Spinners Steve Whitwam and Jack McNamara plotted the downfall of leaders Delph & Dobcross who crashed to defeat at home to second-placed Golcar, but it was James North’s dazzling innings which set the scene in the day's top-billed match. Denby surrendered more ground on the top two after spiralling to defeat at Birkby Rose Hill whose brilliant campaign saw them rise to third. Meltham and Clayton West both clambered out of an ever-changing relegation zone as Shelley and Holmfirth tumbled into trouble.
James North (above) smashed 81 to draw Golcar level at the top with a crushing win at leaders Delph & Dobcross; their first loss at home in 2023. Golcar set the tone after Zac Hurley (40) launched 18 from Nayyar Abbas’ first over, although the Pakistan all-rounder dragged Delph back into the game by taking 4-44. Steve Whitwam’s 40 provided the bedrock for North to shine as he put on 78 runs with skipper Jack McNamara to set 239. Delph had no answer with the bat as they folded under duress. Ryan Adams bowled tightly to take 2-23 before Whitwam and McNamara claimed seven wickets between them to remove the rest as Delph crashed to 118ao in reply.
Denby lost ground on the top two by fluffing their lines at fortress Birkby Rose Hill who kept their 100% home record intact to move above Denby into third. Khalil Khan made 38 and Aftab Ur Rahim totted-up 42 in Birkby’s benign-looking 141ao with Kaleel Ahmed taking 4-52 for Denby. Left arm spinner Zain Ul Abdin (above) picked up his 30th wicket as he claimed 4-31 to derail the visitors who looked well set on 42-2. Khan’s 3-20 did the rest as Denby meekly subsided to 111ao.
Jaycob Curtling (above) steered Armitage Bridge to a tight win away at Lascelles Hall. The all-rounder collected 3-24 in the first innings with Jack Hinchliffe taking 3-38 and Jonah Thackeray returning 4-43 as the home side were bowled out for 176 with Fez Khan top-scoring. Chris Dennison scored 62 to get the visitors off to a decent start and Curtling’s 61no turned out to be crucial as Lascelles Hall searched for a way back in. Armitage Bridge secured their sixth league victory as they replied with 177-7.
Shelley replaced Clayton West at the foot of the table after they were dismantled at home by an Alex Clegg batting performance. The Clayton West skipper (above) batted from start to finish for a brilliant 119no and the visitors’ total was supercharged by a belligerent 93 from 75 balls from Mark Atkinson as Shelley totalled 276-2. Former Shepley off-spinner Danny Wood claimed 5-52 as Shelley crashed out for 121 in reply. Kirin Green’s 44 was the sole consolation for the off-colour hosts.
Ibrar Hussain (above) and Khuram Sajjad helped Meltham climb out of the relegation zone, a position they’d occupied from the start of the season. Hussain grabbed 4-34 and Sajjad took 3-39 to punish visiting Slaithwaite who were dismissed for 160. Sajjad then went on to make an unbeaten half-century by scoring 53no, with opener Abdul Hamid matching it whilst opening the batting. Meltham cruised to victory with a reply of 163-3.
Holmfirth found themselves deposited in the bottom two after they were routed away at Rastrick. Jordan Ghani caused most of the damage by claiming 5-22 with Shrikant Wagh chipping in with 3-35 as ‘Firth collapsed to 96ao. Rastrick knocked it off for three wickets thanks to a Christopher Laas unbeaten 40.
