AFTER the bowlers were on top in the first two weeks of the Bradford & District Evening League season, the batsmen held sway in week three, with two matches producing over 300 runs and two games being won by just one run.

Greenfield and Shelf epitomised the excitement that just two hours of play can produce, scoring 345 between them in 32 overs.

Mohammed Nadeem (40), Sajad Ali (37) and Adeel Ahmed (36) were the backbone of Greenfield’s 179-8, with Danish Hussain taking 3-7.

Undaunted, Shelf came within 13 runs of their target, making 166-7 thanks to Hamza Iqbal (52no), Sajid Khan (39no) and Asad Abbas (31).

Ciroc went joint top of Division One, maintaining their 100 per cent record after three games following an eight-wicket victory over Mayfield at the Karmand Centre.

Mayfield set a competitive score of 120-3 from their 16 overs, with contributions from Rab Nawaz (35no) and Mohammed Nadeem (33).

Ciroc passed their target for the loss of just two wickets, but with only one over to spare thanks to Kasir Maroof (50no) and Yasir Ali (50no).

Defending champions Salem Athletic are the other unbeaten side in Division One, but by the smallest of margins after a one-run win at Thornton.

Zeeshan Qasim (50no) and Khalid Bilal (39) helped Salem Athletic set an impressive 148-6.

Thornton made 147-4, with Josh Hutchinson top-scoring with 46 and Khalid Bilal taking 3-35.

Denholme started off like a train against Adil Rashid Cricket Academy at East Bierley, scoring 51 without loss from the first four overs.

However, the Academy bowlers then took control, eventually bowling Denholme out for 120 (Richard Wear 36, Jack Hartley 36, Abbas Ahmed 4-12).

An opening partnership of 88 between Mosun Hussain (53no) and Mohammed Bilal (39) laid the foundation for the Academy to record their first victory of the season by five wickets with four overs to spare, despite the best efforts of Phil Poole Jnr (3-32).

In Division Two, John Breare went run crazy at Windhill, scoring 194-3 against Cross Roads & Daisy Hill, with Ceiran Garner scoring 55 not out, Ben Waller 50 not out and Matt Lumb 43 not out.

The hosts tried hard in the face of such a large total but Tom Simpson (3-15) and Bob Hodson (3-31) pegged them back to 123-9, with opener Hasan Malik scoring 35 and Josh Butterfield 36.

On another day their combined scores of 317 would have made the headlines but this week they were eclipsed by Greenfield & Shelf’s 345.

Bradshaw recorded their first win of the season, chasing down Cambing’s 123-5 for the loss of just two wickets off just 11.3 overs.

Makeshift opener Umair Hussain (39) and Mubasher Ahmed (27), who put on 69 for the third wicket, were the main contributors to Cambing’s total, with South African overseas player Kieran Rogers taking 3-14.

Jonathan Bruce (51no) and James Thompson (31) saw Bradshaw safely home in quickfire time.

New boys Raja’s were another team to record their first victory of the season after another exciting one-run win at Great Horton Park Chapel.

Chasing Raja’s 136-9 (Mohammed Altaf 52no, Baber Yaqoob 3-27), Chapel were in the driving seat until Mohammed Shoaib took three wickets in

Park Chapel. Chasing Raja’s 136-9 (Mohammed Altaf 52no, Baber Yaqoob 3-27), Chapel were in the driving seat until Mohammed Shoaib took three wickets in four balls.

Chapel then battled back to need 13 to win off the final over, and when Chris Lawrence hit a six off the third ball, Chapel needed just two from three balls but Raja’s held their nerve as Chapel ended on 135-7 (Adam Beesley 31no, Ben Burkill 31, Mohammed Shoaib 4-27).

Crossflatts suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of table-topping Hepworth & Idle, thanks to an impressive performance from all-rounder Kevin McDermott.

First he took 4-11 as Crossflatts were restricted to 110-7 (Hamza Shahzad 49), and this never looked enough against the batting power of the home side as they passed this total for the loss of just three wickets, with McDermott top- scoring with 45, assisted by Gary Saga (36) and Jamie Robson (31no), while Flatts’ best bowler was Mick Bailey (3-9).

Tomorrow's games are - Division One: Denholme v Thornton, Greenfields v Ciroc, Mayfield v Adil Rashid Cricket Academy & Salem Athletic v Shelf. Division Two: Cambing v Great Horton Park Chapel, Crossflatts v Bradshaw, John Breare v Hepworth & Idle and Raja’s v Cross Roads & Daisy Hill (to be played at Windhill).