Division One 
 
Doncaster Town 2nds remained at the top of Division 1 with an emphatic victory at home to Whitley Hall 2nds by eight wickets. Max Temple scored 66 for the visitors, but Warren Graca’s 5-24 restricted them to 171-8. Town made light work of the target as Jack Woodiwiss (50) and Robert Grace added 105 for the first wicket; Grace ended 80 not out, and the home side won with nine overs to spare. Darfield also prevailed at Warmsworth to hold on to second place. Spencer Lavender and Saman Khursheed scored fifties for the visitors on their way to 239 in the first innings; a score they defended by 35 runs, Idris Khan leading the way with 3-36. Elsewhere, Upper Haugh made it a clean sweep for the top three as they successfully chased just 51 at Oughtibridge War Memorial, despite being 12-4 at one stage; Alex Keeton and Habil Maliuk doing the damage in the first innings with 6-16 and 4-33 respectively. 
 
There was another low scoring game at Sheffield United, who bowled out Sheffield Collegiate 3rds for just 87. Mihindukulusuriya Harsha Perera and Illyas Mohammed took four wickets each to all but cement the win. Contrastingly, Wakefield Thornes 2nds and South Kirkby played out a high-scoring thriller at Field Lane, with the home side claiming victory by 15 runs. Both Adam Naz and Joe Cook passed 50 as the hosts hit 288-6 in the first innings, but Adam Rollin’s 60 and Nick Percival’s 76 not out made them sweat in the second. Rotherham Town’s game at Coal Aston was unfortunately abandoned. 
 
The table remains as was, with Doncaster leading by ten points from Darfield, and Upper Haugh 26 points adrift in third. The bottom three are Oughtibridge on 34, Collegiate 42 and Warmsworth 48. 
 
 
Division Two 
 
Ackworth claimed an important victory to leapfrog their opponents, Wickersley Old Village 2nds, into top spot in Division 2. Batting first, the home side piled on the runs, with Liam Carr and Shingi Masakadza hitting 72 and 61 respectively, to help them to 234-6. Their bowlers were not to be outdone though, and Luke Townsend’s 5-23 saw the visitors all out for 124, 119 runs short. The result also meant that Treeton 2nds could make up ground on the promotion places and they duly obliged with an impressive chase at Thorpe Hesley & High Green. Opener Mateo Boulogne scored 109 not out for the home side as they reached a highly competitive 233-8, but 65 not out from Tom Holland, supported by thirties and forties from the other batsmen, saw their side home with six wickets and ten overs to spare. 
 
At the opposite end of the table, Caribbean Sports stayed bottom as they lost by five wickets at home to Penistone. Connor Smythe scored 88 for the visitors as they chased down 145 with relative ease. Monk Bretton also remained in the relegation zone after an agonising loss at Hatfield Town. Batting first, 59 from Daniel Taylor helped the visitors to 208-8. Hatfield were 98-2, but Ashley Clayton (5-36) reduced them to 155-7, before Blake Blythe at number nine hit an unbeaten 27 to see them home. Meanwhile, Aston Hall 2nds moved up to fourth with a comfortable win at Hallam 2nds. Harris Ikram’s 49 helped them to 197 in the first innings, before three wickets each for Ikram and Corey Manderson bowled Hallam out for 160. The game between Norton Woodseats and Norton Oakes was abandoned with the second innings just 14 overs old. 
 
Ackworth are now eight points clear of Wickersley at the top, with Treeton twelve behind them. Monk Bretton, Thorpe Hesley and Caribbean are separated by just ten points at the bottom, but they are some 26 points adrift of the field. 
 
 
Division Three 
 
You may grow tired of reading this, but Elsecar 2nds won again this weekend to stretch their winning streak to eleven games at the top of Division 3. Their latest victory came at Worsbrough Bridge, where they chased down 157 for the loss of just three wickets. Jason Meadows took 4-17 for the league leaders, before Alfie Gibson (46) got them off to a good start and Chris Pedler and Andrew Ivill finished off the chase with an unbroken stand of 70 and over twenty overs to spare. The tightest game came at Lound Side, where Tickhill 2nds won by a single run to keep their promotion place. James Brown’s 5-26 restricted the high-fliers to a below-par 135-9. In reply, the home side were 101-3 with Connor Brunt (55) going well, but they lost their last seven wickets for just 33; Joel Martin taking 4-18 for Tickhill. In stark contrast, Sprotbrough 2nds kept up the pace in third with a 96-run win at home to Bradfield Village Fellowship. Christopher Graves scored 52 as they made 243-8, before Nick Graves and Adam Kaye took four wickets each to leave their visitors well short. 
 
At the bottom, there was a big result for Whiston Parish Church 2nds, who beat fellow strugglers Oughtibridge War Memorial 2nds by five wickets at Church Fields. The visitors had posted a more than competitive 244 with Shahrukh Khan scoring 72 from 64 balls, but Samuel Bowden blew them away with 133 from 127 in the home side’s reply. 
 
Elsewhere, Wath 2nds kept up their outside hopes of promotion with a convincing win at Frecheville Community. Harrison Knowles scored 95 from 84 balls, with good support from Jory Bannister (68), as they posted 258. In reply, Frecheville were 75-5, but Thomas Duffield (68) and Steven Booth (75) pulled them back into contention, only for them to fall 33 sort. Finally, Parkhead will have been highly frustrated after their game at home to Kexborough was abandoned when they were well on course for victory – they had plundered 314-6 in the first innings, and Kexborough were 122 adrift with just nine overs left. 
 
Elsecar lead the table by 22 points from Tickhill, with Sprotbrough a further eight behind; at the other end, Worsbrough trail Oughtibridge by two, and there is a further six-point gap to Whiston. 
 
 
Division Four 
 
There was a rare tied game in Division 4, where bottom side Shiregreen 2nds scored 165-8 away to Sheffield Collegiate 4ths, thanks to Liaquat Ali’s 51. William Fish (45) got Collegiate off to a good start in their reply, but they lost their way rather against Ihtisham Mohammed and Zeeshan Ahmed, who took three wickets each, and ended on exactly the same score. Whiston Forge, second bottom at the start of play, were well beaten away at third-placed Rockingham Colliery 2nds. Opener Andy Shore scored 62 for the home side and Richard Skipworth contributed 58 not out to see the Colliery reach 216-7. Skipworth then took 4-3 as the visitors were bowled out for just 57. There was another tight finish at Outgang Lane, where fellow relegation candidates, Maltby Miners Welfare, lost to top side Millhouses Works by just one wicket. The home side were restricted to 138 in the first innings, Rameez Ebrahim Ahomed taking 4-38, but pushed their high-flying visitors all the way in the second innings. Millhouses were 13-4 early on and although an unbeaten 70 from Noah Ellis instigated a recovery, it looked as if he was going to run out of partners, and it was only an unbeaten last-wicket stand of 25 that saw them home with seven overs to spare. Liam Woodward, Peter Brewster and John Pinkos all took three wickets for Maltby. 
 
Second-placed Stocksbridge kept up the pace with Millhouses, with a solid win at home to Barnsley Woolley Miners 3rds. Andrew Hibbert and Joe Hibbert took four wickets each to bowl their visitors out for 144, before chasing the target down for the loss of four wickets. Fourth-placed Cawthorne 2nds also kept up their hopes of promotion with a comfortable 81-run win at home to Handsworth Junior SC. Forties from Spencer Wiles and Thom Macrow helped the home side post 223, before they bowled their visitors out for 142, with three wickets each for Noel Bramall and Gareth Kilburn. Finally, Silkstone United secured a thumping victory at home to promotion hopefuls Higham, after Jakob Taylor (52) and Ross Whitmore (84) had rescued them from 65-5 to reach 223-8. Will Clegg’s 4-21 included the big wicket of George Deegan, as Higham were bowled out for 114. 
 
Millhouses lead Stocksbridge by 12 at the top, and there is a further 12-point gap to third-placed Rockingham, who are the first of four clubs separated by eight points; Whiston and Shiregreen are on 44 points at the bottom, with Maltby on 52, and Handsworth on 60. 
 
 
Division Five 
 
Wombwell Main stayed top of Division 5 with an emphatic win away to second-placed Upper Haugh 2nds. Richard Wilkinson (77) and Thomas Goldsby-West (64) helped them to reach 262-7 before bowling out their hosts for 115, with Wilkinson and Goldsby-West completing fine individual performances with four wickets each. Fishlake and Doncaster Town 3rds had the opportunity to move into the promotion places, but both squandered it. Fishlake lost away to Darfield 2nds, where they fell 60 runs short of the home side’s 170, for whom Jack Waldron took 6-22. Doncaster’s loss came at Rotherham Town 2nds on Sunday. The home side recorded 147-9 with Matthew Fidler scoring 68 not out, and Hamid Khan took 4-32 as the visitors were bowled out for 110. 
 
It rounded up a good weekend for Rotherham as they also won on Saturday, when they managed to defend a modest 104 by 31 runs at home to Coal Aston 2nds. Doncaster had also won their Saturday game to at least move level on points with Fishlake, as they successfully chased 188 at bottom side Mexborough Athletic. Jak Hotchkiss was the main man as his unbeaten 61 saw his side over the line with five wickets and seven overs to spare. Sheffield University Staff dropped into the relegation zone when they were hammered away at Conisbrough 2nds. Gary Strephan scored 105 off just 66 balls for the home side, adding 168 for the first wicket with Stuart Coleman (75), to set his side well on their way to an impressive 296-6. All four bowlers then contributed as they bowled the visitors out for just 124. Norton Oakes 2nds’ game at home to Hallam 3rds was abandoned. 
 
Wombwell lead the table with 118 points, followed by Upper Haugh on 102, with Fishlake and Doncaster on 100; at the bottom, Norton Oakes are six points clear of Mexborough, but 24 behind the University Staff, with Hallam two points further ahead. 
 
 
Division Six 
 
Top team Sheffield United 2nds lost their second game of the season in Division 6, as the promotion race heated up. Their loss came at Handsworth Junior SC 2nds, who managed to successfully defend just 137. Saiful Alam Nury scored 54 when the home side batted, before 5-26 from Muhammad Asif bowled the league leaders out for 118. Second-placed Thorpe Hesley & High Green capitalised on that result with a five-wicket win at Barnsley Woolley Miners 4ths. Adam Cooke scored 55 from as many balls to see them to their target of 122. Below them, third-placed Whitley Hall 3rds won even more comfortably after they restricted Green Noor 2nds to 147-6 and they romped home without loss of wicket. Elliott Ashton (78 not out off 52 balls) and Charlie Wragg (63 off 59) saw them home in style in the 19th over. 
 
At the bottom, Caribbean Sports 2nds claimed just their second win of the season by three wickets away at Penistone 2nds. Despite forties from Sam Lee and Marcus Hoyland, they restricted the home side to 148-7 before Arman Ahmed’s 76 from 59 balls propelled them to victory. Finally, despite being bowled out for 122 by Sprotbrough 3rds, for whom Nigel Young took 4-28, Wickersley Old Village 3rds won comfortably after Jonathan Allan’s 4-15 helped to bowl their hosts out for just 59. 
 
Sheffield United lead Thorpe Hesley at the top by just two points, the latter being 16 ahead of Whitley Hall, who have Penistone and Wickersley breathing down their necks two points further back; Barnsley are on 14 points at the bottom, 16 behind Caribbean, and there is then a 24-point gap to Sprotbrough in ninth. 
 
 
Division Seven 
 
Brookhouse still lead Division 7, after securing a ten-wicket home win over Warmsworth 2nds. Andy Matthews scored 76 for the visitors as they set their hosts 122 to win, but Jonathan Kirk and Wasim Kazi made light work of their chase, with the latter ending 69 not out. Below them, third-placed Ackworth 2nds missed out on the opportunity to go second, with Higham not playing, as they lost at Millhouses Works 2nds by 33 runs. Jack Roper scored 57 for the home side, who totalled 209 before Jon Wynn helped bowl the visitors out for 176. 
 
At the bottom, it was a significant day for Thorncliffe & Wentworth 2nds, who won their first game of the season, at Eden Grove Parklands. They made a very respectable 194-9 batting first, with Mark Wright scoring 52, before the hosts made a good effort of chasing the total, falling just four short on 190-8, mainly due to a five-wicket haul from Joe Pearson. The result left Monk Bretton 2nds bottom as they failed to chase down 137 at home to Frecheville Community 2nds. Alex Bishop scored 71 for the visitors, before Adam Gibson took 4-20 to seal the win. Mexborough Athletic 2nds remain in the final relegation place after losing by eight wickets at Harley. Will Harling scored 60 not out off 74 balls for the home side as they chased down 136. 
 
Brookhouse have a 20-point lead over Higham at the top, with Ackworth ten further points behind; at the bottom, Monk Bretton are on 14 points, Thorncliffe on 20, and there is then an 18-point gap to Mexborough. 
 
 
Division Eight 
 
It remains tight at the top of Division 8, as all the top three picked up wins. League leaders Hatfield Town 2nds kept on their perch with a thumping 143-run win at Rockingham 3rds. Andy Cutts scored 71 from 57 balls and Paul Davies 58 from 36 as they hit 272-9 after being put into bat, before they restricted the home side to 129-6. Second-placed Doncaster Town 4ths’ victory was due to to an impressive bowling display when they won at home to Dearne. Iain Wormald took 6-28 to bowl the visitors out for 82, a score Town overhauled with five wickets to spare. Third-placed Houghton Main 2nds’ beat Worsbrough Bridge 2nds at home by six wickets after Kyle Head’s 5-17 helped bowl the visitors out for 49. 
 
At the bottom, there was a much higher scoring game at Scholes Lane, where Silkstone United 2nds pulled themselves away from danger as they overtook their opponents Scholes. Edward Shepton hammered a brilliant 161 from just 112 balls as they made their way to a mammoth 279-8, with Rebecca Coe scoring 51. Oliver Thomas then took 4-30 to leave the home side 60 short. Wath 3rds also did their hopes of survival no harm as they won at home to Stocksbridge 2nds by 48 runs. 36 each from Harrison Roebuck and George Jenkinson at numbers eight and nine saw them to 162, before Roebuck’s 5-16 left the visitors 114 all out. 
 
Hatfield lead the table on 96 points, four ahead of Doncaster and a further six ahead of Houghton Main; Fishlake remain marooned on the bottom with 14 points, 26 behind Dearne, who are two behind Wath. 
 
 
Division Nine 
 
Whiston Forge 2nds are still the team to catch in Division 9, with their latest win at home to Eden Grove Parklands 2nds coming by 100 runs. Gul Safi, Kelham Elliott, and Sameer Sarwary all passed fifty, Safi’s 85 from 81 balls being the pick, as they amassed 296-6 after being put into bat. Safi starred with the ball too, and his 4-28 helped leave the visitors 196 all out. Adwick-le-Street’s win at Hampole & Skelbrooke was even more emphatic, and they returned to second place. Run machines Luke Bishop and Nick Bisby hit 84 and 89 respectively as they racked up 258-5, before their four-pronged attack bowled the home side out for just 85. Upper Haugh 3rds dropped out of the promotion places with a disappointing performance at Wombwell Main 2nds. Callum Whitehead’s 64 from 57 helped the home side to 152-6, a score the visitors never got near, as Sam Walters took 6-18 to bowl them out for 91. 
 
Elsewhere, Kexborough 2nds lost at home to Brookhouse 2nds; Jawad Khan took 4-31 for the visitors to restrict Kexborough to 137, before Guy Ramsay top-scored with 37 as the visitors won with four wickets and seven balls to spare. Lastly, but certainly not least, Sheffield United 3rds finally picked up their first win of the season with an excellent display at home to Rockingham Colliery 4ths. Nazeem Haque and Aydin Talib took three wickets each for the hosts as Rockingham were bowled out for just 76 in the first innings, a target United chased for the loss of just one wicket. 
 
Whiston Forge lead Adwick by 18 points at the top, with Upper Haugh are now two further points behind; Sheffield United are now twelve points behind Eden Grove at the bottom. 
 
 
 
by Sam Chadwick 
 
Share this post: