Bradford Cricket League Division Three: Crossbank Methodists sprung one of the unexpected outcomes of the season, injecting a new element into the promotion race as they triumphed over Altofts by a mere two wickets.
Altofts found themselves dismissed for a total of 164, with Myles Robinson (52) being the sole standout, as Zaib Ali (5-45) and Tyler Woodhouse (3-25) presented challenging hurdles.
Crossbank experienced a few nerve-racking moments during their response, yet captain Gavin Harrison (50) and Lewis Lockwood (44) ensured they clinched victory. Among Altofts’ bowlers, Jacques Porter displayed the best performance with figures of 4-65.
With Scholes missing a game, Great Preston seized the opportunity to claim the top spot after a commanding 135-run triumph over East Leeds. They achieved the day’s highest score of 322-8 before confining East Leeds to 187-9.
Ethan Walker took the lead with an unbeaten 116, featuring five sixes and nine fours. He received strong support from skipper Oli Baron (67) and later James Conlon (60), contributing 107 runs for the fourth wicket. Wahab Hussain (4-29) emerged as the standout among the bowlers.
East Leeds found themselves all out for 187, with Wasim Malik contributing 41 and Kamran Farooq, the final batsman, holding his ground with 31 runs. Chris Aplin secured 3-47.
Haris Butt (65) and Khalid Mehmood (49) spearheaded Windhill & Daisy Hill’s successful pursuit of Wakefield St Michael’s score of 216-9, leading them to a narrow two-wicket victory against their fourth-placed contenders. Kashif Najam’s efforts of 5-27 went unrewarded.
For St Michael’s, Ashley Hale (87) and James Chapple (44) claimed the top scores. Aarya Jadhav (3-56) and Owaise Mehmood (3-41) emerged as the primary threats.
Thanks to David Charles’ impressive figures of 5-35, Spen Victoria effectively bowled out Adwalton for a mere 93 runs before securing a three-wicket win without much trouble.
Gildersome & Farnley Hill showed no mercy to the bottom-placed Brighouse side, amassing a score of 355 before dismissing their opponents for just 59 runs, sealing a commanding victory with a staggering 296-run margin.
