Whitworth Cup first round review

Last Sunday saw the first round of the 2022 ExtraCover Insurance Whitworth Cup. 

 

Cup-holders Sprotbrough opened the defence of their trophy at Darfield, where the high-flying Division 1 side gave them some scares. After electing to bat first, Lewis Thorpe (31) and Saman Kursheed (25), with a ninth-wicket stand of 56, rescued Darfield from 91-8 to reach 147. This after Michael Threapleton (4-29) and Scott Mantovani (3-32) had put the visitors well on top. Sprotbrough were then 109-7 before an unbroken eighth-wicket stand of 40 between Dean Williamson and Ashley Langdale saw them home by three wickets, with the aid of 29 extras. Kursheed, with 4-23 to add to his gritty innings, was unlucky to finish on the losing side. 

 

Last year’s losing finalists Aston Hall enjoyed a much more comfortable afternoon at home to Rockingham Colliery. After Mark Barnard (54) and Nasir Omar (38) had got the home side off to a good start with an opening stand of 83, Nathan (70*) and Rob (50*) Ward capitalised with an aggressive unbroken stand of 96 for the fifth wicket. Chasing a target of 275, Rockingham were never really in the hunt, and lost by 142 runs. Only Jawad Akhtar (39) and Andy Baker (26) offered any prolonged resistance against the home side’s attack, of which Omar (3-13) was the pick. 

 

Perhaps the most eye-catching result was Hallam’s ten-wicket demolition of Houghton Main – not so much the result itself, but the emphatic nature of it. After electing to bat first, the visitors really had no answer to Hallam’s attack, in which Christian Leddicoat and Edward Burch each took three wickets, and they were all out for 88. Nick Dymock (57 not out off 39 balls) and Harman Puni then knocked off the required runs in less than 12 overs. 

 

The tightest finish came at Abbeydale, where Barnsley Woolley Miners 2nds held on for a six-run win over Sheffield Collegiate 2nds. Having elected to bat first, Barnsley lost half their side for 56 against opening bowlers Thomas Currie (3-54) and Robbie McKenna (4-43) before Owen Smith (44) and Matthew Clayton (33) ensured that they reached a respectable 186-9. Adam Burkinshaw (46) and Thomas Currie (40) added 82 for Collegiate’s second wicket to put them in a strong position at 107-1, but they were pegged back by Jordan Slattery (3-30) and William Nicholson (2-33) and fell six runs short. 

 

In their first game in the competition, Green Moor posted a 29-run win over Mick Savage Cup holders Rotherham Town at Clifton Lane. After electing to bat first, they owed their first innings 203 largely to Daniel Airstone (102 off 119 balls), whilst Ayman Karim (4-27) and Waqas Mahroof (3-37) were the pick of the home side’s attack. Rotherham were soon in trouble at 24-4 in reply, thanks to a devastating opening burst from Jake Rodgers (4-24), but Tuffail Dar (48) and Ijaj Riaz (32) helped them to 130-5 before four wickets fell for 12 runs to effectively end the contest. 

 

Shiregreen have an illustrious history in the SYSCL, but have never won the Whitworth Cup. Now back in the Championship, from whence their visitors Oughtibridge were relegated last season, they made a convincing first step towards putting that right. With Abdul Lateef, Muhammad Khan and Yar Mohammed all bowling tight spells, they restricted Oughtibridge to 178-6. John Musgrove (57) provided the foundation of the visitors’ innings, before a brisk unbroken stand of 53 between Zayn Wasim and Sam Patel gave their bowlers something to bowl at. A couple of wickets each from Ashley Naseby and Patel reduced the home side to 78-5, despite Umar Tariq’s 49 at a run a ball, but Kamran Khan (56 not out off 46 balls) and Hammad Usman settled the game with an 87-run sixth wicket stand. 

 

Conisbrough elected to bat first at Warmsworth, but after being 117-2, thanks to 40s from Will Scott and Scott Lowe, they were unable to push on to a big score, thanks to a fine eight-over spell of 3-20 from Lewis Brown, and three run outs. Chasing 179 to win, Thomas Whitaker and Liam Marshall (79) got Warmsworth off to a good start with a half-century opening stand, but a five-wicket burst from Hassan Bin Shahab (5-30 in eight) brought Conisbrough right back into the game at 90-6. Gordon Laidlaw (36 not out) then joined Marshall and the pair then added 69 to take the home side to the brink of victory. 

 

Finally, at Moor Road, Wickersley were bowled out for 118 after being put in by Wath. No-one really got going for the visitors and after Steven Honeyman took the first two wickets, Sam Whitlam weighed in with 3-29, before Rob Barlow (4-27) mopped up the tail. Wickersley only got into three figures thanks to a last wicket stand of 30 between Iftikhar Afzal and Connor Snelgrove. The home side did not have it all their own way in reply, and only Bradley Williams made it to 20. Snelgrove took 3-34 in his eight overs and Mark Cummins weighed in with a couple of wickets, but it was not enough to prevent the home side getting home with four wickets and nine overs to spare. 

 

Full scorecards 

 

 

Aston Hall v Hallam 

Barnsley Woolley Miners 2nds v Shiregreen 

Green Moor v Warmsworth 

Sprotbrough v Wath