Bradshaw celebrate at last

The bottom side’s match at Blackley was reduced to 28 overs per side after rain and the visitors’ 140 for eight proved just enough.

Joe Lewis (23) and Lee Broadbent (26) withstood the threat of Kamran Khan (six for 64) to give Bradshaw’s bowlers a chance.

Blackley came up an agonising two runs short in reply, with Bilal Sheraz’s 30 taking them close, Elliott Mercer’s three for 21 off seven overs being a key contribution for Bradshaw.

Jer Lane look as if they will be difficult to stop in their quest to retain the title after slamming Sowerby Bridge by 120 runs.

Bridge had inflicted the champions’ only domestic defeat of the season in the first meeting on their way to top slot but their hopes of glory have nosedived with three successive defeats.

Lane were inconvenienced by the weather yesterday, seeing their total of 237 shrunk to 184 by rain.

But it made not a scrap of difference as Sam Wilson (six for 25) maintained his impressive form and dismissed Bridge’s ailing batting line-up for 64.

Earlier, Paul Chapman had made 84 for Lane, spinner Jake Dixon taking four for 60.

Lane have marched 10 points clear of Mytholmroyd, who maintained their pursuit with a maximum haul from a 106-run home win over Copley.

Seamers Ian Hartley (five for 51) and Toby Thorpe (three for 63) caused them some problems but Luke Sutcliffe (92) and Chris Overend (57) helped Mytholmroyd post 256.

Copley slipped from 75 for two to 90 for seven in reply, with Adie Gawthorpe taking four for 37, and Craig Taylor’s hard-hit 38 could only take the visitors up to 150.

Wayne Cotton’s 91 at the top of the order helped Thornton post 234 for eight at home to Southowram.

Mushtaq Mohammed and Gavin Moody took four wickets each for the Rams and Moody’s brother Scott top scored for the visitors with 46.

However, the visitors had to settle for maximum batting points at 181 for eight.

Booth were six wicket winners at Triangle after passing their hosts’ 267 for seven

Northowram Hedge Top won a dramatic Division One contest at Low Moor by one run with a run out in the penultimate over.

The visitors, sent in to bat on a wet outfield and a wet wicket, were restricted to 161 with captain Ollie Hemingway (37) the top scorer and Carl Harrison claiming five victims behind the stumps.

Low Moor had a 30-run opening stand in reply but slumped to 68 for seven with Sam Gardner taking five for 51.

Number three Nick Wood was still there and he teamed up with Ben Maxwell in a stand of 62 before Wood was caught on the boundary for 50.

The ninth wicket quickly followed, leaving Maxwell to be joined by 16 year old Shazaib Waheed.

The pair added 23 and took Moor to the bring of victory but Waheed was run out with seven balls left to leave Maxwell unbeaten on 45 and the visitors the narrowest of winners.

SBCI are the new leaders after they won a rain-reduced contest up at Outlane and previous table-toppers Oxenhope crashed to a 122-run defeat at Queensbury.

Outlane were dismissed for 125 in a game reduced to 34 overs per side by rain.

Tom Wood did much of the damage, taking six for 50, but it was then SBCI’s turn to struggle with the bat and they lost seven wickets reaching their target, Tom Conway’s 29 not out seeing them through.

Queensbury’s batsmen opened up with all guns blazing as Scott Osborne (70) and Jamie Priestley (41) propelled them to 150 for two after 22 overs.

Oxenhope turned to the medium pace of Stuart Jackson (four for 73) and skipper Duncan Tetley (three for 41), who applied the brakes to the scoring and took vital wickets to restrict Queensbury to 219 for eight.

As the skies darkened and rain threatened, a tremendous opening burst from paceman Matthew Johnson (four for 37) reduced Oxenhope to 53 for six.

Only Craig Bartlett (37) showed any form as wickets fell steadily but short break for rain gave the visitors hope of a share of the spoils.

However, the skies cleared and Oxenhope were never in with a chance of chasing down a reduced home total of 209, spinners Amjad Ali (two for 12) and Girdiv Singh (three for 10) finishing off the innings for 97.

Bottom side Clayton gained their first 12 pointer of the season and closed right up on Outlane and a Luddenden Foot side they crushed by 119 runs yesterday.

Clayton made 239 for six with Joe Brown’s unbeaten 55 the top score and Martin Hodgson (40) and Andy Sutcliffe (36) also contributing well.

Foot slumped from 85 for two to 120 all out with Paul Gelder (five for 38) and Joe Selby (four for 18) ripping through their ranks.

Bridgeholme put themselves firmly in the box seat in Division Two by beating local rivals Old Town while Cullingworth came unstuck at Old Crossleyans.

Saj Mahmood’s seven for 36 dismissed Old Town for 104 in reply to the Eastwood side’s 238 for nine, which featured 56 from Ollie Challis and 47 from Chris Kibble after the visitors had been wobbling on 106 for six.

Bridgeholme’s 12 points haul moved them seven clear of Cullingworth, from one game fewer, after the league newcomers had picked up four points from a 53-run defeat at Broomfield.

The Crocs, playing in the top flight not too long ago, made 206 for nine with middle order man Qamar Ayub’s 59 vital.

Tanweer Aslam then shone with the ball, picking off six visiting batsmen.

Shelf were convincing 85 run winners over Stones in the other game in the section, helping them climb off the bottom and above Greetland and Old Town.

At 70 for five things were not looking too promising for Shelf but a stand of 114 changed the game.

Number three batsman Jack Hartley (72) found a willing partner in Lee Butterfield, who put bat to ball in spectacular style.

He hit 106 in 58 balls, including 10 fours and eight sixes, and that seemed to knock the stuffing out of the Ripponden side, who made 173 in reply to Shelf’s 258 for nine.

Joe Ackroyd was by far Stones’s top performer with four wickets and 76 runs.