Cumberworth made ground on Conference leaders Marsden as George Parkes’ six wicket haul helped his side edge out Kirkheaton. Table-topping Marsden stumbled at Hoylandswaine 2XI and third placed Mirfield played out a tie at home to Emley Clarence. In the Alliance, Scholes 2XI leapfrogged Barkisland Twos as the top teams swapped places.
Marsden’s lead at the top was shortened to five points after they lost to improving Hoylandswaine 2XI. Matty Butters (61) and Parth Naik (58) both made half-centuries but Luke Potter’s 80 led Swaine to victory as they chased down Marsden’s 250-8 with seven balls left.
Cumberworth’s promotion credentials were reinforced as they doggedly pulled off a 13-run win away at Kirkheaton. Asher Begadam and Nathan Moorhouse made scores in the forties with Sam Atkinson claiming 5-47 for the hosts. George Parkes took 6-38 as Cumberworth held on.
Mirfield and Emley Clarence fought out a pulsating tie at the Memorial Ground. Jacob Bonner made a 141-ball 108no for Emley who set 237-6 batting first. Mirfield spread their runs more equally with Shoaib Nasir’s 68 and Ben Carrington’s 50. Wickets tumbled but Mirfield replied with 237-9 in a frantic finish.
In the other Conference matches, Thurstonland made it back-to-back wins and move up the table by defeating Edgerton & Dalton thanks to Russell Mottram (38) and Jordan Thackray (4-24). Elland slumped to the bottom with a loss at Hall Bower and haven’t won since the opening day to continue their tumultuous season. Bower’s Faisar Siddiq and Sam Baxter helped themselves to three wickets each and Ali Raffiq scored 75no as they won by four wickets. Abdallah Manzoor took 5-47 for Linthwaite but was unable to prevent his side losing at Upperthong. Tom Charlesworth took 4-36 as Linthwaite subsided to 143ao in reply to Upperthong’s 181ao.
In the Alliance, Barkisland 2XI lost their unbeaten record and top-spot after being undone away at Almondbury firsts. Bernard Snyman hit 84 and Safwatt Shehzad carved 74 in the hosts’ 247-6. Barkisland could only manage 205-8 with Syed Shah taking three for Almondbury. Visiting batsman Darren Robinson (62) made a half-century.
Scholes 2XI went top with a resounding win at home to Thongsbridge’s second string who made 226-9. Max Field’s 4-31 set up the win and Jake Robshaw’s 66 sealed it as Scholes replied with 228-5.
Elsewhere, Denby Dale first team moved above Delph & Dobcross 2XI by chasing down 206ao. Aiden Geldart claimed four wickets and keeper Matty Rammell scored 73 as the hosts inched home by two wickets. Armitage Bridge’s Alec Jakeman’s 49 helped set 159ao at Kirkburton seconds for whom Daler Winterbottom enjoyed a five-fer. They crashed to 111ao under scrutiny from Wayne Swift (4-32). Dan Barber hammered 74 for Skelmanthorpe Twos at home to Honley setting 243-9. Honley skipper Tom Willitts took 6-39 but was unable to prevent his side sliding to defeat. Opener James Turner made 59 as Honley were dismissed for 176. Shat trio Barber, youngster Taylor Robinson and experienced stalwart Adam Dollive all claimed three wickets each.
Moorlands 2XI’s relentless charge at the top continued with a win at Cartworth Moor - their eighth success in eight. Logan Silverwood and Ant Thorpe both eschewed fifties and George Crowther hit an unbeaten 46. Braiden Fortis helped himself to 4-17 as Moor were bowled out for 126. Hall Bower lost ground on the leaders after falling to Mirfield Parish despite Jack Brook’s 72 and Ray Bottomley scoring 66. Dan Hope’s 45 was vital for Parish in their 2 wicket success.
Elsewhere Tom Simpson took five wickets for Slaithwaite as Shepley perished four runs short. Linthwaite’s Umran Rashid made a 75-ball 107 in Linthwaite’s substantial win at home to Holmfirth. Mohammad Ismail and Omair Khan both plundered five wickets each for Linthwaite. Clayton West crashed to 26-6 and then 132ao at Cumberworth thanks to Ash Littlewood’s persistent bowling. Littlewood took 4-14 and Glenn Senior hit 62no in a six wicket success. Ben Shufflebotham (3-19) and Tom Battams (3-27) shared six wickets for Almondbury Wes as they pushed aside Broad Oak. Daniel Platt (28) and Nathan Kenworthy (40no) polished off victory replying to Oak’s 130-9 with 131-3.
In Alliance Three, Zaheer Ahmed crashed an 84-ball 142 at home to Denby Dale. The all-rounder smashed 19 fours and 8 maximums on the way to Birkby Rose Hill’s 282-9 total. He then finished off with 4-3 as Birkby topped the division with Seth Morley and Allister Barson making half centuries for Denby Dale. Elland’s Nadeem Rafic took 5-32 in his side’s home victory against Edgerton & Dalton. Holmbridge 1XI man Martin Gledhill scored an unbeaten 93 at Shelley but it wasn’t enough as Chris Dimbylow (79no) and Ellis Mellor (60no) combined in a six wicket victory.
Rastrick’s Vaughan Wagstaff (3-25) and Richard Payne (4-25) restricted visiting Thurstonland to 135-9. Tom Stead’s 50no ensured the win which sent them top of Alliance Four, jumping over Mirfield who didn’t play.
