Championship Division round-up - 28 August

 

For Cleethorpes, two points clear at the top of the YCSPL Championship, every game is crucial because in the last three games they are playing the three clubs immediately below them. One slip could mean they would not be champions, two could mean they miss out on promotion, despite having had a fantastic season. No pressure then. On Saturday it was the turn of fourth-placed Sheffield Collegiate 2nds to try to knock them off their perch. Cleethorpes elected to bat first and just as the previous week, Bill Kirby and Callum Carter made 40s to give them a good start – 99 for the first wicket – but then both got out, caught Robbie McKenna bowled Tate Miller, who also picked up Tom Rollinson and Sameera Sadamal to reduce them to 137-4. Things could have gone badly wrong but Max Taylor and James Osmond put on 59 before a flurry of wickets in the last three overs left Cleethorpes on 208-8 at the close. Collegiate needed a good start to overtake them, but Lee Charlton sent the openers back and Alex Osmond trapped Josh White lbw first ball to leave them on 33-3. Miller (31) and McKenna (60) combined again to lift Collegiate but Sameera Sadamal was now weaving his magic and proving difficult to get away. Everyone got in but got out before they made more than 12 and Collegiate were all out for 184 in the last over with Sadamal taking 5-46 in 14.2. So with 12 points safe, a quick glance over the shoulder and on to the last two games, against third-placed Houghton Main next week and finally, second-placed Whiston in the last game of the season. Win one of those and they’ll be up. Win two and they’ll be champions. 

 

Cleethorpes 208-8 (50) Bill Kirby 42, Callum Carter 49, Tate Miller 4-52 

Sheffield C 2 Tate Miller 31, Robbie McKenna 60, Sameera Sadamaal 5-46 

 

 

Wath have been a much improved side this year, with Bradley Williams and Ainsley Swallow giving depth to their batting, but they’ve had a disappointing run of results recently, and it was always going to be tough turning that around against Whiston, even without Andy Tomlinson. They batted well though. Rob Barlow (41) and Williams put on 77 for the 2nd wicket and Jack Whitlam (27) continued the good work, adding 70 with Williams, who went on to make 102, his second century of the season. Around these Aamir Jamal mopped up 4-48 and Wath ended on 209-7. Wath’s is a much bigger ground than Whiston’s so when Whiston came to bat, there was not the customary flurry of sixes (in fact there were none in the match) but there were fours aplenty. Danny Kemp made 49 with six of them and Joe Norbury (who also made 49) and Jamal (39*) stroked another eight between them. Wath struggled to keep the runs down. With the exception of Shawn Hopkins who bowled ten overs 1-26, everyone went for five or even six an over (not helped by 26 wides and no balls) and Whiston achieved their target for six down with eight overs to spare. So, with a twelve-point deduction yet to be made, Whiston are still just two points behind Cleethorpes and sixteen ahead of Houghton. Next week they play Conisbrough before the final head-to-head with Cleethorpes, away, on 11 September. Wath are still sixth but could really do with a couple of wins at the end to catch Rockingham and keep the gloss on their season. 

 

Wath 209-7 (50) Rob Barlow 42, Bradley Williams 102, Aamir Jamal 4-48 

Whiston PC 210-6 (41.3) Joe Norbury 49, Daniel Kemp 49, Aamir Jamal 39*, Rob Barlow 3-83 

 

 

Like Cleethorpes and Whiston, all Houghton Main can do is keep winning and hope someone else slips up. On Saturday, they were quite clinical with Warmsworth. They won the toss, batted and racked up 255-7, with powerful innings from Brent Law (54), Luke Ogden (52), Imran Khan (42) and Michael Brown (41). Jake Marshall and Mark Shanks took six wickets between them, but went at six an over. Limar Pierce, by contrast bowled his fifteen for 35. When Warmsworth batted, Gordon Laidlaw (31) and Rhys Mann (61*) gave them a good start before Michael Bates came on and took 6-38 in 14.4, running through the rest of the batting and bowling out Warmsworth for 145 with eleven overs to spare, leaving them still by no means certain of avoiding relegation. Their crucial match will be against fellow strugglers Barnsley Woolley 2nds in the last match of the season, especially if Sprotbrough manage to sneak another win. Houghton, meanwhile, need to catch up five points on Whiston before the 12-point deduction for their rivals comes into play (but Whiston do play Cleethorpes last). However their concentration will be on their own home game with Cleethorpes this Saturday. Win that and the situation becomes really interesting for all three! 

 

Houghton Main 255-7 (50) Michael Brown 41, Brent Law 54, Luke Ogden 52, Imran Khan 42, Jake Marshall 3-86, Mark Shanks 3-74 

Warmsworth 145 (38.4) Gordon Laidlaw 31, Rhys Mann 61*, Michael Bates 6-36 

 

 

Lots of runs at Conisbrough. That’s not a surprise but most would have expected Rockingham to beat their hosts, especially after they scored 234-9 batting first. Ben Dalton made 87, putting on 32 with Harry Grindle, 63 with Tony Munyonga and 90 with Nazakat Khan. For Conisbrough, Hassan Bin Shahab took 6-62 and with Buddhika Sanjeewa (3-63) accumulated 9-125 between them in 30 overs. Rockingham scored 109-1 in 20 overs at the other end! The compliment was returned when Conisbrough batted. Despite Ryan Mann getting two early wickets, only two more fell. Matthew Barnes and Nathan Smith got patient fifties each and when Josh Whittaker was out at 157-4, there were eleven overs left and 78 to win. Sanjeewa came in and knocked them off in six, scoring 55, with seven sixes and a four in 23 balls, which secures Conisbrough’s future for another season. Rockingham stay fifth. 

 

Rockingham C 234-9 (50) Ben Dalton 87, Tony Munyonga 36, Buddhika Sanjeewa 3-63, Hassan Bin Shahab 6-62 

Conisbrough 235-4 (45) Matthew Barnes 55, Nathan Smith 54*, Buddhika Sanjeewa 55* 

 

 

Aston Hall scored a very welcome win at Oughtibridge, their first win since 19th June, when they were 4th in the table and a genuine promotion contender. This should secure them from what was increasingly seeming to be a real possibility of relegation. Sadly that can’t be said for Oughtibridge who have had an even more torrid time of things and are now down. Without Ashley Naseby, who scored an unbeaten 51 out of 119-8 (and has now scored 196 for three times out in his last four innings), Oughtibridge would barely have made a game of it. Hedar Rasool and Adil Nasim supported him, but it was tough going. After 16 overs the score was 12-3. Tom Coulson took 3-19 in 11 overs. Adam Clarke took 1-11 in twelve. From such a start, reaching 119-8 and surviving 50 overs is an achievement. Aston Hall didn’t find batting easy either. It took them 29 overs to get the runs, but they only lost two wickets and Joe Stickland (20*) and Josh Coulson (43*) saw them home with increasing confidence 

 

Oughtibridge WM 119-9 (50) Ashley Naseby 51*, Tom Coulson 3-19 

Aston Hall 121-2 (29) Josh Coulson 43* 

 

 

The last game of the day was a classic relegation scrap. Sprotbrough had to win to have any lifeline. Barnsley could have made themselves fairly safe. On the day, it was Sprotbrough who won, but neither side batted as though they could last fifty overs. Barnsley were bowled out for 126 in 39. Tom Whittaker made 35 quickly. Oliver Bennett made 25 somewhat more slowly. Most others struggled. The wickets were shared, Ashley Langdales’s 3-17 being the best figures. There were even two run outs as things became desperate - and this was carried on to the Sprotbrough innings where their first wicket was also a run out. However generally they managed to keep things afloat. Harry Thompson and Dean Williamson took them to 100-3 but getting the last 27 runs was a mission. Five more wickets went down in twelve overs. Steve Honeyman and Jay Smith had taken three each. But when the eighth wicket fell, still with four needed to win, Michael Threapleton walked out with all the weariness and frustration of someone who has bowled 15 overs, 7 maidens and taken 2-30 to get his team to this point and still the batsmen haven’t got the game won – and he smacks his first ball for four, job done. So Sprotbrough have their lifeline. They’re two points behind Barnsley and six behind Warmsworth. One of those three will accompany Oughtibridge into Division 1 next year. Two games to go. No-one’s got an easy run-in, but Warmsworth play Barnsley in the last match and both will be hoping that Sprotbrough haven’t been able to get any points from Aston Hall or Collegiate by then. 

 

Barnsley WM 2 126 (39) Thomas Whitaker 35, Ashley Langdale 3-17 

Sprotbrough 127-8 (35.3) Steven Honeyman 3-44, Jay Smith 3-33