Keighley’s policy of blooding youngsters while maintaining a core of experience is certainly paying dividends.

After a double weekend when the Lawkholme Laners won three of their four matches, first-team skipper Ross Towler has said: “For the first time in several seasons we have genuine competition for places.

“And I am not just talking about for the first team. I am also talking about players keeping their places in the second team.”

First up for Towler’s team was a visit to last year’s cellar dwellers Great Horton, but this was a contest that could have gone either way.

“They have recruited well over the winter, have a couple of good spinners, and batsmen who can hit the ball,” said Towler. “I can see them upsetting a few teams, partiuclarly on their own pitch.

“We were chasing 157 for victory and were in a great position at 92-1 but had a wobble and were then 116-5.

“But after Stephen Reape and Imran Patel, who both batted well, had put us in that good position, the game might have gone away from us were it not for a good innings by Simon Bailey, who saw us home by five wickets with 39 not out.”

On Sunday, Keighley visited Lightcliffe. Confronted by a flat wicket, a fast outfield and a short boundary, Towler felt that the home side’s 235-4 was slightly under-par for the conditions.

He added: “Chris Taylor and the young lad, Josh Wheatley, batted well but we pulled things back well when we could have been chasing 300.

“That was mainly due to our spinners Freddie Pearson (off) and Andy Coppen (left arm).”

Amazingly, Keighley went from 92-1 to 116-5 for the second successive day, this time after Max Davidson (56) and Patel (39) had added 82 for the second wicket, Patel having added 87 the day before with Reape.

“We had four changes from the Saturday for various reasons and gave debuts to 15-year-old Jack Beetham and 18-year-old Freddie Pearson.

“Wheatley also bowled well and we kept losing wickets at vital times and finished up about 60 short. But there were plenty of positives and there is a good vibe around the club this year.”

The second team, who scored a total of 500 runs, won both their games at home, defeating Brig-house by 136 runs and Bankfoot by 162 runs on days when their opponents were out for about 100.

Beetham’s unbeaten 59 helped Keighley to 239-6 at home to Brig-house, Pearson (47), Callum Jones (29), Nathan Barrett (24) and Ben Simons (24 not out) also making significant contributions.

Simons (70), Jason Perry (58no) and Tim Burnley (34) did well against Bankfoot, and all fivebowlers used by the second string returned good figures on both days.

On Saturday, Keighley’s first team host Bankfoot, while the second team visit Idle.