Kirkburton negotiated their passage through to the semi-final of the Sykes Cup after Roscoe Tahttil’s third century of the season became the deciding factor away at Rastrick. Steve Whitwam (Golcar) added another century and Oliver Pearson (main image) took four wickets to muscle out Thongsbridge in their bid to win the Sykes Cup precisely ten years after their only other win. Holder’s Delph smoothly saw off Broad Oak and Hoylandswaine continue to plot a course for more silverware after expertly executing a victory over Premiership title rivals Moorlands.

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Rastrick’s enlightening Sykes Cup run came to a close after they were outmatched by a Kirkburton side who’s overseas has really started to hit his straps. Roscoe Tahttil blasted his third hundred so far this season to provide the bedrock to ‘Burton’s first innings score of 269ao. Rastrick from the Championship couldn’t find a wait to derail the potent Sri Lankan as Tahttil (108) held firm as wickets around him fell. Rastrick overseas Asif Afridi (3-38) finally captured the wicket but it was towards the end of the innings. Kirkburton club men Aaron Moore (3-41) and Andrew Smith (4-55) were on the money with their deliveries as Rastrick, concerned with the weather which had blighted two of the Quarter Final ties, struggled for partnerships. The ever-dependable Afridi (55) gave it his all and kept Rastrick up with the run rate, but Kirkburton managed to suffocate the chase and despite a few rain interruptions, ran out comfortable winners by 79 runs.

Golcar also beat the rain on the original scheduled date and a marvellous ton from Steve Whitwam ensured they remain in contention for silverware, a decade after the lifted the Sykes Cup for only time in their history. Whitwam (105) soaked up 151 balls in his match-winning contribution scoring 10 fours and 3 sixes. James Howson (35) also chipped in but once Howson had departed Thongsbridge started to get themselves back in contention with Ben Howitt (5-35) leading the fightback as Golcar had to settle on 243-8. Vistors Thongsbridge may have rued the absence of Ben Raven-Hill’s steady calmness opening the batting when chasing such a challenging total which allowed Golcar’s experienced Craig Ruscoe (3-69) to assert his influence. Alex Kemp (52) ground out a half-century to keep this quarter final clash bubbling nicely but when former Rastrick bowler Oliver Pearson started to remove batsmen around him, ‘Bridge’s pursuit began to falter. Pearson (4-51) went on to wrap up a memorable victory with Thongsbridge bowled out for 194.

Two of the ties were postponed following the rain on and around the original scheduled date and one of those was a much anticipated contest between Hoylandswaine and Moorlands - currently neck and neck in the race at the top of the Premiership. Hoylandswaine missed numerous of their County registered players in this contest but were still able to control much of the match despite losing the toss and bowling first. Adnan Ghani (3-26) was again in strong form as he removed three of the upper order threats - in particular star batsman Jason Grosvenor (75) who was caught by Arron Lilley. Moorlands fell away following the loss of their overseas posting 172ao with the pace of Usman Arshad (2-27) also bagging a couple of wickets. The Hoylandswaine reply hit an early wobble as Moorlands’ Reece Drake (2-34) removed both openers but Arron Lilley (84) turn the tide of the match into Hoylandswaine’s favour. Lilley’s departure was academic with Gurman Randhawa (32no) able to finish the job on 174-4 and secure a semi-final berth with 22 overs remaining.

Sykes Cup holders Delph & Dobcross have retaining the trophy in their crosshairs after brushing aside Broad Oak in the second match played on the reserve date. After winning the toss and batting first, Delph’s Xander Selby and Alex Peters were dismissed early on. However, Mosun Hussain and Nathan Jones steadied the innings to give Delph a good base. Jones was caught and bowled by Broad Oak skipper Jack Hargreaves for a patient 43 off 79 balls (8 fours) but this brought in Rehan Afridi to join Hussain. Afridi (68) produced one of his best knocks of the season so far with a fluent innings score from only 51 balls (7 fours and 4 sixes) and Hussain was dismissed for 59 with 3 fours and 4 sixes. Skipper Louis Aspeling (37) also contributed to leave Delph handily placed for a final ten over push. Adam Hayes hit 3 consecutive sixes before being caught in the deep going for his fourth before Luke Hargreaves (32no), as he so often does, hit 3 big maximums off 14 balls. Delph’s innings closed off the last ball to set Broad Oak an imposing target of 283 to progress to the Semi-Final. Kyran Dyll was the main threat for Broad Oak with 3-30 off his allocated 10 overs. The Broad Oak reply never really got going especially after Umer Yaqoob (2-19) dismissed both openers early, clean bowling both Dominic Finn and danger man Charlie Roebuck. Mohammad Shakir (3-30) then dismissed Broad Oak’s middle order to effectively remove any further threat. When Harvey Booth, who scored a century the previous day, was bowled by Wasim Qasim (3-28),  the innings soon folded. Only Kyran Dill (23) showed resistance but when he was run out by Nathan Jones the innings had subsided to 95ao off 22 overs.

Semi Final Draw

The draw for the Semi-Final has taken place and is as follows:

Sun July 7 - Golcar v Hoylandswaine
Sun July 14 - Kirkburton v Delph & Dobcross