Senior Section round-up for 14 May

 

Doncaster Town 2nds remain the only team in Division One to have won all their games as they made light work of what could have been a tough game at home to Sheffield United. After being asked to bowl first, the hosts’ bowlers soon got to work, with all five contributing wickets as they removed their visitors for 75. They unsurprisingly met the target, with seven wickets to spare. At the other end of the cricketing spectrum, Rotherham Town produced a thrilling chase to beat Whitley Hall 2nds away from home. Andrew Pickering had scored 77 from as many balls for the home side, along with James Ahmed’s 58, to post 219-6 in the first innings. The game seemed out of reach for the visitors as they fell from 115-4 to 144-7 but, after a crucial 55 from Irfan Mirza, Tuffail Dar scored 36 at number ten to carry them over the line. Elsewhere, Darfield kept their grip on second with a convincing win at South Kirkby. Rieko Parker Cole’s 73 from just 60 balls helped them to 183 before Saman Khursheed picked up 6-45 to bowl their hosts out for 114. Warmsworth also won their game at Oughtibridge with room to spare, as they chased 142 for the loss of two wickets. Openers Thomas Whittaker and Liam Marshall scored 63 and 51 respectively to all-but take them to victory. Wrapping things up, Sheffield Collegiate 3rds successfully defended 155 to win at Upper Haugh while Wakefield Thornes 2nds overcame Coal Aston by 41 runs. Oughtibridge are still awaiting their first win while Darfield sit 12 points behind leaders Doncaster. 

 

 

Caribbean’s woes continued in Division Two as they were thrashed away at Hatfield Town. Ellis Pattison will have been devastated to get out on 99 for the home side as he top-scored, with 81 from just 65 balls from Luke Cockburn and 63 for 32 for Sharafat Hussain taking them to an unassailable 320-7 in the first innings. There was a strong start for the side at the bottom of the table in the second innings, as their top three got in and got out before Shakil Ahmed hit 59, but they ultimately didn’t have enough. James Winstanley took 4-53 to help bowl them out for 207. On the contrary, Treeton 2nds’ victory at Monk Bretton was significantly nervier. Will Cooper’s 66 was the top score as they made it to a strong 237 after choosing to bat first. Their hosts weren’t phased by the large score, with both Lewis Kelly and Daniel Taylor scoring 74 to leave them 186-4. Cooper was again involved, however, as his 4-18 was important to trigger a collapse to 233 all out, just 4 runs short. Elsewhere, Hallam 2nds contributed to the trend of high scores as they hit 238-6 at Norton Woodseats. Jamie Stone scored 80 and William Coates 59, with the latter also picking up match-best figures of 4-35 as they bowled their hosts out for 192. Notably, there was a fantastic innings at Norton Oakes as Zac Trower scored 71 from just 41 for the home side to help them recover from 96-6 to 198 all out against Penistone. Iwan Hutchings then took 6-36 to leave their visitors 36 runs short of the target. In the other games, top side Wickersley Old Village chased 111 for the loss of five wickets at home to Aston Hall 2nds while Ackworth beat Thorpe Hesley & High Green by 33 runs. Wickersley kept up their one hundred percent record at the top with that win while Caribbean are 18 points adrift at the bottom. 

 

 

Elsecar kept their perfect record with an imperious win away at Bradfield Village Fellowship. Stephen Abbs’ 90 all but carried the home side to an impressive 174-9 in the first innings but 74 from just 60 balls from Christopher Pedler backed up by 43 from Matthew Tonks saw the table-toppers to the victory for the loss of two wickets. Their performance was to be usurped this weekend, however, as there were huge wins for Sprotbrough 2nds and Wath 2nds on their home grounds. Wath’s was the biggest, with Jonathan Plater hitting a brilliant 130 backed up by 60 from Jory Bannister to post bottom side Oughtibridge 2nds 282 to win. It was bruising for the away side after choosing to field, and they didn’t recover. Stephen Johnson took 4-25 as they were removed for 111. Sprotbrough’s victory came against Whiston Parish Church 2nds. They hit a similarly large total, with 93 from Alex Rudkin helping them to 245-7. Both Joe Toole and Robert Edmundson took four wickets in the second innings to leave Whiston 92 all out. Thorncliffe & Wentworth remain second bottom, level on points with Oughtibridge after a low-scoring loss at Frecheville Community. They bowled their hosts out for just 120 and will have felt confident thanks, in part, to Michael Gilmour’s 4-25. 51 from 40 balls from opener Connor Brunt got them off to a good start but 6-29 and 4-6 from Todd Saxelby and Thomas Duffield saw them collapse to 77 all out after being 59-2. The other fixtures saw Tickhill 2nds chase 172 to win by six wickets at Kexborough and Parkhead reach their target of 136 at home to Worsbrough Bridge with four in the bank. Results mean it stays tight at the bottom while Tickhill remain Elsecar’s main title rivals, sitting ten points behind. 

 

 

Sheffield Collegiate 4ths capitulated to their first loss of the season as Cawthorne 2nds leap-frogged them into second in Division Four. Playing away from home, Cawthorne piled on the runs to set their hosts 240 to win, with Ryan Bagshaw’s 91 from as many balls the standout display. The devastation didn’t stop there, with the four away bowlers combining to bowl Collegiate out for just 54. The result meant Millhouses could establish a lead at the top of the table and they did so in style with a 101-run win at home to Handsworth. It was the lower order who combined in the first innings as Brad Sampson’s 51 helped them recover from 50-5 to finish the innings 215-9. Eddie Raper’s 4-42 then helped bowl their visitors out for 114 in the second. At the bottom end of the table, Shiregreen 2nds picked up their first win of the season at home to Higham. They set the away side 198 after being put into bat, thanks to 90 from Ihtisham Mohammed, before bowling them out for 155. There was to be a successful chase for Barnsley Woolley Miners 3rds, however, as they reached their target of 175 at Whiston Forge. No batter passed 50 for the away side as they relied on cameos to eventually prevail by four wickets. The other games saw Rockingham Colliery 2nds win by 58 runs at home to Silkstone United, defending 135, while Maltby Miners Welfare chased 107 to beat Stocksbridge by three wickets. Millhouses are now twelve points clear at the top of the division, with Silkstone now 18 points adrift at the bottom. 

 

 

Wombwell Main lost their first game of the season as the race at the top of Division Five tightened up. The loss was agonising, coming by just four runs away at Coal Aston 2nds. After choosing to bowl first, Majid Aziz’s 6-33 helped bowl out their hosts for 164. The chase was steady, but regular wickets were lost, with Ethan Kenworthy taking 4-55. The visitors were 160-8 and looked set for the win but lost their last two wickets without scoring a run. Doncaster Town 3rds led the chasing pack coming into the weekend and took full advantage with a four wicket win at home to Sheffield University Staff. They were set 181 to win and looked shaky after losing early wickets, but Charlie Graham’s 78 steadied the ship and carried them to victory. At the bottom, Mexborough won emphatically in their bottom of the table battle at home to Norton Oakes 2nds. Ian Hubery’s 87 was the difference as they posted a mammoth 258-7 after electing to bat. They went on to bowl their visitors out for 109, despite Dan Morley’s battling 52. Elsewhere, Upper Haugh 2nds kept up the pace with the top two with a convincing victory at Darfield 2nds. Oliver Cunningham took 4-37 for the away side to remove their hosts for 113 before chasing down the target for the loss of four wickets. In the other fixtures, Conisbrough 2nds won by 11 runs defending 182 at Rotherham Town 2nds while Fishlake chased 144 with two wickets to spare at home to Hallam 3rds. Results mean Norton Oakes are now the only team without a win while the top three of Wombwell Main, Doncaster and Upper Haugh can only be separated by two points. 

 

 

Thorpe Hesley & High Green 2nds took the initiative in Division Six as they thrashed Wickersley Old Village 3rds to overtake them into first place, having played a game less. Iain MacDonald top-scored with 52 before Ashley Reynolds smashed 44 runs from just 28 balls as they posted 197-9. Wickersley never got up with the pace in the second innings as nine bowlers combined to leave them 73 runs short. Bradfield Village Fellowship 2nds’ win at Barnsley Woolley Miners 4ths was similarly emphatic as they prevailed by a 118-run margin. Interestingly, no batter passed 50 as they made their way to 203-9 having been 99-6 with contributions from top to bottom. The bowlers then performed impressively to bowl their hosts out for 85, with all of them taking at least one wicket. There was an equally good bowling effort at Handsworth as Sprotbrough 3rds bowled the 2nd team out for just 67 with Daniel Clarke and Nicky Graves taking four wickets each. They chased the target for the loss of three wickets. Carrying on the trend, Sheffield United and Penistone 2nd teams convincingly defended first innings totals on their home patches. Penistone posted 150-4 in their first innings against Whitley Hall 3rds thanks to 68 from Charlie Armitage. Michael Brown then led the bowling contingent with 4-17 to help remove their visitors for 85. United’s victory was a lower scoring affair as they were bowled out for 126 in 34.5 overs by Green Moor 2nds. Hasan Yasin and Tawqeer Hussain ensured there were no worries, however, taking four each to bowl the away team out for 66. Results mean Thorpe Hesley go ten points clear at the top as the only team to win all of their games while Barnsley Woolley Miners could see themselves go bottom of the table if Caribbean 2nds win their game in hand. 

 

 

Higham 2nds kept up their blistering form at the top of Division Seven with a close-run victory at home to Monk Bretton 2nds. The visitors posted a competitive 142-6 after electing to bat as Julian White hit 82 off 103 balls. It was a chase that the hosts found challenging, but they did just enough as they reached the win with three wickets and 7.4 overs to spare thanks to a collective batting effort. Brookhouse are in similar form and kept the pace with the league leaders with a much more convincing win at home to Millhouses Works 2nds. Thomas Snow top scored with 60 as the hosts posted a rather intimidating 233-4 before Thomas Green’s 4-16 helped remove Millhouses for 98. It could’ve been worse for the away side, having been reduced to 24-6 early in the innings. There was another big win at Thorncliffe & Wentworth as their 2nd team were well beaten by Frecheville Community 2nds. Aadil Hassan took 5-44 for the away side to bowl the hosts out for 78, with the target being reached for the loss of just two wickets. Other results saw Warmsworth 2nds comfortably defend 187 at home to Mexborough 2nds and Harley chase 117 for the loss of five wickets at Eden Grove Parklands. Higham lead the pack by twelve points, but Ackworth 2nds and Brookhouse have the chance to move level on points with their games in hand. No side in the top three have lost a game yet. Thorncliffe & Wentworth sit tenth and still await a win, but could leapfrog Millhouses if they win their game in hand. 

 

 

Houghton Main 2nds fell away from league leaders Hatfield Town 2nds as they were well beaten at home to Doncaster Town 4ths. Jak Hotchkiss had a day to remember as his 108 from just 85 balls, backed by 59 from Ryan Capstick, helped the away side to 242-6. Tom Biltcliffe then took 6-27 to bowl the hosts out for 112 in a complete Town performance. Hatfield’s latest win came at Worsbrough Bridge 2nds, by just nine runs. Josh Platt and Paul Davies scored 50s for the table-toppers as they posted 184 after choosing to bat. Worsbrough weren’t going down without a fight, however as Robert Stubbings’ 55 followed by an impressive effort from the tail brought them agonisingly close to a surprise win. Elsewhere, Stocksbridge 2nds thrashed Dearne at home as their four-strong bowling attack combined to bowl their visitors out for 39. No wickets were lost in the chase, making for an imperious display. The other fixtures saw Wath 3rds comfortably defend 195 at home to Fishlake 2nds and Scholes produce an excellent batting performance to chase 187 for the loss of just four wickets as they hosted Rockingham Colliery 3rds. Hatfield are now ten points clear at the top of the table, but Doncaster and Stocksbridge will have the opportunity to move level with them with their games in hand. 

 

 

Whiston Forge 2nds continue to set the pace in Division Nine as they chased 105 to win at Wombwell Main 2nds. Calvin Dunn took 6-35 for the visitors before they made it to their target for the loss of five wickets. Adwick-Le-Street kept up the pressure in second with a ten wicket win against Rockingham Colliery 4ths. They limited their hosts to 102-8 in the first innings before 56 and 40 from openers Luke and Liam Bishop took them to the win with ease. There was a similarly convincing win for Upper Haugh 3rds as they entertained Eden Grove Parklands 2nds. The away side elected to bat in the first innings but soon came to regret the decision as seven Upper Haugh bowlers combined to bowl them out for 75. The home side got to the target in just 13.5 overs, for the loss of four wickets. The final game to be played came on Sunday and was a thriller as Brookhouse 2nds beat Sheffield United 3rds by just four runs. Playing away from home, Brookhouse chose to bat first and posted a competitive 161-9 in their 40 overs. United then mounted a real challenge but needed a batter to convert one of their several starts into a bigger score to make it to the target as they eventually fell painfully short. The hosts remain bottom without a win after that result, with Whiston Forge twelve points clear at the opposite end of the division.