Senior Section round-up 11/12 September - Part II

 

 

Rotherham Town 2nds picked up a vital win away to Bradfield Village Fellowship 2nds, to ensure they remain in the division next season. The home side chose to bat first, but soon found themselves in trouble as wickets fell at regular intervals. Paul Garnett stuck around at the top of the order, scoring 25, while Alan Clarke at number three batted out the innings for and unbeaten 40, but he ran out of partners when no-one else made double figures. Luke Stavely was outstanding with the ball, picking up 5-22, and he had good back-up from Luke Thornton and Hamid Khan. Town comfortably chased down the target without any scares, although Tim Staveley will have been disappointed to be out for 49 when the visitors were almost home. 

 

Bradfield VF 2 90 (43.2) Alan Clarke 40*, Luke Staveley 5-22, Luke Thornton 3-17 

Rotherham T 2 91-1 (22.4) Matthew Fidler 34*, Tim Staveley 49 

 

 

Conisbrough 2nds lost away at Coal Aston 2nds and finished in the final relegation spot. After electing to bat first, the visitors, who already knew their fate, will have been relatively happy with their 215-9, which represented a considerable recovery from 122-7. Graham Skelton, at number nine, scored 43 and Gavin Wood, at ten, 30, to help them to a respectable total after the earlier batters had failed to capitalise on Tom Humphries' 45 off 44 balls earlier on. Laurence Pickford’s 4-55 was pick of the home attack. The chase was a thrilling one that ebbed and flowed. After slipping to 19-3, Richard Mintoft and Brett Pickford added 111 for the fourth wicket, before four wickets fell for 46 to leave the game in the balance at 176-7. But Pickford was still there, however, and he completed a magnificent 111 off 129 balls before falling with just two runs needed, and Coal Aston ended their season on a high. 

 

Conisbrough 2 215-9 (46) Tom Humphries 45, Graham Skelton 43, Gavin Wood 30*, Laurence Pickford 4-55, Junaid Abbas 3-52 

Coal Aston 2 218-8 (45) Richard Mintoft 54, Brett Pickford 111, Craig Jackson 6-43 

 

 

 

Handsworth produced a vital win to win the division and end a fine season in style. The league leaders came into the day knowing that a loss could have seen them drop out of the promotion places entirely, but the pressure did not affect them. The visitors won the toss, chose to bat, and started well with 52 from opener Iain MacDonald and 35 from Mahmood Hussain, but that was as good as it got for them. Abdul Wahid, by far and away the pick of the attack, tore into the batting, taking 7-32, more than doubling his tally of wickets for the season. Facing a modest target of 146, forties from opener Waqas Ali and number three Omer Mohammad Arshad settled any nerves, and the champions sailed home with overs and wickets to spare. 

 

Thorpe Hesley & High Green 2 145 (39) Iain MacDonald 52, Mahmood Hussain 35, Abdul Wahid 7-32, Adil Hussain 3-23 

Handsworth JSC 149-3 (23.2) Waqas Ali 48, Omer Mohammad Arshad 41, Sher Khan 31 

 

 

Upper Haugh 2nds win over Penistone 2nds was not enough to see them promoted, and they finished in a very creditable fourth place in a competitive division. They won the toss and chose to put their relegated visitors into bat, a decision which did not go entirely to plan as Penistone registered a competitive 181-9. Michael Brown led the way for the Penistone with 84 from just 82 balls, in an innings which included 15 fours, and there was good support from Sam Lee. The Upper Haugh bowlers kept tabs on the rest of the order to limit the damage. The chase was a tough one, but Matthew Bacon came up with a match-winning innings at the top of the order, posting an excellent unbeaten hundred (109 off 113 balls) and seeing his team to their target with three wickets left. 

 

Penistone 2 181-9 (46) Sam Lee 36, Michael Brown 84, Sam Lee 36, Gurvinder Singh 3-15 

Upper Haugh 2 184-7 (41.5) Matthew Bacon 109*, Alastair Heath 4-71 

 

 

Whiston Forge confirmed their promotion to Division 4 as runners-up to Handsworth with a vital win at home to Norton Oakes 2nds, who were condemned to relegation. Electing to bat first, the home side seemed affected by the pressure and were bowled out for 140. No batsman made it to 30 with several of batters getting in and not going on to make substantial scores. Nelson Stephen, Zac Trower and Shaun Trower all took three wickets apiece for Norton Oakes to give them hope of avoiding the drop in the all-important second innings. The pressure, however, told once again as they were bowled out just 17 runs short of their target. It was a similar story to the first innings in that no batsman made any real score of note, whilst Scott Biddles picked up 4-19 for the home side, to finish the season on 36 wickets. 

 

Whiston F 140 (42.2) Nelson Stephen 3-26, Zac Trower 3-26, Shaun Trower 3-38 

Norton Oakes 2 123 (46.3) Andy Smith 3-46, Scott Biddles 4-19 

 

 

 

This was a tremendous game, but Wickersley’s narrow win over relegated Brookhouse was not enough to save them from relegation. They finished level with Sheffield United, who survive by virtue of having won more bonus points. Put into bat, Wickersley made what looked a slightly below-par 159 after Matthew Whitford (26) and Ben Wilson (28) put on 51 for the second wicket, and James Atkin held the second part of the innings together against a varied eight-man attack. The home side were 16-4 in reply, with Kamran Khayer taking three of the wickets, before Jasneet Gulati (24) and Thomas Hogan engineered a recovery with 50 for the fifth wicket. Brookhouse then slumped to 128-9, before Carl Raynes and Wasim Kazi so nearly snatched the win with a last wicket stand of 25, before Kazi became Sam Howe’s fourth victim. 

 

Wickersley OV 3 159-9 (40) James Atkin 32 

Brookhouse 153 (39.5) Thomas Hogan 36, Kamran Khayer 4-10, Sam Howe 3-46 

 

 

Champions Wombwell made light work of fourth-placed Green Moor, after the home side elected to bat and were dismissed for a modest 111. Only Harry Airstone did himself justice against Wombwell’s Ben Reeves and Nathan Hitchen. Wombwell lost Kev Linney very early in their reply, but Thomas Goldsby-West held firm and after George Butterfield fell at 46, he and his skipper Richard Batty saw their side home with few alarms. 

 

Green Moor 2 111 (30.4) Harry Airstone 37, Ben Reeves 4-25, Nathan Hitchen 3-45 

Wombwell Main 118-2 (30.4) Thomas Goldsby-West 41*, Richard Batty 36* 

Wombwell Main (9pts) beat Green Moor 2nds (0) by eight wickets 

 

 

The game between the bottom two sides was not in doubt after the home side won the toss and skittled their visitors for 67. Andy Belfield did most of the damage with a five-wicket haul and only three of the visitors' batters made it to double figures. Millhouses knocked off the required runs in quick time, only losing Gavin Pattman when they were on the brink of victory. 

 

Wentworth 67 (28) Andy Belfield 5-12 

Millhouses W 2 68-1 (16.1) Gavin Pattman 36 

 

 

 

The home side fully justified their decision to bat first ,as all four batsmen to reach the crease made meaningful contributions to a daunting first innings score. In reply, the visitors started shakily, and it only got worse, as second-change bowler Ryan Marsh took 3-16 in 5.2 overs. Allahditta Bashir at number six provided most resistance, as only he and opener Moneeb Ahmed passed twenty, and their side fell well short of their target. 

 

Doncaster T 3 212-2 (40) Mark Lockwood 45, Joe Woodiwiss 39, Ewan Whittaker 68*, Jak Hotchkiss 33* 

Handsworth JSC 2 103 (24.2) Allahditta Bashir 32, Ryan Marsh 3-16 

 

 

Put in to bat, the visitors’ opening pair set the foundation for a score that, whilst looking below-par, enabled their side to record a comfortable win. Faiz Hussain (21) and Tawqeer Hussain put on 74 for the first wicket, and despite the fact that United then lost five weickets for five runs, there were sufficient lesser contributions down the order, along with 25 extras, to enable them to reach 140. Jack Pearson and Nicholas Hague, each with three wickets to their names, were much the best of the home side’s attack. When Wentworth replied, they soon started losing wickets against opening bowlers Hasan Yasin and Tawqeer Hussain, and collapsed to 49-9. Hussain completed a fine all-round performance with five wickets, whilst only Wentworth’s last pair of Pearson (16*) and Ewan Miller managed a stand of more than 20. 

 

Sheffield U 2 140 (37.3) Tawqeer Hussain 42, Jack Pearson 3-20, Nicholas Hague 3-33 

Wentworth 70 (32.1) Hasan Yasin 3-13, Tawqeer Hussain 5-27 

 

 

 

 

Doncaster Town 4ths crushed Worsbrough Bridge 2nds at home, but it was not enough for them to avoid relegation. Choosing to bat first, Town posted a daunting 216-4 after Henry Holland and Ramanan Raj had got them off to a fine start with an opening partnership of 92. Oliver Booth and Jak Hotchkiss then added an unbeaten 65 at the end to press home the advantage. It was a tough afternoon for the visiting bowlers with very little to show for their efforts and some punishment at the end of the innings. The pressure of the big score was always going to be a big factor when Worsbrough replied, and so it proved as the visitors were bowled out for just 58. Six bowlers were used by Town, with all six of them taking wickets and Booth capping a fine all-round display with figures of 3-16. 

 

Doncaster T 4 216-4 (40) Henry Holland 79, Ramanan Raj 46, Oliver Booth 38*, Jak Hotchkiss 31 

Worsbrough B 2 58 (20.5) Oliver Booth 3-16 

 

 

Frecheville Community 2nds beat second-placed Whitley Hall 3rds at home to end their season tantalisingly close to promotion. After electing to field first, the home side dominated with the ball and removed their visitors for just 75. Only four bowlers were needed, with all four of them registering wickets. Bradley Cornthwaite led the way with 4-33 while Adam Gibson took 3-7. The only source of resistance for Whitley Hall came from skipper Nelson Windle, with an unbeaten 33. The chase, on paper, was a formality but Tom Brook had other ideas and his 5-23 gave Frecheville a real scare. Ultimately, however, the total proved too little to defend and the home side made their way to the win with four wickets remaining. 

 

Whitley Hall 3 75 (27.4) Nelson Windle 33*, Bradley Cornthwaite 4-33, Adam Gibson 3-7 

Frecheville C 2 76-6 (22.4) Tom Brook 5-23 

 

Harley v Sprotbrough 3rds – match cancelled due to Covid – null & void 

 

 

Higham 2nds ended a solid season with a resounding win at Scholes. The home side put them into bat in the first innings, a decision they soon came to regret as they racked up an impressive 249-7. Three players made it past 50, with Michael Dixon hammering 58 off 40 balls at the top of the order, before Ian Gray weighed in with 72 and Mac Mahmood finished the innings off by plundering 76 unbeaten runs off 58 balls. All four Scholes bowlers took some real punishment in a disappointing end-of-season display. The chase was always going to be tough and, despite a 50 partnership from the home side’s opening pair of Ian Couldwell and Nigel Ward, they never got anywhere near the target. Remarkably, nine of the ten batters were out caught, whilst Tom McInerney and Harry Davis came away with three wickets apiece. 

 

Higham 2 249-7 (40) Michael Dixon 58, Ian Gray 72, Mac Mahmood 76, Darren Snow 3-69 

Scholes 150 (29) Ian Couldwell 32, Nigel Ward 32, Tom McInerney 3-16, Harry Davis 3-25 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A game with little at stake went against form as mid-table Kexborough comfortably dispatched third-placed Rockingham 3rds. The Colliery decided to bat first, and opener and captain Julian Harris played a lone hand at the top of the order as wickets fell at the other end. Only John Armitage at number nine made another contribution of substance against a seven-man attack, in which Ethan Shillito was outstanding. Facing a straightforward target, Scott Shillito scored an imperious 88 to put the result well beyond doubt, and his side cantered home with plenty to spare. 

 

Rockingham C 3 129-9 (40) Julian Harris 41, Ethan Shillito 4-17 

Kexborough 2 133-2 (17.2) Scott Shillito 88 

 

 

Divisional runners-up Mexborough Athletic came off second best against in-form Adwick-Le-Street, who occupy fourth place. The home team decided to bat first and apart from Bradley Sharp and Saqib Mumtaz (26) struggled to make any impact against an accurate visiting attack, in which Christopher Jeeves was outstanding. Facing a modest target, Adwick were soon in trouble at 23-3, but then Mike Bayes joined Luke Bishop and the pair swung the game the visitors’; way with a fourth-wicket stand of 68, despite the efforts of Saqib Mumtaz. 

 

Mexborough A 2 96-9 (40) Bradley Sharp 31, Christopher Jeeves 3-16 

Adwick-le-Street 2 100-4 (25-3) Luke Bishop 42*, Mike Bayes 33, Saqib Mumtaz 3-20 

 

 

Two of the bottom three met at the Aurora Sports Ground, and the home side completed an emphatic win. A target of 156 was well beyond the Colliery who collapsed to 74 all out. Tom Bradley’s brilliant unbeaten 85 was the match-winning innings for United whilst Simon Grindle took the bowling honours for the Colliery side. When the visitors batted, only Enzo Campagna reached double figures against some penetrative bowling - Matiullah Stanikzai taking a highly impressive 5-5 in 9.2 overs. 

 

Sheffield U 3 155-7 (40) Tom Bradley 85*, Simon Grindle 3-43 

Rockingham C 4 74 (29.2) Enzo Campagna 31, Matiullah Stanikzai 5-5