Bradford & Bingley thrilled but Woodlands lose lead at top

And for many weeks it has looked like Bradford & Bingley might match that feat.

They still might, but that possibility has receded after Bingley defeated Pudsey St Lawrence by six wickets in a contest that was notable for many runs and a few dropped catches.

With just next weekend’s fixtures to go in the top flight, Bingley have 206 points, Ossett 202, Cleckheaton 196 and already-relegated Pudsey Congs 140, with Bingley hosting Ossett in a straight shoot-out next Saturday, while Cleckheaton go to Congs.

Saints were sent in at Tofts Road and were soon scoring at five an over after the early dismissal of Archie Scott, with Mark Robertshaw, who has called this season’s Premier Division the most competitive yet, unveiling some classical shots through the offside in a stand of 58 with keeper Charlie Best (63).

Bingley keeper Matthew Duce dropped Robertshaw when he was 41 off the bowling of Archie Barraclough, but it only cost them one run as the left-hander was soon run out after a mix-up with Best.

Harry Cullingford gave his wicket away by wandering down the track, and it was then down to Josh Priestley (62 not out) and Charlie Parker (48no) to take control, the pair adding 113 unbroken as Bingley heads began to drop.

Only Hartley (2-27) and left-arm spinner Bradley Reeve remotely stemmed the flow of runs, though Hartley was wayward at times and left the field with a back spasm.

After tea, Joe Pyrah suffered a three-ball duck before Jacob Slator (82) and Callum Goldthorp (50) got Bingley back in it with a stand of 104.

Billy Whitford also fell for a duck, but Slator put on 70 with skipper Ed Brown to reduce the target to double figures.

And the experience of both Brown (83no) and Duce (46no) finished the job with seven balls remaining.

They compiled an unbroken partnership of 98 to get over the line, as Brown made St Lawrence pay for dropping him when he was on just 10.

Bingley’s fate is back in their own hands, and Brown said: “I was thinking at the tea interval I wish we had caught a catch and got us an extra (bonus) point, and I was wondering how we had let them (Saints) get back into a good position and get a good score.

“270 is a lot, and I was also very worried what was happening at other grounds and bonus points so there was a lot going through my head during the tea break, which was quiet.

“Our heads dropped before tea, and it is hard not to, given the season that we have had.

“You get yourself into a decent position and then make mistakes, drop a catch or something doesn’t go your way and a partnership builds and you drop your heads.

“Josh and Charlie batted really well, and that last half-an-hour really killed us going into the tea break.

“But the beauty of this group is that we are all good mates and we don’t stay down for long, a few minutes and we are back into it.

“Jacob and Callum batted beautifully for us at the start of the innings.

“It is Jacob’s third year here and this has been his best season for us. You can see the strides that he has made, particularly against spin, and he is beginning to convert those starts.

“It would have been nice to see him make a 100 and win it for us, but he steadied the ship after those two quick wickets, and at 20 years old he has got 600 runs for us opening the batting in the Premier Division.

“That is not a bad effort, and he is probably putting the bad ball away more and hitting over the top a bit more.

“Ducey came in and did a very Ducey thing. He calms me, as sometimes I can get a bit carried away, and he takes a lot of pressure off me and scores quite quickly and times it from ball one.

“He is obviously chuffed to bits to do it against his old club too.”

Brown added: “Even when the run rate went up to 10 an over, I was confident that two good overs and we would get there.

“(Spinners) Spike (Chris Marsden) and Archie both bowled really well, and it felt like when the seamers came back on it would us more of a chance with a bit more pace on the ball, and it goes in weird areas.

“Spike is hard to hit and I was struggling to time it against him, so I was quite pleased when he came off and the seamers came back on.

“I was surprised that it didn’t go to the last over, and we had a very stressed youngster in Jack Luxton coming in next.”

As for the table, Brown said: “It is very much in our our hands now.

“I would say that we have under-performed as a team, as our goals at the start of the season were pushing into that top five and doing well in the Priestley Cup and T20.

“But if you take a step back you realise that we have a very young team and a very young seam attack (Luxton and Archie Barraclough).

“We have 79 batting points, but our bowling points (57) are second from.

“Yet Archie is just 18 and Jack is 20 and we lost the experienced Yasir Abbas, who is a great bowler, from last season, and Jack Hartley has missed a lot of the season.

“Archie has taken on the mantle of opening the bowling in the Premier Division, and Jack has taken 31 wickets.

Bradford & Bingley skipper Ed Brown knows he is asking a lot of young seamer Jack Luxton. (Image: Ray Spencer.)

“Reevey (Bradley Reeve) has had a quiet season by his standards, and maybe we did under-estimate things a bit but I cannot fault the lads for effort.

“They are getting stuck in and giving their best every week. We have heard it from a lot of people that they don’t want us to go down, which is nice to hear, and I don’t think that we have a bad relationship with any club.

“We got battered at Townville on Saturday but stayed and had a beer with their lads.

“We have lost our pro Louren Steenkamp, and if anybody was going to knock off those runs at Townville it would have been him, but we knew that he was going home with a few weeks to go as it is their job and he was contracted back home.

“Hopefully he was watching this game on a stream, but I doubt it.

“With respect, everybody pays for players, and if you get a good pro it makes a big difference, but St Lawrence are a great example of getting their own lads through and not paying as much money as other clubs.

“They are a model that we look at, and we have brought Archie, Jack Luxton and Reece Cockshott through our juniors.

“We also have juniors in the second team that are probably going to play first team in the next couple of years, and we pick up lads from other clubs who want to play in the Premier Division who are not getting a chance.

“We are trying our best to make it sustainable, to build a good ethos around the club about playing for each other, very much like what Pudsey St Lawrence do.”

That vital win for Bingley sent Cleckheaton tumbling into the bottom two, as they were hammered by eight wickets against New Farnley, just a day after losing to Saints by 99 runs.

Ossett’s own disaster weekend came courtesy of a 76-runs loss to Undercliffe, 24 hours after falling to a seven-wicket defeat against Farsley.

It was a great weekend for Farsley, who dismantled Methley by 193 runs on Sunday.

Whipping boys Congs were thumped by nine wickets and eight wickets against Woodlands and Townville respectively.

Yet Woodlands look to have handed New Farnley the title, and ruined their own chances of winning five top-flight titles in a row.

While they thumped Congs on Saturday, they fell apart twice against Jer Lane on Sunday, losing the game by 110 runs.

Lane were struggling on 155-8, despite Abubakar Dawood scoring 60, but then captain Yasir Ali cracked an unbeaten 67 to propel them up to 236.

Yasir Ali's superb innings of 67 turned the game in Jer Lane's favour. (Image: Ray Spencer.)

And while Woodlands were going along okay at 109-3, spinner Amir Hussain initiated a remarkable collapse, taking 6-12 as Jer Lane bowled out their opponents for 126.

With New Farnley beating both Methley and Cleck at the weekend, they now need just three points from their final game on Saturday, against Woodlands, to take the title.

Jer Lane look set to finish third after their double success at the weekend, as they also beat Undercliffe by 31 runs on Saturday.