Senior Section round-up for 30 April

 

It was a good day for batsmen in Division 1, where several teams hit scores in excess of 150. The game of the day came at Baxter Field, where Whitley Hall 2nds, after setting South Kirkby 197 to win, bowled their visitors out just two runs short. Sam Chatterton was the star man with the bat in the first innings as he hit 82 from 85 balls, with Steve Secker’s measured 78 in the second leaving the away side agonisingly short of victory. The biggest win of the weekend went to Doncaster Town 2nds, who prevailed by 97 runs at home to Warmsworth. George Fisher grabbed the attention, scoring 126 for the home side as they set their visitors 220 to win. All five bowlers took wickets in the second innings to remove Warmsworth for 122, with Warren Graca taking 4-21. Sheffield Collegiate 3rds also won handsomely in their away match against Oughtibridge. They set their hosts 185 to win, thanks to 82 from 113 from Mark Hickman, before they bowled them out for just 97 with Ben Fielding picking up 4-20. The other three games all saw impressive chases. Darfield’s away at Coal Aston was perhaps the pick of the bunch, reaching their target of 192 with two wickets remaining. Laurence Browes and Nick Tye scored 50s for the home side in what appeared to be a match-winning score. However, several useful cameos and 62 from Matthew Higgins saw the visitors snatch victory. Games elsewhere saw Upper Haugh successfully chase 170 at home to Rotherham Town, with forties from David Plummer and Tommy Hyde; and Sheffield United reached their target of 147 at Wakefield Thornes 2nds with seven wickets still intact. After all the excitement, Doncaster Town 2nds and Sheffield United kept up their 100% records at the top while Warmsworth remain without a point. 

 

Full results and table 

 

 

Division 2 saw more dominant batting, with Hatfield Town winning by an impressive 133 runs at home to Hallam 2nds. 68 from Jake Van Oorschot followed by 89 from just 69 balls from Luke Cockburn meant the hosts racked up 264-7 after electing to bat. A top bowling performance from Ellis Pattison (6-25) then saw Hallam all out for 131. Two impressive second-innings batting displays meant that Ackworth and Treeton 2nds won by eight and seven wickets respectively. Ackworth’s George Gillespie took 6-69 in their eight-wicket home win over Aston Hall 2nds. Yousaf Ali had scored 60 for the visitors, who set their hosts 161 to win, but an 84-run second-wicket stand between Amit Kundra (45) and Sam Swindin (57 not out) saw Ackworth coast to victory. Treeton’s win came at Caribbean, where Tom Holland hit an unbeaten 79 off 70 balls to help pass their target of 186 with overs to spare. The runs were piled on at Wickersley, where Penistone came within 21 of their target of 251. Nathan Taylor scored 110 for Wickersley 2nds, with Rob Jones smashing 67 from 35 balls, to take their side to a sizeable total. Fifties from Tom Reid and Christopher Walmsley then got Penistone close, but the lower order could not quite get them over the line. Elsewhere, Monk Bretton and Norton Woodseats both comfortably defended large totals away at Norton Oakes and at home to Thorpe Hesley & High Green respectively. Norton Woodseats and Wickersley 2nds lead the table with three wins out of three, while Caribbean are still to pick up a point. 

 

Full results and table 

 

 

There were several comfortable wins in Division 3, but Sprotbrough 2nds and Elsecar 2nds were separated by just six runs in their encounter. The largest winning margin came at Bradfield Village Fellowship where Tickhill 2nds won by 125 runs. James Eaton scored 66 and Pete Mawdsley 72 as the visitors racked up 228-9, before bowling Bradfield out for 103. Nathaniel Wilkes was the main man with the ball, taking 5-26. Kexborough had a similar result at home to Wath 2nds, posting 199-7 before removing their visitors for 112. Adam Wiles scored 72 for the hosts with Robert Mynett and Neil Hinchcliffe helping themselves to four wickets each in the second innings. Frecheville Community and Thorncliffe & Wentworth also gained convincing victories, both winning by eight wickets at home to Worsbrough Bridge and Oughtibridge 2nds respectively. Sprotbrough’s game at home to Elsecar proved to be much tighter as the visitors managed to defend 170 by the skin of their teeth. Alfie Gibson’s 77 not out and Richard Stump’s 5-20 were the difference in a thrilling game. Another tight finish saw Parkhead chase 123 with just three wickets left at home to Whiston Parish Church 2nds. Parkhead and Elsecar 2nds have maintained their 100% records with their victories, with Worsbrough Bridge just two points adrift at the bottom. 

 

Full results and table 

 

 

Remarkably, there were two one-wicket wins in Division 4 on an exciting weekend. Perhaps the most remarkable performance was that of Millhouses Works, who chased 221 at home to Higham with one ball and one wicket to spare. Andrew Wood (62) and George Deegan (105) gave Higham a healthy first innings total, but Tom Roper steered Millhouses home with an unbeaten 64. The other single-wicket win was that of Whiston Forge, who they chased down 169 at Shiregreen 2nds. Josh Cooke took 5-37 for the visitors before an unbeaten 70 from Steve Cowles led them to a thrilling win. A much more convincing win came at Maltby, who were bowled out for just 80 in their eight-wicket defeat to Handsworth, for whom Sohail Hussain took 4-23. Remarkably, every team to bat second in the division prevailed. Barnsley Woolley Miners 3rds won comfortably at Silkstone, making it to their 188 target with seven wickets intact, thanks to fifties from Bilal Imtiaz and Freddie Chapman at the top of the order, Chapman adding to his three earlier wickets. In the other games, Cawthorne 2nds chased down 130 to win by six wickets at Rockingham Colliery 2nds, chasing 130 to win; and Sheffield Collegiate made it to 169 with four wickets to spare at home to Stocksbridge. All that means that Silkstone United sit bottom on two points whilst Millhouses and Sheffield Collegiate 4ths have won three from three. 

 

Full results and table 

 

 

Only three teams made it past 100 on a bowling-dominated weekend in Division 5. Darfield 2nds by far outscored any other side, and their 211-8 proved too much for Hallam 3rds, who were removed for just 81. Arsalan Khalid scored 76 for Darfield before retiring not out, then Idris Khan’s second innings 5-19 wrapped up a powerful performance at School Street. Fishlake played out an interesting match at home to Sheffield University Staff, where they chased down 167 with just two wickets to spare. James Chisholm had scored an impressive 80 not out for the visitors but a 63-run fifth wicket stand between Tim Elliot and Paul Trimmington proved decisive for the home side. Batting was harder elsewhere though, and Rotherham Town 2nds nearly slipped up at home to Norton Oakes 2nds. After removing their visitors for just 66, Town lost seven wickets before reaching their modest target. In contrast, Upper Haugh 2nds, Wombwell Main and Doncaster Town 3rds all made rather more light work of small chases. Steve Reynolds took 6-11 for Upper Haugh as they bowled out Mexborough Athletic for 77; whilst Wombwell’s Richard Wilkinson took 5-36 to topple Conisbrough for 98. Doncaster’s efforts were shared with Christian Dobson and Max Garbutt each took four wickets for Doncaster 3rds to bowl Coal Aston 2nds out for 79. Doncaster 3rds, Upper Haugh 2nds and Wombwell have 100% records at the top of the table, with Mexborough and Hallam still searching for their first points. 

 

Full results and table 

 

 

Wickersley Old Village 3rds, Sprotbrough 3rds and Thorpe Hesley & High Green 2nds all produced fine bowling performances to prevail in Division 6. Coincidentally, all three games were won by nine wickets. Wickersley’s win came at Barnsley Woolley Miners 4ths, with all four of their bowlers contributing to the home side’s downfall as they were removed 43. All four bowlers also took wickets for Thorpe Hesley & High Green, with Matthew Bradley Green taking 4-11, as they bowled Green Moor out for just 36 on their home ground; whilst Sprotbrough’s Nicky Graves (5-9) and Nigel Young (4-20) bowled Penistone 2nds out for 85. Elsewhere, Sheffield United 2nds chased down 172 at home to Caribbean 2nds with five wickets to spare. Hamzah Hussain scored 51 from just 45 balls for the visitors, but 69 not out from Hasan Yasin and 51 in as many balls from Faiz Hussain ensured his efforts were in vain. Finally, Handsworth 2nds’ win at home to Bradfield Village Fellowship 2nds was a straightforward one, as they chased down 117 with seven wickets in hand. Wickerley lead the table by two points, but one of the four clubs two points below them, Thorpe Hesley, have a game in hand. Caribbean remain at the bottom as the only side without a win. 

 

Full results and table 

 

 

All four games to be played in Division 7 saw convincing victories. Perhaps the most notable of them all came at Monk Bretton 2nds, where Ackworth 2nds chased 142 without the loss of a wicket. With the help of 28 extras, the home side had posted a respectable target, but 61 for Tom Mcintyre and 64 for Morgan Whelan blew that out of the water in just 26.4 overs. Eden Grove Parklands’ win at home to Millhouses Works 2nds also came courtesy of a strong batting display. Ithshaam Akram was their top scorer with 48 from 45 balls, to help them to 184-6 in the first innings. Five bowlers, including Akram, then took wickets to limit their visitors to 122-8 in the second. The other two games saw dominant bowling displays as Warmsworth 2nds bowled Frecheville Community 2nds out for 56, Jonathan Iball taking 4-29. The target was passed for the loss of a single wicket. Similarly, Brookhouse’s efforts at home to Mexborough 2nds saw their visitors all out for 61. Adam Bryant took 4-13 for the hosts, who also won by nine wickets. Higham 2nds and Ackworth 2nds lead the table with three wins from three; whilst Monk Bretton 2nds and Thorncliffe & Wentworth 2nds still search for their first win. 

 

Full results and table 

 

 

The Division 8 game of the day came at Scholes, where the home side and Doncaster Town 4ths played out a high scoring encounter. Batting first, Town posted a dominant 220-7 with Oliver Booth scoring 68. It proved to be a winning total, but Scholes came within just 18 runs of an unlikely victory, thanks to a brilliant 106 from Adil Hussain, who did not deserve to be on the losing side. The highest total of the weekend, however, came at Wath 3rds, where Dearne posted 242 with a devastating display from Daniel Ravenscroft (100 from just 76 balls), backed up by Luke Rankin (52 from 36). Jamie Mctaggart the starred with the ball, taking 6-32 to bowl out the hosts 100 runs short. It was a winning margin that was only topped by Silkstone United 2nds, who emphatically defended 185 at Worsbrough Bridge 2nds. Kevin Taylor scored 76 for the visitors before Emma Wrightson’s 4-11 helped bowl the hosts out for 64. Another comfortable win came at Stocksbridge, whose 2nd team beat Hatfield Town 2nds by 75 runs. It could have turned out very differently had not a remarkable 82 from just 51 balls for number ten Callum Haywood rescued the home side from 79-8, to reach 195-9. Haywood then went on to take 2-35 as Stocksbridge bowled Town out for 120 in the second innings. The other game of the day saw Houghton Main 2nds successfully defend 159 at home to Fishlake 2nds, to win by 30 runs. Dearne top the division by two points from Houghton Main 2nds, whilst Fishlake 2nds, Scholes, Rockingham Colliery 3rds and Wath 3rds all await their first wins of the season. 

 

Full results and table 

 

 

Upper Haugh 3rds provided the performance of the weekend in Division 9 as they beat Adwick-le-Street by a mammoth 219 runs. After being put into bat on their home ground, their top order went to town. Openers Shaun and Ben Cristinacce scored 50 and 62 respectively, before Gurvinder Singh plundered 110 from just 60 balls to leave the hosts 300-5 after their 40 overs. It was far too much for the visitors, who were bowled out for 81. Wombwell Main 2nds and Rockingham Colliery 4ths played out a double-header, with the former winning both games comfortably. Saturday’s game saw them chase 123 for the loss of five wickets, while Sunday saw them defend 195 to win by 75 runs; their total coming courtesy of 85 from Callum Whitehead. Elsewhere, Hampole & Skelbrooke won by the skin of their teeth at home to Brookhouse 2nds, chasing down a target of 130 with one wicket remaining; Melvyn Caddick’s 58 gluing the innings together. Whiston Forge 2nds’ chase of 111 at home to Kexborough 2nds was rather more comfortable – Cade Darwin’s 62 from 76 balls saw them win with eight wickets in hand. Sunday’s other game saw Eden Grove Parklands 2nds win away at Sheffield United 3rds; chasing 111 to win, Eden Grove lost four early wickets before Patrick Strawbridge got them to victory with an unbeaten 36. Whiston Forge and Wombwell lead the table with three wins from three, whilst Sheffield United and Brookhouse still look for their first wins. 

 

Full results and table