Cowling off top spot in Craven League after Bingley Congs KO

Leaders Cowling were put in by Bingley Congs, who must have been wondering if they had made the right decision when the hosts posted 294-9.

That was largely down to three players – Laiq Ur Rehman (82), Naqi Hassan (73) and Zahid Hussain (60) – as Harry Greenhalgh (4-78) and Neil Copping (3-67) largely avoided the chaos.

One bowler who didn’t was Danny Pearson, whose two overs cost 36 runs, although he did take a wicket on the day before his wedding at the Parish Church of All Saints in Bingley, with the wedding reception afterwards at Congs.

Congs players were confident about their reply, however, and won by six wickets with 16 balls to spare.

Openers George Hicks (103) and Simon Bailey (34) set the tone with a 79-run stand, and Mohammad Adil (74) and Copping (52no) carried on the good work, with Adil and Hicks putting on 101 for the third wicket.

Congs are now the leaders by a point from Cowling, with Haworth a further point back in third, waiting for any slip-ups.

There was little chance of any worry for Haworth at Foulridge as the hosts opted to bat but were rolled over for 48, with Damian Rowell taking 3-6, Ollie Bishop 3-16 and Jacob Hudson 4-6.

James Roper then made 27 as the visitors won by eight wickets in just 8.4 overs.

Oakworth are fourth with 27 points, six behind Haworth, as the title race looks like a three-horse race.

The Wide Lane club were in unforgiving mood, however, at home to Haworth Road Meths, who were asked to bat and made 159, with Harry Hollingsworth taking four wickets in his first spell and finishing with 5-19.

James Powell (2-27) and Jack Davison (2-26) supported the pace bowler, and Oakworth then made mincemeat of their target, taking just 18.2 overs to win by ten wickets.

Joel Gallagher ended on 89 not out off 67 balls, including 13 fours and two sixes, and Bradley Powell was 68 not out off just 43 balls, including five fours and five sixes.

At the bottom, Ingrow notched a vital 36-run win over Hepworth & Idle, boosting their chances of staying up.

Hosts Ingrow won the toss and batted, making 142, which was largely down to skipper Matty Courtman (39) and Tobias Hartley, who made 48 at No 8.

Hepworth & Idle were then dismissed for 106, with Jake Hoyle taking 4-15 and Zafar Iqbal 4-27, putting Ingrow four points clear of second-from-bottom Sutton.

The latter found run-scoring difficult at Wilsden and could only total 106-6 off their 40 overs, George Elrick top-scoring with 22.

Wilsden then won by nine wickets in 21.3 overs.

Denholme and Bradley are equal second in Division Two, five points behind Gargrave.

Airedale won the toss and batted at home to Denholme, but were castled for just 79, with only Warren Coppack (28) and No 9 Stephen Bond (17) making double figures as Josh Wheatley (5-22), Ryan Clark (2-16) and Richard Taylor (2-13) got among the wickets.

Denholme won by seven wickets halfway through the 17th over, with Hussnain Ali making 26, fellow opener Matthew Shaw-Burns 24 and Toby Priestley 26 not out, James Crossley taking all of the wickets to fall at a cost of 17 runs.

Bradley found things a little more difficult but still took care of business at home to Eldwick & Gilstead, who won the toss and scored 131, with Vince Grant in deadly form with 5-18 and Zain Naeem taking 2-17.

Only two players made decent scores in the reply, but that was all Bradley needed, with opener Matt Buckmaster hitting 40 and Ibrar Ali 50 not out, which included six fours and a six as the target was reached in the 28th over.

Long Lee were the latest team to get their hopes up, only to have them dashed by Bradford & Bingley III, this time at Golden View.

The Keighley side, sent in, made 181-7, with opener Zafran Ghaffar scoring 39.

However, the main runs came down the order, with Stephen Butterfield (32no) and skipper Richard Ayrton (44) putting on 69 for the seventh wicket.

Bingley were 69-5 but their lower middle order came good, as they often do, and they won by four wickets in the 37th over, despite Ahsan Rizwan taking 3-55.

Silsden climbed a place to eighth, overtaking Airedale, after overcoming Barrowford II at the Bull Holme Oval.

The home side made 138, with Joe Sugden (5-26), Will Pullen (2-12) and Lewis Middleton (2-29) enjoying themselves.

Silsden then breezed home by seven wickets in the 28th over, largely due to Robert Jones (71no), Tom Snowden playing a supporting role with 23.

Cononley may well go down, but at least they are showing some spirit, which was again in evidence as they made 172-5 at home to Skipton CI after being sent in.

Opener Scott Brook made 66 and featured in two half-century stands – 52 for the first with Herbert Starkey (28) and 58 for the third with Tom Feather (36).

CI were 17-3 and 71-6 in reply but won by one wicket halfway through the 37th over, despite Feather (5-51, including a hat-trick) and David Turner (2-5), with the last-wicket pair putting on 15 to see the Sandylanders home.

In Division Three, like in Division One, the top two met, with hosts Riddlesden emerging as easy winners over Embsay II.

The latter opted to bat but could only post 104, with the outstanding Mohammed Zulfiqar (9.1-3-7-4) and Mohammad Qadeer (4-26) proving tough opponents.

Riddlesden then knocked off the runs inside 20 overs, with Qadeer 41 not out and wicket-keeper Naveed Hussain 46 not out.

Glusburn, four-wicket winners at home to Cowling II, remain third, a point behind Embsay II.

Cowling II chose to bat and made 158, which was really down to two men – No 7 Junaid Gullnawaz (67), who hit 12 fours and two sixes, and No 10 Adheel Ahmed (24).

Irfan Khaliq (5-18) had cut a swathe through the early Cowling batting, and Brett Parkin (3-34) finished the innings off.

Cowling’s hopes were raised by three early victims, but were then dashed by Steve Brown (36), Zaheer Abbas (41), Mohammad Sarfraz (24) and Simon Frost (23no), with Qamar Zaman taking 4-44 and Imran Kamal 2-20.

Oakworth II were 10-wicket victors at Denholme II, putting the 10-man hosts in and skittling them for 88, with Tom Butterfield, loaned from Long Lee, really playing a lone hand with 69 as Sajjad Razaq took 3-13.

Oakworth took just 14.4 overs to knock the runs off, with under-18 Bilaal Khan 51 not out and under-16 Charlie Raby 24 not out.

Haworth II were in an equally one-sided match at home to Thornton-in-Craven, being dismissed for 59, with only skipper and wicket-keeper Paul Stephens, at No 9, making double figures with 15 not out.

Thornton-in-Craven won by 10 wickets in the 18th over.

In Division Four, Long Lee II had a free week as there are an odd number of teams, but Ingrow II could not draw level on points with them as they were well beaten at leaders Gargrave II.

Ingrow sent in the home side, who made 194-8, and Ingrow were then castled for 64, with only Abid Hussain (27) and Rick Loftus (11) reaching double figures.

Glusburn II were involved in one of the best matches of the day at joint leaders Skipton CI II, who won the toss and made 178-3.

Glusburn replied with 170-6, with Colin Dyson making 33, Qasim Dar 40 not out and Alan Coney 24.

Bradley II conceded to Oakworth III and Airedale II conceded to Hepworth & Idle III.

At least Keighley III got on the field and made it count by defeating 10-man Bingley Congs III at Sandy Lane.

Congs, sent in, could only make 81, with four bowlers each taking two wickets.

Opener Zahid Bashir (40no) then guided Keighley to a seven-wicket victory, with Amit Mistry making 32.