Senior Section round-up for 30/31 July

 

It was business as usual at the top of Division 1 in the tight three-horse race for promotion. League leaders Doncaster Town 2nds had an easy 120-run victory away to fourth-placed Sheffield United. Ben Stoves top-scored for Town with 46 out of their 203-8, whilst Max Garbutt, Warren Graca and Robert Grace took three wickets each to dismiss the hosts for 83. Darfield won by 152 runs at home to strugglers South Kirkby; after being put into bat, the home side scored 228-9 and bowled their visitors out for 76. Spencer Lavender top-scored with 67 in the Darfield innings, and Carlton Dickinson took 4-20 in the second. Upper Haugh remain just four points behind Darfield after their latest triumph, away to Sheffield Collegiate 3rds, which pushed their hosts into the relegation zone. Upper Haugh chased down 171 with eight wickets to spare, Dean Smith (98 not out) and Tommy Hyde (52 not out) leading them home after they had been 11-2. 

 

Coal Aston moved out of the relegation zone after producing a thrilling two-run win at home to Wakefield Thornes 2nds. They hit 220-9 after being put into bat, Nick Tye’s 58 helping them recover from 112-7. The visitors then fell just short despite Sam Darth’s unbeaten 70. Meanwhile, Oughtibridge War Memorial also climbed further away from trouble as they hammered bottom team Warmsworth by 113 runs at Common Lane. The visitors posted 190-9 in the first innings, with Limar Pierce taking 4-42, before bowling their hosts out for just 77, with Joel Mann taking 5-52. Rotherham Town also climbed away from danger with a 113-run victory, this time at home to fifth-placed Whitley Hall 2nds. After being put into bat, Irfan Mirza’s 63 from 50 balls helped Town to 216-6, with four bowlers then sharing their wickets to dismiss the visitors for 103. 

 

Doncaster still lead by 12 from Darfield, with Upper Haugh four points behind them, whilst Sheffield United trail the top three by 28; Warmsworth 64 points, South Kirkby 72 and Collegiate 3rds 78 occupy the three relegation spots, with Coal Aston clear by four points. 

 

 

Treeton 2nds suffered a surprise defeat this weekend, when they were beaten by strugglers Monk Bretton at Washfield Road, allowing Hallam 2nds to leapfrog them into the promotion places. Treeton’s defeat came by a single wicket as they attempted to defend 189-7. Will Cooper’s 71 from 54 balls and Edward Brunton’s 54 not out provided the backbone of the Treeton total, but Ashley Clayton’s excellent 67 not out from 55 balls led Monk Bretton to victory, despite Jonathan Barnes’ 5-50. The result meant that second-placed Wickersley 2nds went further clear in the top three as they won by 44 runs away to fellow hopefuls Aston Hall 2nds. The visitors scored just 127 after being put in to bat, but then bowled their hosts out for just 83 with David Mace taking 5-25 and Connor Snelgrove taking 4-28. Hallam were able to take advantage of Treeton’s defeat, winning by four wickets at home to Norton Woodseats. James Eyre scored 51 at the top of the order as the visitors posted 159-9, but Jamie Stone carried his bat with 71 not out to carry his side to victory. 

 

Ackworth remain way out in front of the rest at the top after easily beating bottom side Thorpe Hesley & High Green by 88 runs at Smithywood Road. Liam Carr scored 65 in the visitors’ 190-7 after they chose bat first, before Dale Longfield’s 5-22 helped bowl the hosts out for 102. 

 

All this means that Ackworth remain 30 points clear at the top, with Wickersley second and Hallam 16 further points behind in the three promotion spots, Treeton now being four points outside the top three; at the bottom, Monk Bretton have reduced the gap to safety to 16 points, with Caribbean Sports, whose game fell victim to the weather, 16 points behind them, and Thorpe Hesley ten further points back. 

 

 

Division 3 leaders Elsecar 2nds quickly bounced back from their first defeat of the season last weekend, winning by 56 runs at home to Bradfield Village Fellowship. After being put into bat, the hosts made 191-8 with Kieran Higgins scoring 56. Richard Stump was the star of the show in the second innings, however, as he took a remarkable 8-43 to bowl the visitors out for 135. Second-placed Tickhill 2nds also picked up a comfortable win, beating Kexborough by seven wickets at home. Chasing 196, in which Richard Burgess scored 86, Peter Mawdsley was the match-winner, with an unbeaten 109 from 101 balls, to see his team home comfortably. 

 

There was a surprise for third-placed Parkhead, who were defeated by five wickets at Worsbrough Bridge. The home side chased down their 173 target thanks to Alex Littlewood’s 60 not out. Sprotbrough 2nds moved within two points of the promotion places with a win away to strugglers Whiston Parish Church 2nds. They had a lot for which to thank Tim Braithwaite, whose 5-9 helped bowl the hosts out for 94, a score Sprotbrough chased down with six wickets to spare. 

 

At the bottom, Oughtibridge War Memorial 2nds capitalised on Bradfield’s loss with a win at home to Wath 2nds that closed the gap on the ninth-placed team and safety to just two points. It was particularly impressive given that they were 75-7 in the first innings before Benjamin Tyers (51 not out) and Denis Smith (40 not out) shared an unbroken eighth-wicket partnership of 89 to help their side to 164-7. Shahrukh Khan and Azahat Saleem then took three wickets each to bowl their visitors out for 130. Bottom club Thorncliffe & Wentworth had no such luck, losing by 41 runs at home to Frecheville Community. After the visitors scored 169-6, Todd Saxelby took 5-44 to limit the hosts to 128-8. 

 

Elsecar’s lead over Tickhill at the top is now 24 points, with Parkhead now 30 behind in the third promotion spot – just two ahead of Sprotbrough; Whiston and Thorncliffe are level at the bottom on 48, with Oughtbridge 18 ahead of them in the third relegation place – just two behind Bradfield. 

 

 

Millhouses Works lost their lead at the top of Division 4 after being bowled out for 69 chasing 160 to beat Handsworth Junior SC. Qasim Banaris top-scored with 44 for the home side before Mohammad Tufail took 4-18 to give them an invaluable win. Stocksbridge edge Millhouses at the top on net run rate after chasing down 116 with five wickets to spare at home to Maltby Miners Welfare. Philip Fletcher top-scored 53 for the visitors before Stockbridge cantered home in just 23 overs. Third-placed Higham produced an impressive performance in chasing down 177 at home to Shiregreen 2nds. After Mustafa Hussain had scored 77 not out for the visitors, forties from Liam Dickinson, Paul Wroe and Luke Woodhouse helped Higham win in some comfort. 

 

Shiregreen’s loss allowed Silkstone United to climb out of the bottom three after beating Rockingham Colliery 2nds by 13 runs. Daniel Walker (42) helped the home side to 173-9 before Chris Barraclough took 5-30 as they bowled Rockingham out for 160, despite Stephen Bell’s 67. Whiston Forge remained rooted in the bottom three, losing by three wickets after being bowled out for 91 at Barnsley Woolley Miners 3rds. Four bowlers shared the wickets for the home side before a scrappy chase saw them over the line. Elsewhere, fourth-placed Cawthorne 2nds remain in the promotion hunt after an 80-run win at home to Sheffield Collegiate 4ths. In a game reduced to 35 overs, they posted 146-6 thanks to opener Nicholas Lowe’s unbeaten 75. Spencer Wiles then took 5-23 to bowl Collegiate out for just 66. 

 

Stocksbridge and Millhouses are on 150 points, followed by Higham (128) and Cawthorne are just outside the promotion places on 124; Whiston and Maltby are adrift at the bottom, with Shiregreen 16 clear of Forge in the third relegation place, ten points behind Silkstone. 

 

 

Doncaster Town 3rds stay top of Division 5 after managing to defend 101 by 44 runs away to bottom three side Sheffield University Staff; Harry Zuurbier’s 6-17 proving to be the match-winning performance. Wombwell Main also won convincingly after they hit 171-7 batting first in a reduced 30-over game at home to Coal Aston 2nds. Joe Armitage took 6-17 in the second innings to bowl the visitors out for 114. Upper Haugh 2nds also remain in the hunt after posting 203-4 on being put into bat in a 30-over game at home to Darfield 2nds, with David Plummer hammering 76 off 59 balls before they bowled their visitors out for 83, Andy Lintin taking 3-7. 

 

Hallam 3rds moved back out of the bottom three after winning by 12 runs in a high-scoring game at home to Fishlake. Nathan Rao’s 98 not out from 76 balls helped them to 243-7 after being put into bat. Fishlake made a valiant effort to chase down a difficult target; Dylan Sisman (84) and Ben Metcalf (50) the main contributors to their 231 all out. In the clash of the bottom two, Mexborough Athletic won by 85 runs away to Norton Oakes 2nds to leapfrog them into eleventh place. In a game reduced to 35 overs apiece, Athletic hammered 234-7, with Kripal Singh hitting 119 from just 76 balls. The home side were unlikely to get anywhere near that target and, despite Johnny Davidson’s 67, they finished on 149-7. Rotherham Town 2nds kept up their outside chance of promotion with an easy 47-run win at Conisbrough 2nds in another 30-over game. Town set their hosts 135 to win before bowling them out for 87, with Hamid Khan taking 5-31. 

 

Just two points separate Doncaster and Wombwell in the promotion places, with a six-point gap to Upper Haugh in third; at the bottom, Mexborough and Norton Oakes are separated by eight points, but there is a further 40-point gap to Sheffield University Staff in the third relegation place – the latter being eight points adrift of Hallam and safety. 

 

 

Sheffield United 2nds opened a 24-point gap between themselves and second-placed Penistone 2nds, after their six-wicket win away to Green Moor 2nds and Penistones’ 75-run defeat away to Whitley Hall 3rds. The league leaders bowled out struggling Green Moor out for 104, a score they chased down with six wickets to spare thanks mainly to Anoop Surendran’s 50 from 23 balls. In a 30-over game Whitley totted up 176-8 after being asked to bat first, with Elliott Ashton scoring 59. Charlie Wragg then took 4-19 as they bowled their visitors out for just 101. 

 

Green Moor slipped into the relegation places following wins for both Sprotbrough 3rds and Bradfield Village Fellowship 2nds. Sprotbrough prevailed at home to Handsworth Junior SC 2nds by 92 runs after setting their visitors just 148 to win. James Rowett scored 73 and Robert Edmundson then took 4-20 to help bowl the visitors out for just 56. Bradfield’s victory came by nine wickets at home to Barnsley Woolley Miners 4ths, where they chased 107 with ease, Ashley Timings-Thompson top-scoring with 63 not out. 

 

Sheffield United are on 138 points, Penistone 116, then Whitley Hall, Wickersley 3rds and Thorpe Hesley & High Green 2nds all within eight points of the second promotion place; Barnsley Woolley 4ths on 22 points are 68 points adrift of safety and are now relegated, but Caribbean Sports 2nds are 20 points from safety and Green Moor just four – with three clubs within six points of them. 

 

 

Brookhouse continued their remarkable winning streak at the top of Division 7 and made it 14 out of 14 at Millhouses Works 2nds. They scored 196-7, Jonathan Kirk (56) and Thomas Green (57 off 27 balls) leading the way before William Braithwaite took 4-24 as the hosts finished 109-8 in reply. Brookhouses’ excellent record rather overshadows Higham 2nds’ efforts, but it is a testament to the latter that they remain just eight points behind the leaders after another win, this time away to Monk Bretton 2nds. It came by a comfortable seven wickets, after they had bowled their hosts out for 92 with Steven Bamforth taking 4-8. 

 

At the bottom, Mexborough 2nds remain in the relegation places after a nine-wicket loss at home to fourth-placed Warmsworth 2nds. Batting first, the home side were bowled out for 127 with Liam Cottam taking 4-19; Kelvin Defty then top-scoring with 62 not out as the visitors cantered home. In a bad weekend all round for the bottom three, Thorncliffe & Wentworth were condemned to a five-wicket defeat at Frecheville Community 2nds, where fifties for Joe Pearson and John Ryan had helped them to 150, but that was not enough to trouble the home side. Eden Grove Parklands also remain perched precariously above danger after they were defeated at Harley, who reached a target of 168 for the loss of only three wickets. Ashley Grace had scored 87 for the visitors, whilst the next highest score was just 15; but his efforts were in vain, as Michael Dearden (74) and Callum Sverdloff (52 not out) saw the hosts home. 

 

Brrokhouse and Higham are now almost within touching distance of promotion in the top two places, Ackworth 2nds occupy the third promotion spot, 14 ahead of Warmsworth; Mexborough in tenth are still with a fighting chance of avoiding the drop as they are only ten adrift of Eden Grove, but Thorncliffe and Monk Bretton look doomed. 

 

 

Houghton Main 2nds leapfrogged Doncaster Town 4ths into second place with an eleven-run win at Finningley. Houghton made just 121 but bowled Town out for 110 – Tahir Nawaz and Adam Cutmore taking three wickets each to secure the points. Fourth-placed Stocksbridge 2nds kept up the pressure, beating Dearne by 96 runs at Furlong Road. In a 25-over game, they hammered 162-4 after being asked to bat, with Harry Hurst hitting an unbeaten 82. Rowan Brearley then took 6-15 to bowl the hosts out for 66 and wrap up a comprehensive win. Above them, Hatfield Town 2nds are high and dry at the top and picked up their 13th win of the season at home to Worsbrough Bridge 2nds. After making 146-6, three wickets each from Andrew Decent and Joshua Yemm helped bowl their visitors out for 124. 

 

On Sunday, there was a massive nine-wicket win for Wath 3rds at home to Silkstone United 2nds which saw them leap from ninth to seventh. United were limited to 123-8 in the first innings after the home side put them into bat, before Joel Humphries’ 60 not out eased Wath over the line. 

 

Hatfield lead Houghton by 28 points with Doncaster six further points behind in the third promotion place, eight ahead of Stockbridge 2nds; Fishlake 2nds are facing an almost impossible task 52 points from safety at the bottom, but Dearne and Scholes in the two places above them still have a realistic chance of avoiding the drop, with Scholes level on points with eighth-placed Wath. 

 

 

In an eventful weekend in Division 9, Adwick-le-Street kept their lead at the top with a six-wicket win at home to Rockingham Colliery 4ths, after bowling their visitors out for just 36 with Christopher Jeeves taking 5-12. There was also a big win for Upper Haugh 3rds, who beat Eden Grove Parklands 2nds by 162 runs at Parklands to move into third. Glenn Mitchell top-scored with 56 for the visitors as they posted 209-6, before Joseph Platts took 7-20 to bowl Parklands all out for 47. 

 

Kexborough 2nds won by just three runs after scoring 146 at home to Hampole & Skelbrooke. James Lawson’s 55 at the top of the order had set the visitors on their way to the total but they fell agonizingly short as they finished on 143-6 after their 40 overs. There was a slightly bigger winning margin for Brookhouse 2nds as they defended 145 by 22 runs at home to Sheffield United 3rds in a 35-over affair. Finally, on Sunday, Whiston Forge 2nds, whose Saturday game against Wombwell Main 2nds was cancelled, produced a good chase to win away to Rockingham Colliery 4ths by three wickets. Harry Ambler’s 51 helped the home side set their visitors 170 to win and they obliged as Thomas Scotland’s excellent 88 not out helped them recover from 90-6 to gain an important win. 

 

Adwick’s lead at the top is now 14 points from Upper Haugh, with Whiston Forge ten further behind in third, but also level on points with Wombwell. 

 

League tables 

 

Full scorecards