Premier division round-up for 6 August

Leaders Appleby Frodingham made short work of second-bottom club Cawthorne after the home side had elected to bat first at Dark Lane. Only Taruwar Koohli reached double figures against the visitors’ potent attack, led by Matthew Harris, with his first five-wicket haul for the club. The home side slumped to 38-7 before Ahmed Matloob helped Kohli to add 45 for the eighth wicket. Jordan Cook and Alex Grimes knocked off the required 93 to win inside 21 overs, and the Steelmen tightened their grip at the top. It is ‘as you were’ for Cawthorne, still two points from safety at the other end of the table. 

 

Cawthorne 92 (26) Taruwar Kohli 49, Matthew Harris 5-54 

Appleby Frodingham 94-0 (20.2) Jordan Cook 48*, Alex Grimes 39* 

 

Whiston Parish Church asked visitors Tickhill to bat first at Church Fields, and the visitors took full advantage by racking up a formidable 276-4. After they had lost both openers in reaching 41, Jim Morgan and Tian Koekemoer added 71 before Connor Fisher came in to share stands of 66 with Morgan and an unbroken 98 with Ted Ruston on his way to 92 not out off 81 balls. Only Danny Kemp, who conceded just 36 runs in his 11 overs, was able to keep a brake on the scoring. In reply, skipper Gareth Davis offered the only significant resistance for Whiston, no-one else reaching 20. James Stuart took 5-14 in six overs as the home side collapsed from 114-3 to 147 all out. Tickhill are still 30 points behind the leaders, but they can only keep winning and be ready to take advantage of any slip-ups above them. Whiston were without several regulars and fielded a number of young players; realistically, all they can do it to build for next season. 

 

Tickhill 276-4 (50) Tian Koekemoer 38, Jim Morgan 80, Connor Fisher 92* 

Whiston PC 147 (32.5) Gareth Davis 59, Adi Sreedharan 3-56, James Stuart 5-14 

 

After they had elected to bat first at Field Lane, Jake Weatherald (84 off 79 balls) and Beck Frostick put on 150 for Barnsley Woolley Miners’ first wicket against Wakefield Thornes. Both fell at the same score, after which only Sheryaar Ali, with 53 off 55 balls, made a significant contribution. Jawad Akhtar, who picked up the wickets of Weatherald and Ali, again shone in Thornes’ attack. Ollie Jackson devastated Thornes’ early order with a six-wicket haul, and they Thornes appeared dead and buried at 100-8. But Matty Taylor and Brad Green had other ideas, and they produced a league record 139-run ninth-wicket stand to take their side to the brink of a memorable win. The stand was broken when Matty Clegg removed Taylor with 17 wanted, but Green (88 not out off 66 balls) stayed to steer his side home. Thornes hang on to their faint hopes of the title, whilst the visitors lost the chance to move above Thornes into third place. 

 

Barnsley WM 254-7 (50) Jake Weatherald 84, Beck Frostick 61, Sheryaar Ali 53, Jawad Akhtar 3-68 

Wakefield T 255-9 (45.5) Joe Billings 31, Matt Taylor 55, Brad Green 88*, Ollie Jackson 6-45 

 

Will Hale, making his long-awaited debut for Sheffield Collegiate, helped his side overcome the early loss of George Bartlett, as he helped Shaaiq Choudhry put on 54 for the second wicket against Doncaster Town at Town Fields. After that, James Dobson took a career-best 6-41 as Collegiate lost seven wickets for 37, and their decision to bat first looked to have backfired. But number ten batsman Thomas Currie then helped Sam Hunt to add 45 for the ninth wicket, and Collegiate reached 167 to give them something to bowl at. In reply, Doncaster were 66-2 when Jamie Carrington removed Joe Gallagher for 21, and then he and Shaaiq Choudhry shared the eight wickets that the home side lost for the addition of 26 runs to subside to 92 all out. As a result, Collegiate leapfrogged Doncaster into fifth place in the table. 

 

Sheffield Coll 167 (50) Will Hale 41, Sam Hunt 30, James Dobson 6-41 

Doncaster T 92 (29.2) Jamie Carrington 4-20, Shaaiq Choudhry 4-17 

 

Cleethorpes decided to bat first against Whitley Hall at Chichester Road and were soon 39-2, with the prolific Tom Keast dismissed by James Brown. But skipper Bill Kirby and Sameera Sadamal then added 126 for the second wicket to put their side on top. After Kirby went at 165, Sadamal’s dismissal to Dan Waldron at 193 sparked as mini-collapse of four wickets for 12 runs, before Ian Mansfield and Hayden Arnold added an unbroken 54 for the eighth wicket. Facing a testing target of 260 to win, albeit on a very fast outfield, skipper James Moorhouse and Matt Cartwright put on 82 for the fifth wicket, before Moorhouse fell to Sadamal and Cartwright became the first of Alex Osmond’s five victims. But Neil Longhurst and William Turner added 75 for the fourth wicket to keep their side in the hunt, and after Turner had departed, Tim Smith helped Longhurst to add a further 53, before Longhurst became Osmond’s third victim. Smith and Brown then took Whitley to the brink of victory, before Osmond removed Brown and Dan Waldron in the last over with the scores level. Keeper Matt Godden came in to face the last ball of the over with Osmond on a hat-trick, and hit it back over the bowler’s head for four to win the game. The win probably ensures Whitley Hall’s safety, whilst Cleethorpes face a nervous end to the season, with all five games against top six sides. 

 

Cleethorpes 259-7 (50) Bill Kirby 69, Sameera Sadamal 73, Ian Mansfield 46*, Dan Waldron 3-50 

Whitley Hall 263-7 (50) James Moorhouse 52, Matt Cartwright 43, Neil Longhurst 58, William Turner 45, Alex Osmond 5-66 

 

This battle of the two sides immediately above the relegation zone at the start of play, produced an exciting spectacle in the sunshine at Washfield Lane. Visitors Elsecar won the toss, elected to bat first, and were soon in trouble at 37-4 as Vinnie Ogden took three early wickets for Treeton. Kashif Naveed and Tanzeel Ali repaired the early damage with a stand of 104 for the fifth wicket, the stand ending when Naveed was run out by Liam Johnson. Ali then fell at 174, but William Chapman and Joe Denby (56 not out off 56 balls) then added 85 for the seventh wicket to give the visitors an impressive total. In reply, Treeton reached 90-1, despite the early loss of Steve Foster, before Viraj Bhosale fell to Muhammed Ilyas. Johnson then came in to help Dave Rodgers add 89 for the third wicket, and after both were dismissed by Bilal Anjam, skipper Sam Drury took over and saw his side home with an unbeaten 38 off 28 balls, with help at the end from Jack Simmonite (22 off 12). It was an invaluable win for Treeton; both sides play the top two, plus Sheffield Collegiate and Whiston, in their last five games, but Elsecar also play Cawthorne whilst Treeton play Whitley Hall. 

 

Elsecar 264-7 (50) Kashif Naveed 43, Tanzeel Ali 79, William Chapman 33, Joe Denby 56*, Vinnie Ogden 3-94 

Treeton 265-5 (48.2) Dave Rodgers 71, Viraj Bhosale 36, Liam Johnson 64, Sam Drury 38*, Bilal Anjam 3-72