Meltham dug deep to home in on a win which took them further out of trouble against Birkby Rose Hill. Leaders Delph enjoyed a home success after weather threatened to ground them with Golcar and Armitage Bridge piling up the runs. Clayton West tumbled to the foot of the table when they lost at Lascelles Hall.
Sam Clegg (above) calmly dragged Meltham through a rigorous examination at home to in-form Birkby Rose Hill to claim a vital victory and move away from trouble at the bottom. Visitors Birkby - third at the start of play - set 192-8 thanks to an Abbas Khan half-century with George Sykes-Kenworthy taking 3-40 for the hosts. Abbas Khan’s 3-43, complemented by Khalil Khan’s remarkably identical figures had Meltham in trouble on 85-5. However Clegg stepped up with a brilliant 65no to serenely negotiate the choppy waters. Khuram Sajid provided hammer blows to expedite the win with his quick 27no as Meltham glided home in the end on 193-6.
Golcar’s groove resumed with a blistering batting display at promotion-chasing Denby. Steve Whitwam scored 44 before Jacob Mulhall (99, above) fell agonisingly short of his first ever century for Golcar. Meanwhile, James North took centre stage with a sublime 133 to take him over the 500 run mark as the visitors put up a substantial 327-4. Denby restored pride putting together a 195ao reply with Faisal Javed (32) top scoring. Captain Jack McNamara claimed 5-71 and all-rounder Whitwam returned 3-55 in Golcar’s comfortable success.
Delph & Dobcross kept their grasp on top spot but they were made to work hard by lowly Holmfirth. The division’s leading run-getter Nayyar Abbas was an intimidating presence as he crashed an unbeaten 87 from 56 balls in this twenty over bash with Demari Prince (above) chipping in with 40no. Holmfirth’s Ibrar Hussain got off to a flyer with a brutal 58. The game was in the balance when Australian Kye Zanardi (42) got going but both were removed close to each other and their pursuit ran out of steam. They claimed a useful point from their 167-4 total but slipped into the relegation zone, three points from safety.
Chris Dennison (above) and Jaycob Curtling both hammered big hundreds in a thrashing of Rastrick at Round Hill, avenging Rastrick’s defeat over them in May’s reverse fixture. Dennison’s 140 came in 96 balls with a total of 25 fours and 2 sixes. Curtling’s was a more steady pace with 117 from 115 deliveries including 17 fours and a six to help his side to a mammoth 382-4. Rastrick’s Jacob Waterson regularly shuffled his pack to try and find an answer and Christopher Laas found the most success with 3-72. Shrikant Wagh scored 80 in the reply but they were well beaten on 206ao with Jonah Thackeray and Musa Ahmed both collecting three wickets apiece.
Harvey Jones and Sagar Sharma (above) hit half centuries as Shelley claimed an important win over free-falling visitors Slaithwaite. The away side - without a win in five attempts - compiled 233-6 with their overseas men Blair McKenzie making 75 and Zane Gilder hitting a fluent 58. They were undone by loose bowling though as wicketkeeper Jones cashed in with 63no and overseas man Sharma making 55. Shelley captain Callum Power finished unbeaten on 47 as Shelley replied with 235-5.
An anaemic batting display by Clayton West saw them tumble back into the bottom two with a loss away at mid-table Lascelles Hall. Six batsmen got into double figures during their 170ao but none could make meaningful contributions with the best coming from Daniel Wood (30). Hall’s Tom Wightman (above) picked up 6-44 and Fez Khan hit 42 as the home side countered with 173-5. Joel Barnett made a breezy 35 to take them comfortably home.
