Premier Division round-up for 29 August

Congratulations to Appleby Frodingham CC on retaining their YSCPL Premier Division title!! It is a well-deserved triumph for the Brumby Hall club, who, despite missing two or three key players for much of the season, have consistently been the best team. On a momentous day at both ends of the table, the league title was decided when the reigning champions picked up eight points after a thrilling tie against Wakefield Thornes at Field Lane, and their nearest challengers, Tickhill, were beaten by Cleethorpes at Chichester Road. At the other end of the table, Elsecar, who started the day in the second relegation place, beat Cawthorne, two points above them, by six wickets at Dark Lane, to move ten points clear of the relegation places. The battle to avoid relegation is now just between these two sides, and a win for Elsecar at home to Whiston Parish Church on Saturday would guarantee their safety. But if they lose, and Cawthorne beat Tickhill, Cawthorne will survive. 

 

Appleby Frodingham won the toss at Field Lane and elected to have first knock against Wakefield Thornes. After a solid start, Matty Taylor took the wickets of Jordan Cook and Jordan Neil in quick succession to peg the visitors back to 49-2. Alex Grimes then ensured that there was no collapse, putting on 92 with Kieran Lindley for the third wicket. Jack Harrison contributed 27 before becoming the first of Jawad Akhtar’s two wickets, and the game was finely-balanced as the Steelmen posted 202-6. A season’s best five-wicket spell by Kieran Watson, along with two wickets from Jordan Neil, reduced Thornes to 111-7 in their reply, but Jawad Akhtar, playing with a maturity beyond his years, shored up one end, and after Brad Green had contributed 19 off 15 balls at the other, he was joined by Imran Mahboob, and the pair put on an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 66 to set up a tremendous finish. Needing 13 to win off the last over, bowled by Neil, after a single from Mahboob, Akhtar hit a six to put his side in with a real chance; three singles followed, and needing three off the last ball, the batsmen scrambled a second to leave the game tied – the first tie in the two seasons of the YCSPL Premier Division. It was probably a fair result; it ensured that Appleby retained their title, and moved Thornes up to second place in the table. 

 

Appleby Frodingham 202-7 (50) Alex Grimes 85, Kieran Lindley 38 

Wakefield Thornes 202-8 (50) James Rhodes 30, Jawad Akhtar 33*, Imran Mahboob 33*, Kieran Watson 5-54 

 

At Chichester Road, Cleethorpes got the win they needed to ensure their Premier Division status next season and, in the process, ended Tickhill’s title hopes. After they had asked their visitors to bat first, James Stuart and Ross Diver put on 61 for the first wicket, before Harry Costello removed Diver and Jim Morgan for the addition of two runs. Forties from Connor Fisher and Jordan Lowe then took the visitors to 173-3, but David Mansfield then took three wickets as they tried to accelerate in the closing overs, and six wickets fell for 18 runs. Facing a target of 204, Cleethorpes needed a good start, and they certainly got one, as Tom Keast and Bill Kirby put on 154 for the first wicket. Tom Keast then fell to Adi Sreedharan for 60, and Josh Court claimed three victims, including Kirby for 100 off 129 balls, but it was too little, too late for the visitors, and Sameera Sadamal saw the home side to a vital win that was more comfortable than could have been expected. Tickhill slipped out of the top two for the first time since the early part of the season, but they have had a fine season, and will be back again, stronger, next year. 

 

Tickhill 203-9 (50) James Stuart 38, Ross Diver 41, Connor Fisher 44, Jordan Lowe 41, David Mansfield 3-56 

Cleethorpes 205-4 (48.4) Tom Keast 60, Bill Kirby 100, Josh Court 3-52 

 

It was a ‘do or die’ situation for Elsecar at Dark Lane, where a win for Cawthorne would have consigned the visitors to relegation to the Championship. In the event, that outcome never really looked on, after the home side, having been put in to bat, lost their first two wickets without a run on the board. Taruwar Kohli offered stalwart resistance, but wickets continued to fall at the other end, and when he was out to Bilal Anjam for 51 off 75 balls, Cawthorne were 104-6. Anjam had three more victims as the home side lost their last five wickets for 17 runs, and there were also four for Moin Ashraf. When the visitors replied, there was an early wicket for Kohli, but that only brought in Anjam, who took charge with a responsible unbeaten 66 off 90 balls to see his side to a comfortable win, despite three more wickets falling at the other end. So the relegation battle goes to the last week of the season, when one of these sides will fall – but for the moment, it is advantage Elsecar. 

 

Cawthorne 121 (37.1) Taruwar Kohli 51, Nick Lowe 31, Moin Ashraf 4-26, Bilal Anjam 4-30 

Elsecar 125-4 (36.5) Bilal Anjam 66* 

 

At the start of the day, like Cleethorpes, Doncaster Town could mathematically have been relegated, but, like their Lincolnshire colleagues, they ensured that this would not happen by their own efforts. They asked Whitley Hall to bat first at Town Fields, and when Joel Gunn took his second wicket to dismiss James Moorhouse at 72-3 it looked as if the decision was paying off. But Neil Longhurst and Tim Smith added put on 78 for the fourth wicket to put their side on top. Then the pendulum swung, however, and from 150-3, five wickets fell for eight runs, three to James Keast and two to Andrew Parkin-Coates, and, shortly afterwards, Whitley were all out for 174. In their reply, it was Town’s third-wicket pair of Stuart Guy and James Ward, who came together at 55-2 and added 64 runs, who put their team on their way to victory. After Guy had fallen lbw to Longhurst, skipper Ward remained resolute and, despite losing two more partners, stayed to the end to see his side home with five wickets and over four overs to spare. 

 

Whitley Hall 174 (48) James Moorhouse 35, Neil Longhurst 54, Tim Smith 40, James Keast 4-41 

Doncaster Town 178-5 (45.4) Jaden Fell 32, Stuart Guy 45, James Ward 47* 

 

If results had gone the wrong way for them, it would, at the start of play, have been arithmetically possible for Sheffield Collegiate to be relegated – but, like Cleethorpes and Doncaster, they put this possibility to bed by beating fourth-placed Barnsley Woolley Miners at Abbeydale. Having elected to bat first, Collegiate reached 40-0 without too many problems, before George Bartlett fell to Ollie Jackson, and Boeta Beukes then claimed the valuable wicket of Shaaiq Choudhry cheaply. Ed McKenna helped makeshift opener Jamie Carrington take the score to 77 before the latter fell, also to Beukes, as three wickets fell for three runs. At 80-5, Collegiate could have capitulated, but Dan Priestley stood firm, adding 48 with McKenna for the sixth wicket and then an unbroken 50 for the eighth with Henry Eldred, and Collegiate closed on 178-7. Beukes finished with four wickets – having taken 5-23 in the corresponding game last season. In their reply, Barnsley looked to be getting on top when Beck Frostick and Jon Trower took them to 80-3, but they then lost six wickets for just 14 runs, including that of Frostick for 55, four of them to George Bartlett, and a comprehensive defeat looked likely. But Ollie Jackson had other ideas, and he hit an unbeaten 50 off 69 balls to give them hope of four bonus points. Unfortunately for the Shaw Lane side though, his partner in a last-wicket stand of 51, Matty Clegg, was run out by Sam Hunt with nine balls to go. 

 

Sheffield Collegiate 178-7 (50) Jamie Carrington 46, Dan Priestley 50*, Boeta Beukes 4-23 

Barnsley Woolley Miners 145 (48.3) Beck Frostick 55, Ollie Jackson 50*, George Bartlett 4-22 

 

Shorn of any relegation worries, Treeton were able to play with some freedom against Whiston Parish Church at Church Fields. After being put in to bat by the home side, thirties from Dave Rodgers and Viraj Bhosale had taken the visitors to 79-1, Sam Drury hit an unbeaten 113 not out off 87 balls to help them set Whiston an improbable 267 to win. In Whiston’s reply, only Harry Paver and Tom Bolland reached double figures as Charlie Bourne and Vinnie Ogden bowled unchanged through the home side’s innings, taking four and six wickets respectively. 

 

Treeton 266-6 (50) Dave Rodgers 35, Viraj Bhosdale 33, Sam Drury 113* 

Whiston Parish Church 82 (23) Charlie Bourne 4-49, Vinnie Ogden 6-26 

 

Full scorecards 

 

League table & leading averages