A fresh name will grace the All-Rounder Cricket Sykes Cup in August after an afternoon full of shock results saw holders Scholes depart at the hands of Championship side Clayton West, Armitage Bridge also succumbed to lower division opposition at Barkisland and Mirfield Parish Cavaliers went out of the cup away at Almondbury Wesleyans.
The depth of quality in our lower divisions couldn’t have been illustrated more eloquently as Sykes Cup holders Scholes found out when they travelled over to Championship outfit Clayton West, having already demolished joint-Championship leaders Lascelles Hall in round one. However Craig Glover’s on-song Clayton West side were in no mood to be rolled over as New Zealander Phil Tunnicliffe - already having a superb season - walloped an audacious 53-ball ton. Tunnicliffe (103, featured image) hit 9 fours and 8 sixes in a pugnacious display to set Scholes a deep, yet not altogether unsurmountable target of 288-6 from their 50 overs. Tom Barber (63) also chipped in with handy runs down the order. It was ultimately a superb all-round team performance by Glover’s side which knocked Scholes out as they nullified the threat of key batsman Ishan Rangana (27) with Yaasar Imtiaz (59) scoring a half-century. Following Tunnicliffe’s economic ten over allocation with the ball, Scholes put themselves on course for victory thanks to Tom Brook’s run-a-ball 86 but the tide of the match swung once Tom Barber accounted for him, caught by Glover. Scholes’ pursuit subsided at that point as Clayton West closed in and snuffed out the tail end with them ending at 281-7 - crucially seven runs short in a memorable victory for Clayton West.
A tight bowling display helped put Almondbury Wesleyans into the hat for the quarter final as they emphatically saw off Premiership opposition at home to Mirfield Parish Cavaliers. They were kept well under control following a tight nine over spell by Ashley Smith (3-28) as Nazar Hussain (46) and a half-century by Jamie Hardcastle (51) failed to pile on any meaningful pressure with Parish settling on 204-9 from 50 overs. Parish chopped and changed bowlers in the reply but weren’t able to slow down Wesleyans as they fired themselves into the quarter finals following two key contributions in a 153-run opening stand by skipper Will Binns (58) and Alex Taylor (79). Their response of 207-3 was reached inside 32 overs.
An excellent century by Tony Treadaway (122) wasn’t enough to prevent Armitage Bridge spiralling out of the competition at the hands of recently relegated Barkisland. Darren Robinson’s team have endured an awkward start to their campaign but are now starting to pick up momentum and this was a huge confidence-boosting win. Visitors Armitage Bridge worked their way to a competitive 254-5 mainly thanks to Treadaway’s 127-ball innings of which he hit 11 fours and 2 sixes. Opener Saqib Matlub (45) offered him support but Bridge weren’t able to pile on enough runs in the final part of their innings to take the game away from their hosts. Barkisland offered a steady response and profited from some wayward opening bowling as opener James Summerscales (60) and Luke Bridges (77no) put on a 69-run partnership for the second wicket. Bridge attempted numerous bowling changes to force a wobble but Barkisland were steadfast and reached their target of 258-4 in a seemingly comfortable 39 overs with Ben Westbrook (47) hammering five sixes towards the end.
Another centurian somehow ended up on the losing side as Cawthorne failed to defend an imposing total away at Honley. Iqbal Khan (105) provided the cornerstone of Cawthorne’s 224-6 total in a classy 134-ball innings that contained 14 fours. Honley were indebted to a solid start laid on by opener Danny Howard (66) and a half-century from captain Timmy Taylor (51) as they ran home ardant winners with 5 overs remaining by scoring 227-4 in reply.
Another Championship side who found themselves well out of their comfort zone was Rastrick who felt the full, blunt force of a fast-paced Delph & Dobcross bowling attack. Their main strike bowler, overseas Waqas Maqsood (9-23, pictured above), appeared in irresistible form as he took nine Rastrick wickets, narrowly missing out on a Sykes Cup bowling record which stretches back to 1986: Graeme Hurlbatt’s 9-16 for Broad Oak remains unbeaten for now. Rastrick were completely outplayed by the left-armer’s vicious pace bowling and were bowled out for 44. Delph, who last won the Sykes Cup in 2016, lost one wicket in reply, that of Mosun Hussain (14) as they reached 46-1 in just six overs of a match that only saw 20 overs in total.
Skelmanthorpe found the going tough away at Hoylandswaine as apart from opener Allan Greenwood (41) they fell away to some variable home bowling. Usman Arshad (2-13), Ben Potter (2-26) and Gurman Randhawa (2-19) all combined to rattle through the Skelmanthorpe order as they finished 112ao. Max Joice (62) led the reply for Hoylandswaine and the two-time Sykes Cup winners raced home in under 14 overs reaching 113-3.
Nasir Jamal (4-12) hit another purple patch as the Shepley seam bowler helped put Elland to the sword at Hullen Edge. Archie Greaves (3-12) also pitched in to help reduce Elland to a low total of 57ao on their way to a ten wicket victory. Openers Tom Denton (33) and John Anderson (22) took care of business in a short space of time as Shepley posted 58-0 in just over 11 overs.
The only other all-Premiership clash came at Miry Lane where Moorlands registered their second victory over hosts Thongsbridge of the season. Again, the visitors set a 300-run total with four batsmen carving out notable contributions. Opener Jared Maxwell (56) shrugged off the bad start of losing fellow opening bat David Winn off the third ball before Andrew Fortis (45) helped him put on a hundred runs for the first wicket. This platform enabled Nathan Rabnott (86) and Eddie Walmsley (56) to exhibit their skills as Moorlands posted 300-6. Thongsbridge gave a spirited account themselves but despite Haydn Slodecki (84) and wicketkeeper Richard Marshall (38) they had too much to do and finished 52 runs shy on 248ao.
The draw for the quarter final will take place on Wednesday June 6th.
Full scores:
Mirfield PC 204-9 (T Orrell 29, N Hussain 46, J Hardcastle 51, D Hope 32; A Smith 3-28)
*Almondbury Wes 207-3 (W Binns 58, A Taylor 79, C Stott 29no).
Armitage Bridge 254-5 (S Matlub 45, T Treadaway 122)
*Barkisland 258-4 (G Hampshire 36, J Summerscales 60, Luke Bridges 77no, B Westbrook 47).
*Clayton West 288-6 (A Clegg 47, T Barber 63, P Tunnicliffe 103, B Oldroyd 28; L Brook 3-59)
Scholes 281-7 (A Clegg 34, J Noble 44, Y Imtiaz 59, I Rangana 27, T Brook 86; D Barber 3-49)
Rastrick 44 (W Maqsood 9-23)
*Delph & Dobcross 46-1.
*Elland 57 (N Jamal 4-12, A Greaves 3-12)
Shepley 58-0 (T Denton 33no).
Cawthorne 224-6 (I Khan 105no, C Walmsley 36no)
*Honley 227-4 (D Howard 66, T Taylor 51, R Robinson 25; M Smith 3-40).
Skelmanthorpe 112 (A Greenwood 41no)
*Hoylandswaine 113-3 (M Joice 62).
Moorlands 300-6 (J Maxwell 56, A Fortis 45, N Rabnott 86, E Walmsley 56no)
*Thongsbridge 248 (R Marshall 38, T Raven-Hill 26, H Slodecki 84, B Balmforth 28; M Padgett 4-48, D Winn 4-46)
