Excellent individual performances saw Marsden to a valuable first success of the season away at Meltham, but it wasn’t enough to take the Hemplow side out of the bottom two. Mirfield Parish are starting to motor now as they followed up last Sunday’s nervy Sykes Cup win with a dominating victory at Denby. Rastrick are picking up form and backed up their cup heroics by seeing off a threatening Birkby performance. Thongsbridge were made to work hard by Linthwaite to maintain their lead at the top but it was more tricky for Slaithwaite who needed a gritty all-round display from Ben Dale to reach a low target set by Shelley. Lascelles Hall have work to do after another dismal batting show resulted in another one-sided defeat, this time at Armitage Bridge.
Marsden finally secured their first Championship victory, but remained in the relegation zone despite their win at Meltham. Meltham, thanks to George Sykes Kenworthy's four-wicket haul, restricted Marsden to 155 all out. Crucial knocks from Islam Hayyat (38) and skipper Matty Butters (35) proved vital for the visitors. In reply, Meltham were undone by former Delph man Rizwan Ali (3-22, above) and Ali Raza's 4-29 in a combined seven-wicket effort, falling to 118 all out.
Leaders Thongsbridge maintained their grip on the top spot, easing past a spirited Linthwaite challenge. Ben Balmforth (above) compiled an unbeaten 39 low down the order propelled Thongsbridge to 190 all out, despite Sajid Bashir's five-wicket haul for Linthwaite. Chasing a modest target, Linthwaite started well with Linthwaite captain Bashir's 43, but a middle-order collapse saw them slump from 63-0 to 87-5. Vikas Dixit, Ben Howitt, and Zafar Iqbal shared nine wickets amongst themselves to secure Thongsbridge a comfortable 46-run victory.
Mirfield Parish Cavaliers rediscovered their winning touch with a convincing victory at Denby. Denby posted a decent 212 all out thanks to half-centuries from Hashir Khan (76) and Osman Butt (70). However, Parish responded with a dominant bowling performance, with Hashim Wajid claiming a six-wicket haul. Wajid then chipped in with a valuable 35 not out to further frustrate Denby. Dave Bolt's impressive 67 and Nick Sharp's well-made 62 laid the foundation for Parish's comfortable chase, completed with 10 overs to spare.
Rastrick were too strong for Birkby Rose Hill, securing a comfortable 75-run win at Round Hill. Half-centuries from Jacob Waterson (52, above) and Faisal Javid (51) set the tone for Rastrick's 202-8 total. Despite a promising start from Chaurdry Anwar Ul Haq (51) who helped them to 84-2, Birkby suffered a dramatic collapse, losing their last six wickets for just nine runs. Shrikant Wagh (6-41) and Nadim Hussain (4-22) shared all ten wickets as Birkby were dismissed for 127.
Rock-bottom Lascelles Hall endured another dismal batting display, slumping to their fourth consecutive loss at Armitage Bridge to lie rooted to the bottom. Jack Hinchliffe and Jaycub Curtling ran riot with the ball, restricting Lascelles Hall to 82ao. Captain Chris Dennison's 30 runs were enough to secure victory for Bridge, who chased down the target with eight wickets to spare.
Second-placed Slaithwaite made hard work of defeating Shelley in a low-scoring encounter at Hill Top. Janaid Tanwir's six-wicket haul and Ben Dale's three-wicket spell skittled Shelley out for just 60 runs. Dale, with an unbeaten 35, steered Slaithwaite home despite a late wobble that saw them lose eight wickets in pursuit of their modest target.
