Jer Lane are the new leaders of the Premier Division after defeating Bradford & Bingley by five wickets as rain brought drama to the day’s action on Monday.
They top the table by four points from Woodlands who had their game with Cleckheaton abandoned without a ball being bowled, with New Farnley a further point back after beating Farsley by four wickets with one ball to spare.
Both Jer Lane and New Farnley took advantage of being able to play 20 overs per side contests to intensify the title battle.
After restricting Bradford & Bingley to 111-9 with Adal Islam taking 3-21, Jer Lane eased to victory with 10 balls to spare despite a mid-innings wobble against the bowling of Bradford & Bingley skipper Ed Brown (3-19).
New Farnley were indebted to Usman Arshad for their win. With his side falling behind the run rate in pursuit of a DLS target of 122, the former Durham player cut loose. He smashed 40 from 14 balls hitting five sixes and two fours.
Farsley fought all the way, and nobody typified their spirit more than skipper Ben Wright. With just four runs needed from the final over, Wright ratcheted up the tension by bowling New Zealander Cam Fletcher (41) with his first ball.
After Yasir Abbas took a single from the next delivery, Wright bowled Arshad. New batsman Fletcher Coutts took one run before Abbas struck the fifth ball for four to clinch victory for a relieved New Farnley side. Wright finished with figures of 3-24.
Joe Pocklington (36) and Ryan Cooper (31) were the top scorers for Farsley before spinner Gurman Randhawa (4-38) and Coutts (3-4) sparked a late collapse which saw the last six wickets fall for 12 runs as the home side were dismissed for 119.
The most dramatic finish came at Little Church Lane where Methley defeated their old rivals Townville by one run.
Needing nine from the final over to overhaul Methley’s 177-7, Townville reduced the target to three from the final ball from James Wainman with Dushan Vimukthi on strike. The Sri Lankan all-rounder could only manage a single as he finished on 81 not out.
It was a second defeat of the weekend for Townville whose hopes of a first title have suffered another body blow. They are now 32 points adrift of leaders Jer Lane.
Half centuries from opener Taylor Cornall (52) and Wainman (54) were the key ingredients in the Methley innings. Wainman made his runs from just 24 balls as he hit seven sixes and two fours. Jack Hughes was the best Townville bowler with 3-62.
Ossett was the only venue where there was no interference from the weather and the home side took full advantage as they recorded only their second win of the season while subjected Pudsey Congs to a sixth straight defeat.
Henry Pearson was key to their success with a spell of 6-42 as Congs made 174-8 after opting to bat first. Opener Callum Oliver top scored with 42 but lacked effective support.
Ossett were given a fine start to their reply with Rohan Mehmi (72) and skipper Will Wade (40) sharing an opening stand of 104.
Once they were parted the spinners Ryan Heptinstall (4-64) and Sam Wisniewski (3-56) enjoyed some success, but Ossett held their nerve to secure victory.
Just one over of play was possible at Intake Road where Undercliffe were facing Pudsey St Lawrence.
On Saturday, it was a day of even bigger surprises in the Premier Division with Jer Lane producing a stunning 82-run win over New Farnley and Undercliffe beating Townville by 139 runs.
They inflicted a first defeat of the season on New Farnley. The victory owed much to the superb opening stand of 167 between Mosun Hussain and Adal Islam.
They justified skipper Yassir Ali’s decision to bat first with their positive approach. Hussain led the way with a knock of 101 which featured a six and 14 four while Islam made 84.
With Cosmond Walters weighing in with 33, Jer Lane posted an impressive total of 294-9 against a lack-lustre New Farnley bowling attack.
There was no keeping Islam out of the action. He followed up his batting exploits by taking three early wickets as New Farnley slumped to 34-4.
Despite brief flurries from Fletcher Coutts (45) and Yassir Abbas (43), Jer Lane were always firmly in control with Indian spinner Bhushan Talawadekar taking 4-71 to support the efforts of Islam (3-30) as New Farnley who were dismissed for 212.
Callum Fletcher produced a stunning burst of 6-31 as Undercliffe bowled out Townville for just 67 to complete an emphatic victory. Sri Lankan Dushan Vimukthi (36) saved his side from even greater embarrassment.
Undercliffe, who are making their mark following promotion to the top flight, set up their win by making 206-9 when they batted first. Opener Ollie Hardaker struck a powerful 67 while skipper Bailey Worcester added an unbeaten.
On a dismal day for Townville the only bright spots came from the bowling performances of Jack Hughes (4-45) and young Nash Charles (3-30).
Champions Woodlands made it five wins out of five as they overcame Bradford & Bingley by seven wickets at Wagon Lane.
The home side found runs hard to come by after being put into bat as Brad Schmulian (4-45) and Muhammad Bilal (3-36) restricted them to a total of 142-9. Alex Wade (33) and Ed Brown (32) were the top scorers.
An unbeaten 50 from all-rounder Tom Clee ensured that Woodlands closed out victory. They now have 95 points and lead Jer Lane by eight with New Farnley a further five back.
Pudsey St Lawrence’s young batters Josh Priestley (49), Archie Scott (42) and Harry Cullingford (37) enabled them to post a total of 234-8 as they defeated Ossett by 23 runs.
James Wade (4-51) was the pick of the Ossett bowlers while Mattie Race (50) and Callum Geldart (44) were their top scorers as they were dismissed for 211 in reply. Chris Marsden (4-45) led the way for St Lawrence.
Farsley skipper Ben Wright (5-33) and Stanley Brown (3-53) enabled their side to bowl out bottom side Pudsey Congs for 179 to complete a 52-run win. Daanyaal Khalid (50) was the top scorer.
Openers Joe Pocklington (90) and Chris Beech (53) provided the foundation for Farsley’s total of 231-5. Ryan Cooper chipped in with 31.
Cleckheaton’s batting woes continued as they were skittled out for just 77 as Methley romped to an eight-wicket win. Jared Warner (3-12) and Ben Waite (3-20) led the way.
Division One
Muhammad Choudhry took eight wickets for just seven runs as Batley bowled out Bankfoot for the season’s lowest score of 28 at Wickets Close.
The home side were dismissed in just 14.1 overs and Batley knocked off the runs without loss in just 4.3 overs. The entire game taking just 18.4 overs.
Hanging Heaton, who were relegated from the Premier Division along with Bankfoot last season, also had a dismal day with the bat.
They were bowled out for just 68 with Kamran Siddique impressing with 7-29 as Bowling Old Lane secured a 165-run win.
Old Lane made 233-5 batting first with openers Farhan Hussain (82) and Hazrat Abbas (66) both making half centuries.
Young off spinner Lewis Lomax took 5-34 and was backed up by Josh Marsden (3-36) as Hartshead Moor bowled out Birstall for 110 to complete a 44-run win.
Max Law (57) and Josh Marsden (33) were the main contributors to the Hartshead Moor score of 154. The wickets were shared between Ghulam Hussain (4-23), Ryan Gray (3-27) and Daniel Marlowe (3-26).
Leaders Baildon continued their winnings way with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Morley. Having restricted the home side to 155-8 with spinner Seif Hussain taking 5-45, the Jenny Laners cruised to their target with skipper Kevin McDermott (73no) and Jonny Reynolds (70no) sharing an unbroken second wicket stand of 135. Morley’s main contributors were James McNichol (35) and Gordon Thomson (31).
Carlton were struggling at 39-4 at East Bierley when the umpires abandoned the game because they were concerned about the state of the pitch.
Yeadon won a close encounter at Sandal by 11 runs. Adeel Ashraf took 4-53 as the visitors bowled out the home side for 177 when they replied to their score of 188-9.
Gulsheraz Ahmed was the top scorer for Yeadon while spinner Zaeem Zulfqar (5-41) was the pick of the Sandal bowlers.
Division Two
Opener Andy McIntosh hit an unbeaten 56 to guide leaders Hunslet Nelson to a seven-wicket win over Keighley at Gipsy Lane.
Keighley were dismissed for 109 with Dan Brooke Mawson (3-17), Patrick Hinchliffe (3-22) and Sam Thewlis (3-37) among the wickets. South African Johandre Barnard top scored with 34.
Lightcliffe are just a point behind after their four-wicket win at Buttershaw St Paul’s. Skipper Alex Stead (49), teenage batter Yusuf Malik (44) and Joey Sharp (36) enabled them to chase down the home side’s total of 213-7.
Jonathan Burston (73no), Paul Carroll (38), Zahir Abbas (37no) and Jack Wakeling (30) were the main contributors for St Paul’s as George Leach claimed 3-18.
Farhan Hussain took 7-57 for Northowram Fields but ended up on the losing side as his team went down by 65-runs against Gomersal.
Shabir Rashid hit 79 not out and was supported by Liam Fletcher (46) and Andrew Robertson (30) in a Gomersal total of 223-9.
Northowram Fields were undone by the left arm spin of Chris Rhodes (6-29) as they were dismissed for 158, skipper John Lister making 44 and Lewis Cockburn (41).
Opener Jame Van Der Merwe led the way with 85 as East Ardsley defeated Heckmondwike & Carlinghow by 49 runs.
Thanks to Van Der Merwe, East Ardsley made 193 against a bowling attack in which Muhammad Shahnawaz took 4-38 and Usman Qureshi (4-51).
Janhoi Bean-Wilson (35) top scored as Heckmondwike & Carlinghow were dismissed for 144, Suraj Singh taking 4-28 and Richard Butcher (4-27).
Scholes won the battle of the two sides promoted from Division Three last season as they overcame Altofts by six wickets.
Jamie Robson (74), Christian Jackson (59) and Liam Thomas (41no) led the successful pursuit of Altofts’ 182. Saif Tahir (44) and Jacques Porter (40) were the top scorers.
Sri Lankan Sanjula Bandar impressed with 6-55 for Crossflatts as they defeated Hopton Mills by four wickets. Opener Chris Scott (39) top scored in the Mills total of 168-9. Azhar Mehmood (48) and Awais Khan (45no) steered Crossflatts to their target.
Division Three
There is just no stopping leaders Great Preston. They extended their unbeaten start to the season with a 48-run win at Spen Victoria.
After being bowled out for 149, Great Preston hit back to dismiss their hosts for 101, with Chris Aplin taking 5-54.
James Conlon made 34 for Great Preston as James Russell (3-43) and David Charles (3-13) proved to be the best of the home bowlers. New signing Haseen Bashir (36) top scored for Spen Victoria but lacked support.
Great Preston have 93 points and are already 25 ahead of Adwalton who defeated Wakefield St Michael’s by two wickets.
St Michael’s batted first and made 158 with John Holland scoring 50 and Australian Joshua Hotston 34. Dilip Sarathy was the pick of the bowlers with 3-25. Adwalton were made to battle for their victory by Cavan Connolly (3-45).
Wrenthorpe had a crushing 10-wicket win over East Leeds. Mounam Ejaz took three wickets as East Leeds were dismissed for 81 before Ubaid Zia hit an unbeaten 56 to steer his side to victory.
Sayed Salman shone with 109 as Gildersome & Farnley Hill made 257-9 in their 148-run win over Windhill & Daisy Hill.
Salman struck a six plus 12 fours and was supported Mohammed Abdullah (42) as Shoaib Iqbal (5-58) posed the main threat. Windhill & Daisy Hill were bowled out for 109,
Ismail Patel produced a fine all-round performance as Streethouse defeated Brighouse by 44 runs. Patel top scored with 40 in his team’s total of 148 and took 6-30 as Brighouse were all out for 104.
For Brighouse, overseas player Sagar Sawant continued his good form by taking 5-28, while Muhammad Iman claimed 3-37. Jason Holmes (35) provided the main support to Patel in the Streethouse innings.
Liversedge’s Matthew Gibson narrowly missed out on a ton in his side’s 10-run win over Crossbank Methodists. He made an unbeaten 96 and was backed up by Bradley Atkinson (36) in a total of 195-7 as Wahab Hussain claimed 4-49.
Ayyaz Ali (48) top scored as Crossbank Methodists were dismissed for 185. Adam Clarke (3-35) and Brijesh Dhangar (3-61) were the best of the bowlers.
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