THE Gordon Rigg Bradford Premier League have gained revenge for an emphatic T20 defeat against Yorkshire Academy’s Under-18s at Pudsey Congs last year.

The hosts were defeated by 10 wickets at Pudsey St Lawrence, but won by 26 runs this time around on a chilly evening at Saints’ neighbours.

Alex Wade (2-13) and Rizwan Ishfaq (1-22) had the Bradford League side wobbling at 52-3 on Thursday night before a match-winning partnership between Undercliffe’s Kyle Welsh and Ossett’s Henry Pearson.

They put on 110 unbroken to take the score to 162-3, with Welsh, who started a league suspension for dissent yesterday, ending up 56 not out off 47 balls, while talented all-rounder Pearson finished on 54 not out.

Bradford & Bingley’s Archie Barraclough delivered a no-ball for height on his first over, but dismissed Jack Redshaw in his next over with the score on 11, and Farsley’s Stanley Brown got rid of fellow opener Edward Burch in the next over to make it 17-2.

Barraclough impressed with 1-15 in his three overs and set the tone for an efficient performance from all the Bradford League bowlers.

Joe Thompson (42) and Noah Kelly (34) threatened to turn the game Yorkshire’s way, but the Bradford side held their nerve as the run-rate was always challenging.

The Bradford League’s ground fielding and catching provided excellent back-up to the bowlers, with Methley’s Charlie McMurran being the most successful with 2-25.

Pearson followed up his exploits with the bat by taking 1-17 in four tidy overs of off- spin, while Jack Luxton and Ibrahim Ahmed took a wicket each too, as the Academy were restricted to 136-8.

A proud Bradford League team manager Chris Marsden said: “It was a good performance, and we set it up well in the first half when Kyle and Henry played really well and scored quickly to put a competitive score on the board.

Henry Pearson hits out during his excellent half-century on Thursday evening.Henry Pearson hits out during his excellent half-century on Thursday evening. (Image: Ray Spencer.)

“And then the lads backed that up well with the ball and in the field.

“We were very disciplined and stuck to our plans and it worked, although Joe and Noah showed their talent with the bat for Yorkshire.

“It was massively different from last year, and the lads who played then, such as Kyle, showed good character to come back from that.

“It is 1-1 now and it builds it up to what we hope will be a good game next year in what we hope will be an annual event.”

Marsden then talked about the Bradford League team’s lack of preparation compared to their opponents, saying: “Some of our lads have only met for the first time tonight, which makes it all the more pleasing.

“This game is a chance for the lads to showcase their talent to the Yorkshire staff, the Academy staff, and that can be fed back to the senior staff at Yorkshire.

“We have a lot of good young players in our league who deserve an opportunity should it arise.

“This game is a chance for them to do that - to try and put their names in the hat should any future selections become available.”