NEW FARNLEY 242 ALL OUT – HOYLANDSWAINE 208 ALL OUT
Hoylandswaine: 208 all out (41.3 overs)
Samit Patel 50, Adnan Mufti 41, Arron Lilley 42, Furqan Shafiq 38, Adam Sylvester 6-43,
Samit Patel 2-39
New Farnley: 242 all out (49.1 overs)
Gurman Randhawa 87, Adam Ahmed 59
New Farnley won by 34 runs
Hoylandswaine’s hopes of reaching the Heavy Woollen Cup final came to an end at the Barry Jackson Ground on Sunday as New Farnley secured a 34-run victory in a hard-fought semi-final.
Having won the toss, Hoylandswaine elected to field and made an excellent start, with Adam Sylvester producing a superb opening spell. Sylvester claimed six wickets for 43 runs, helping reduce New Farnley to 45-6 and putting Hoylandswaine firmly in control.
However, Gurman Randhawa and Adam Ahmed then produced a crucial recovery. Randhawa struck a patient 87 from 137 balls, while Ahmed added 59 from 75, putting on a decisive partnership that eventually lifted New Farnley to 242 all out in 49.1 overs. Samit Patel chipped in with 2 wickets.
There was an interesting Huddersfield Cricket League connection to New Farnley’s recovery, with Randhawa having started his junior cricket in Huddersfield with the Wesleyans, and then, whilst still an Under-15 player, he was already playing in Lascelles Hall’s first team, primarily as a batsman. His early promise also saw him represent the Yorkshire Academy and Yorkshire Boys and eventually gain a professional contract with Yorkshire.
Hoylandswaine began the reply positively, reaching 50 inside five overs, with Furqan Shafiq leading the early charge. Shafiq made an entertaining 38 from 43 balls, including six fours and a six.
After Shafiq departed, Samit Patel and Adnan Mufti rebuilt the innings with a valuable fourth-wicket partnership. Patel went on to complete an excellent half-century, scoring 50 from 72 balls with five fours and two sixes, while Mufti made a composed 41 from 41 balls.
At 150-4, Hoylandswaine were still in contention, and when they reached 200 in the 37th over the game remained alive.
Arron Lilley kept the chase moving with an aggressive 42 from 44 balls, including four fours and a six, but regular wickets eventually put the target beyond reach. Hoylandswaine were finally dismissed for 208 in 41.3 overs, falling 34 runs short.
Abhay Negi was the pick of the New Farnley attack with four wickets for 43, while Gurman Randhawa’s and Adam Ahmed’s economical overs and two victims each tilted the closely fought contest in their favour.
Despite the disappointment of falling at the semi-final stage, Hoylandswaine can take plenty of credit from a campaign that saw them reach the last four of the prestigious Heavy Woollen Cup, as they look forward to a re-match in the ECB National Club Championship at the end of the month.
