WHICH is the most successful cricket club in the Leeds-Bradford area? 

How about a club who have won the Bradford Premier League Premier Division title for the past four completed seasons, lifted the Priestley Cup three times in seven seasons, and retained the Yorkshire Premier League Play-Off crown in 2023? 

In addition, they won the Heavy Woollen Cup in 2017. 

But all of you who said Woodlands may be wrong. 

If you are talking about the volume of league titles won, the most successful cricket club in the Leeds-Bradford area arguably has to be Keighley RZM, who have won the Quaid-e-Azam Cricket League crown 15 times since they first entered it in 1999.

When Nasa Hussain, Master of Ceremonies at the league’s 44th annual dinner and prize presentation, asked RZM’s captain Zeesham Qasim just how other clubs might end their dominance, he said: “Hard work.” 

Azad picked up three awards, with Sarfaraz Ahmed having the best analysis (6-14) and taking the most wickets (29), while Majid Khan was the leading keeper with 18 dismissals. 

Earlmarshall didn’t go away empty-handed, however, having had the best partnership in the top flight with 178 between Danyaal Latif and Arsalan Mir. 

Attock Tigers, were triple award winners in the Regal Championship Division, having the bowler with the lowest average (Imaam Ahmed, 7.7), the top keeper (Fahim Khan, 17 dismissals), and the leading fielder (Babar Khan, 11 victims). 

Shaheen’s Mohsin Hamdani topped the batting averages with 61.50, while Bowling Baptist had the leading run-scorer in Muhammad Zulfiqar (424).

The best analysis award went to Saram Qurreshi (Mangla United) with 6-22, who was also the leading wicket-taker with 28, while champions Panyam had the best partnership between Harris Mahmood and Irfan Ahmad. 

Syed Zeeshan Kashmi featured in two awards for Gulhar, winning the batting averages with 45.00 and featuring in the highest partnership – 107 with Touqeer Hanif. 

They also had the leading keeper, Asif Hussain, with 15 dismissals, and the best individual score, 164 by Usman Munir. 

Mirpur had the leading run-maker, Syed M Saghir Abbas with 323, the leading wicket-taker, Syed A Abbas Shah, with 29, and the best analysis, Rashid Mahmood with 6-14. 

My Lahore’s Shehriyar Khan won the bowling averages with 9.8, while TABS’ Usman Riaz was the leading fielder with seven victims. 

Meanwhile, runners-up Cambridge Methodists dominated the Smorgasbord Division 1B awards with five. 

Adil Wahid picked up three of them – the best average (75.75), the top score (131) and the most runs (303) – while Zhear Ahmed was the leading keeper with eight victims, and Waheed Hanif had the best analysis with 6-16. 

That only award left was the highest partnership, which went to CJ’s XI’s Syed Abbas and Fahid Ali for their 168.