Senior Section round-up for 28/29 May
Posted on 1st June 2022 at 09:03
Division One
Doncaster Town 2nds lost their first game of the season in Division 1 in a top-four clash at Coal Aston. The home side won thanks to a strong batting display, led by Benjamin Hall (49), which saw them post Town 192 to win. The visitors fell just five runs short, Shaun Trower taking 4-57. There was also a first win of the season for Oughtibridge, who overcame Sheffield United at Bawtry Road. The strugglers bowled their hosts out for 111 in the first innings thanks to 4-26 from Muhammad Asim Khan, before chasing the target for the loss of just four wickets thanks to a patient half-century from Chaamikara Hewage. Elsewhere, there was a thrilling encounter at Rotherham Town, which saw South Kirkby win by a single wicket after a huge chase. Fifties from Ijaz Riaz and Waseem Dar at numbers seven and eight propelled Town to 272 in the first innings. The visitors started strongly in reply, with openers Steve Secker and Jake Rimmington also racking up half-centuries, but wickets fell cheaply thereafter. Nick Percival’s 44 not out from 43 balls then led South Kirkby home with a ball to spare. From an impressive batting display to an excellent bowling performance, Carlton Dickinson’s 8-34 saw Darfield past Wakefield Thornes 2nds at School Street to go joint top of the table. They bowled their visitors out for 137, before reaching the target with seven wickets to spare, thanks to fifties from Matthew Higgins and Spencer Lavender. The other two games to take place in the division also saw the teams batting second claim victories. Whitley Hall 2nds produced an impressive chase at Sheffield Collegiate 3rds, making it past 203 for the loss of five wickets, thanks to 40s from Chris Siddall and James Ahmed; while Tommy Hyde’s unbeaten 47 helped Upper Haugh overhaul Warmsworth’s 126, the latter owing much to 78 from Rhys Mann. Darfield and Doncaster are now 22 points ahead of third-placed Coal Aston, whilst Oughtibridge stay bottom after their win, but have cut the gap to Sheffield Collegiate in 11th place to eight points.
Division Two
It was business as usual in Division 2 where Wickersley Old Village 2nds kept up their winning start to the season when they visited strugglers Thorpe Hesley & High Green. Connor Snelgrove took 4-31 to bowl the home side out for 128, before a scrappy chase saw the league leaders eventually win by three wickets. Ackworth fell further behind the leaders when they lost to Hallam 2nds at Crimicar. The visitors would have been confident after 5-30 from Dale Longfield helped bowl their hosts out for 133, but 5-22 from James Chetwood saw Ackworth bowled out for just 99 in a disappointing reply. Treeton 2nds lost at home to Hatfield Town, where James Stuart (3-36) and Danny Evans (4-30) bowled the home side out for 149, and the visitors, who were 75-0, with 47 from Jake Van Oorschot, collapsed to 130-8 before Blake Blythe saw them home by two wickets with an unbeaten 25. Norton Woodseats moved up to third by beating bottom side Caribbean by 21 runs. Caribbean will have been disappointed to let their visitors make it to 214 after removing most of their top order cheaply, but 53 from David Armitage at number eight saw Woodseats to a winning total, despite Bjorn Taylor’s 5-52. Caribbean collapsed somewhat after a decent start, but were given hope by twenties from Hussnain Hussain and Nasser Rasool, before Aamir Ashfaque’s 5-25 saw visitors home by 21 runs. Elsewhere in the division, 110 from Connor Smythe and 71 from John Williams saw Penistone chase 220 for the loss of just four wickets at home to Monk Bretton; Aston Hall 2nds also won after bowling first, winning by the same margin, as Joe Fletcher’s unbeaten half-century led them past Norton Oakes’ 161, to which Callum Semple contributed 69. Wickersley are now 20 points clear at the top while second, third and fourth are only be separated by four points; and Caribbean trail Monk Bretton and Thorpe Hesley by six points at the bottom.
Division Three
Elsecar 2nds maintained their imperious start to the season with a comfortable win at home to Kexborough in Division 3. Matthew Tonks, Harrison Hayes and Jason Meadows all scored fifties to help them to 223-6 after choosing to bat, then Meadows’ 5-42 helped bowl their visitors out for 157. Tickhill 2nds kept up the pace in second with a much less convincing win at home to Wath 2nds. After electing to field, they bowled the away side out for 134, but found themselves 18-3 and later 85-7 in reply. It took patient innings’ from Neil Conchie and Oliver Gleadall at nine and ten to see them over the line, with just two wickets remaining. Meanwhile, Parkhead condemned bottom side Thorncliffe & Wentworth to another heavy loss on their own ground. Chris Turner scored 63 for the away side as they posted 203-8, before 5-17 from Thomas Wellman helped bowl their hosts out for 125. Whiston Parish Church 2nds also remain in trouble; fifties from Samuel Bowden and Dale Stanley helped them to 207 at home to Bradfield Village Fellowship, but an unbeaten 63 from just 29 balls from James Shepherd swung the game for the visitors when it looked as if they might be faltering. In the other games to be played, Oughtibridge 2nds won by 43 runs a home to Frecheville Community and Sprotbrough 2nds claimed victory at Worsbrough Bridge by 61 runs. At the top of the table, Elsecar remain ten points clear of Tickhill, and Parkhead moved up to third a further 14 points behind the top two; Thorncliffe are on 16 points at the bottom, two behind Whiston.
Division Four
There were some huge wins in Division 4, where Millhouses Works suffered their first loss of the season away at Stocksbridge. This one was a tighter affair than others, as the hosts produced an impressive chase to reach 179 for the loss of five wickets. Opener Matthew Price got the Stocksbridge reply off to a great start with 52, before forties from Jack Newton and Joe Hibbert, the latter unbeaten, saw them to a surprise win. The biggest winning margin of the weekend came at Handsworth, where the home side beat Shiregreen 2nds by 198 runs. Waqas Ali scored 99 and Sher Khan 66 as the hosts made their way to 255-6, before Sohail Hussain, with 7-29, bowled the visitors out for just 57. Similarly, Cawthorne 2nds joined Millhouses at the top of the table when they beat Maltby Miners Welfare by 185 runs at Dark Lane. Kade Fletcher produced the display of the weekend with 152 not out from 128 balls to propel his side to 270-7. Three wickets each from Gareth Kilburn and Ryan Bagshaw then saw Maltby out for just 85. Barnsley Woolley Miners 3rds’ had a thrilling win against Rockingham Colliery 2nds at Woolley, where fifties from Adam Sattaur and Andy Shore at the top of the order helped the visitors to a more than competitive 234-9. Openers Bilal Imtiaz (75) and Freddie Chapman (68) the set Barnsley up perfectly for the win with a 124-run partnership, but after they departed wickets fell regularly, and it was left to Callum Bailey, with an unbeaten 25, to see his side to a one-wicket win off the last ball. Elsewhere, Higham beat Whiston Forge by 83 runs; whilst Silkstone United claimed an invaluable 21-run win over Sheffield Collegiate 4ths. Cawthorne and Millhouses lead the table by ten points from Barnsley Woolley; whilst Silkstone United climbed off the bottom with their second win of the season – they are now six points ahead of Shiregreen and two behind Whiston Forge.
Division Five
Upper Haugh 2nds lost the top in Division 5 when they lost by two wickets at home to Fishlake, who closed the gap between the two to just two points. The visitors put their hosts in to bat and did an excellent job in limiting them to 135-9, largely thanks to 4-18 from Richard Copley. Fishlake were made to work hard for their win though, and after Charlie Metcalfe and Jonathan Holmes got them off to a good start, Steve Reynolds (3-18) and Chris Pearson (4-24) caused a collapse from 99-1 to 126-8. This result meant that Wombwell Main reclaimed top spot with a comfortable win at home to Rotherham Town 2nds. Tom Peck took 4-39 to help bowl the visitors out for 109, before top scoring with 54 to help them to the victory by seven wickets. Darfield 2nds recorded a very comfortable win away to Norton Oakes 2nds, who remain without a win. Mitchell Phillips scored 65 from 56 balls for the visitors, who posted 192, before Charlie Potter’s 6-11 helped bowl the strugglers out for 82. Meanwhile, Doncaster Town 3rds won by nine wickets away to Hallam 3rds to move up to second, with Joe Woodiwiss taking 5-12 and Oliver Cheesewright scoring 74. Conisbrough 2nds won by the same margin at home to Mexborough, where Stuart Coleman’s unbeaten 98 off 100 balls dominated the home side’s canter to their target of 133. Finally, Sheffield University Staff moved up to seventh with a comfortable 32-run win at home to Coal Aston 2nds. Wombwell lead the table by eight points from Doncaster, with a further two-point gap to third-placed Upper Haugh; whilst Norton Oakes remain on two points at the bottom, ten adrift of Mexborough, who trail tenth club Hallam by 16.
Division Six
One of the stand-out performances of the weekend saw the Division 6 table-toppers, Sheffield United 2nds, win by 188 runs away to Wickersley Old Village 3rds on Sunday. After being put into bat, the visitors posted 234-5 with Anoop Surendran scoring 73 from 60 balls. Surendran then put in a remarkable bowling performance, taking 5-0 in just 2.3 overs, to bowl the hosts out for just 46. Bradfield Village Fellowship 2nds gained an important win at home to Thorpe Hesley & High Green 2nds to move level with the visitors in second place. Alex Sunderland’s 5-16 helped bowl the hosts out for a below-par 136, Millie Gray top-scoring with 30; before Bradfield restricted the visitors to 132-9, despite Mark Dufty’s 86 not out, with Mick Bocking taking 3-32. In another remarkable result, Whitley Hall 3rds managed to defend 76 at home to Handsworth 2nds, Charlie Wragg and Matthew Brown taking 6-27 and 4-36 respectively to bowl the visitors out for 67 in the second innings. Only Elliott Ashton (35) for the victors and Humayun Bashir (37) for Handsworth managed to score more than ten. In Saturday’s other game, Rocco Cook’s 83 not out and Daniel Swales’ 68 helped Sprotbrough 3rds to a 79-run win when they entertained Barnsley Woolley Miners 4ths. Caribbean Sports 2nds conceded their game at Green Moor. Sheffield United are now twelve points clear at the top, from Bradfield and Thorpe Hesley, two of five sides between second and sixth that are separated by just four points; at the other end of the table, Caribbean trail Barnsley by 12 points, and there is a further gap of 18 points to Whitley Hall in ninth place.
Division Seven
Another side to lose their first game of the season were Higham 2nds in Division 7. Playing away to Ackworth 2nds, who posted 170-6 with forties from Joe Lane and Keelan Booth, Higham fell 42 short, with Rajinder Kundra taking 3-13 in ten overs for the victors. Both Ackworth and Brookhouse closed the gap on the leaders, the latter winning at Harley. After being put into bat, Jasneet Gulati’ helped Brookhouse to 156, with 46 not out, before taking 4-12 as Harley were bowled out for 106. The other results were tighter affairs, starting at Millhouses Works 2nds, who lost by three wickets at home to Warmsworth 2nds. Three wickets for Jonathan Iball, Charlie Iball and Marcus Green saw the hosts all out for 133 in the first innings, before a top score of 46 from Kelvin Dufty helped Warmsworth to the win. Eden Grove Parklands won at Monk Bretton 2nds by four wickets when they chased 121. Tony Singh took 5-25 in the first innings, with Avtar Singh Dutt’s 49 not out proving crucial in the second. Finally, Mexborough 2nds defended 149 to win by 15 runs at home to Thorncliffe & Wentworth, where the top two performances came from the losing side – Callum Pearce taking 5-19 in the first innings and Ewan Bennett scoring 73 from 69 balls in the second. Higham now lead Ackworth and Brookhouse by just two points, these three being well clear of the field; at the other end, Monk Bretton and Thorncliffe & Wentworth are six points adrift of Monk Bretton, and there is then a 16-point gap to Millhouses in ninth.
Division Eight
Houghton Main 2nds fell behind in the race for promotion in Division 8 with a nine-wicket defeat away to Rockingham Colliery 3rds. Five bowlers took two wickets each for the home side, as they bowled their visitors out for 130, before 74 not out from Dave Smith helped the Colliery to their target with ease. Hatfield Town 2nds retained their twelve-point gap at the top of the table with a 34-run win at home to Silkstone United 2nds. Josh Platt’s 52 helped Hatfield to 151-9 before Andrew Decent took 5-25 to leave United 117 all out. Doncaster Town 4ths kept up the pressure on the table-toppers with a home win against Wath 3rds in a close encounter. George Seddon took 4-39 to bowl the hosts out for 135 in the first innings before Wath started steadily in reply but fell from 63-3 to 87-9, before eventually finishing just eight runs short of what would have been an impressive win. Stocksbridge 2nds kept pace with Doncaster, gaining 12 points when Fishlake 2nds conceded their game. Finally, 64 not out from Robert Stubbings helped Worsbrough Bridge 2nds chase 99 at Dearne for a four-wicket victory. Hatfield lead the table by 12 from Doncaster and Stocksbridge; whilst three clubs are separated by four points at the bottom – Fishlake have 14 points, four behind Silkstone and Wath.
Division Nine
Adwick-le-Street recorded a huge 199-run win at home to Wombwell Main 2nds to keep a tight grasp on second place in Division 9. Luke Bishop hammered 129 not out from 118 balls, with Liam Bishop (65) and Nick Bisby (75) lending great support to take their side to 276-2 after being put into bat. Faced with an intimidating target, Wombwell crumbled to 77 all out, with three wickets each for Carl Newbold and Christopher Jeeves. Kexborough 2nds’ had a similarly emphatic victory at home to Sheffield United 3rds, winning by 132 runs. Ethan Shillito almost single-handedly took the home side to 224 all out with a magnificent 139. 4-21 from Andrew Greaves then helped bowl the visitors out for 92. Elsewhere, Whiston Forge 2nds kept up their winning start to the season in a tight affair at home to Hampole & Skelbrooke. Opener James Lawson’s 76 not out had helped the away side to post 137-6 in the first innings, whilst Whiston lost wickets regularly in pursuit of the target, but the league leaders eventually prevailed by two wickets – Cade Darwin top-scoring with 47, whilst James Beresford and Cliff Wilson took three wickets each. Eden Grove Parklands won by just one wicket at home to Rockingham Colliery 4ths. Chasing a modest 129 to win, they collapsed from 83-1 to 121-9 against Oliver Mottram (5-32), before making it over the line with 13 balls to spare. Finally, Upper Haugh 3rds’ had a comfortable seven-wicket win away to Brookhouse 2nds, Hayden Cooney with 3-24 and Ben Cristinacce (30) the top performers for the visitors. Leaders Whiston Forge are 12 points clear of second-placed Adwick, with Upper Haugh six points behind them. Sheffield & Phoenix prop up the table, 14 points adrift of Rockingham, who trail eighth-placed Eden Grove by six.
by Sam Chadwick
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