thornton travelled to Wood Lane and were pegged back to 145-9, Brian Laycock scoring 35 as Aussie Justin Graham took 5-53. Graham followed this with 77 to go with Paul Drinkall's 34 not out as victory was achieved by Upper Wharfedale by seven wickets with 18 overs to spare.
Barrowford were too strong for Foulridge at the Bull Holme. The Noyna side were dismissed for 70 with Chris Brooker-Carey top scoring with 36 not out as David Hartley took 7-22. The homesters lost five wickets reaching their target.
Embsay secured their first win of the season over at Bradley. Batting first the Shires Lane side made 184-5, David Robinson making 58 and James Tiffany 44 not out.
The home side never got to grips with things and they were dismissed for 96, extras with 21 being the top contributor as Scott Robinson took 4-14.
Long Lee have made a solid start to the campaign in the Second Division.
They travelled to Sandylands and restricted Skipton Church Institute to 106-6, Ian Burke carrying his bat with 50 not out as evergreen veteran John Tetley took 3-23.
In the Keighley side's reply Jan Haider top scored with 34 as victory was secured by six wickets in the 32nd over.
Barnoldswick III were also in fine fettle down at Keighley Tech. The Rose Cottagers were kept to 84-8 with Stephen Adams making 34 as Mick Bowker claimed 3-43.
The Red Rose side, who would like to be in Yorkshire, cantered to a super 10-wicket win, Colin Maude scoring 51 not out.
Cononley have made a poor start to their season. They entertained Haworth West End and were dismissed for 122, Neil Coward Jnr scoring a fine 52 as Adam Bailey and Andy Benfield took three wickets apiece.
The Bronte side stormed home by six wickets with Lee Bilbrough scoring a solid 77 not out.
Glusburn must have thought they were in with a good chance when they dismissed Jimmy Nelson's for 130 at Clough Head. M Caton made 30 as new recruit Bryan Hollis took 3-20.
However the Red Rose side had other ideas and shot the South Craveners out for 114, M Corns, 4-42, and Tony Stafford, 3-21, doing most of the damage. Gargrave enjoyed a narrow six-run win over Ingrow St John's at Skipton Road.
The home side posted 161-7, Tim Buckle making 32 and M Clayton 30 as John Green took 5-48 in 15 overs. The Saints' reply was always on course thanks to R Sollitt, 51, David Greenwood, 25, and last man D Cotton, who clattered 22 not out, to take them within a whisker of their target. Ray Jones took 3-37 in 14 overs.
Down at Airedale the home side were dismissed for 67 by Chatburn with Rod Booth taking 3-5 and the visitors' reply was triumphant by nine wickets.
In the Third Division Thornton rattled up 192-5 at home to Upper Wharfedale with Richard Thompson making 83 not out and daughter Arran 37. The Dalesmen replied with 141, David Crabtree making 52 and Tom Whitaker 44 as Dave Sharples took 4-29.
The highlight of Sutton's total of 129 at home to Oakworth was a staggering 41 extras. Trevor Searby took 4-9 and Brian Pennington 5-36. In the Cure Hill reply Peter Gallagher made 33 as his side finished 39 short of their target, Justin Holdsworth taking 5-20.
Bradley clattered 204-7 up at Shires Lane, Andrew Curtis scoring a fine 71 as Ian Robson bowled through to finish with 4-56. Robson then top scored with 17 as Embsay crashed to 76 all out thanks mainly to a fine spell of bowling by newcomer Mark Emmott who finished with 7-23.
Phil Taylor scored 35 as Glusburn struggled to 125 at home to Barrowford, Dave Berry taking 5-28. The Bull Holme side romped to a seven-wicket win with Squire Lavin scoring 47 and Colin Foster 35 not out.
Haworth recorded a 19-run victory over visitors Chatburn. M Khan made 42 and Craig Ogden took 3-24 for the winners as P Clough scored 36 and Dave Musson took 5-32 and T Saunders 4-27 for the losers.
Haworth West End went just a little better than their neighbours winning by 21 runs at home to Pendle Forest.
West End made 136 with Malc Dovernor scoring 54 as Brian Snowden took 4-36 and the Fence side replied with 115 of which Kevin Lyon contributed 30 as Dovernor took 6-26.
There was a low-scoring affair at Long Lee in the Fourth Division. The homesters were shot out for 57 by Skipton Church Institute with M Khalil taking 5-42 and John Stuttard 4-13.
This proved to be sufficient as Church Institute crumpled to a 10-run defeat, Paul Swindlehurst, 6-26, and Chris Brookes, 4-19, doing the damage.
Cowling were blasted out for a modest 48 by visitors Airedale, J Ahad taking 6-34. The Keighley side cantered home by six wickets, Ian Watson taking 3-25.
Gargrave travelled to Morton and scored 145 with Martyn Cox, scoring 69 not out as Chris Walker claimed 4-49. Woeful batting by the Saints saw them back in the hut for a paltry 45, Paul Barrett taking 3-4 and David Robertshaw 3-8.
Cononley struggled to 80 over the hill at Carleton. Evergreen Mick Palin made 33 and veteran Brian Haigh claimed 5-26.
The villagers sauntered home by seven wickets, top scorer being David Humphries with 25 not out.
Jimmy Nelson's were restricted to 75 by Foulridge up at Noyna, Ian Edworthy taking 6-13 and David Wallbank 4-23. Bernard Swarbrick, 41 not out, led the homesters' reply which triumphed by eight wickets.
Finally, Pendle Forest III blasted 204-9 at home to Keighley Tech, Mick Gowling scoring 53 and Paul Hakin 35.
The nine-man visitors made 138-7 in reply with Stan Adams scoring 83.
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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