Halifax Cricket League Premier Division: Thornton requires only 12 points from the remaining three matches to secure the championship. This achievement would complement their Parish Cup and T20 Trophy victories, marking their first-ever treble. Lowly Blackley visited Thornton as the home team set a total of 199-9. Jordan Croft’s score of 44 stood as the highest in the inning. The only threat to Thornton’s dominance came from Mark Gill, who managed 57 runs. However, Grant Soames took 5-36, leading to Blackley’s all-out score of 158. The relegation battle for the visitors seems destined to extend until the final day when Oakworth, positioned 8 points ahead in the third-bottom spot, makes their visit to Lindley Road.
Illingworth St Mary’s returned to their winning form with a commanding victory, defeating Sowerby Bridge by 10 wickets at The Ainleys. Sowerby Bridge struggled, posting a mere 68 runs, as both Jamie Moorhouse and Matthew Smith took 4-21 each. St Mary’s had an easy chase, needing only 56 balls to achieve a winning score of 71-0. Despite this resurgence, their recent inconsistencies suggest that they might end up as the season’s runner-up rather than the winner.
Booth continues to perform better in the second half of the season. Their resilience was evident as they recovered from a struggling 79-8 against Mytholmroyd, with number 10 batsman David Moore’s crucial 48 helping them reach a total of 142 all out. Mytholmroyd’s Jack Earle (5-20) and Taufeeq Ahmed (4-68) posed significant challenges. Moore’s contributions proved decisive as Mytholmroyd fell short by just 10 runs of a revised target of 136 in 41 overs, getting bowled out for 125. Patrick Thomas took 5-55.
Bradshaw secured a solid home victory against SBCI, winning by three wickets. The visitors set a total of 164-5, with opener Adam Fawcett working hard for his unbeaten 83 off 149 balls on a challenging pitch. In response, a collective effort from the home team led them to a winning score of 168-7, with five batters contributing between 22 and 28 runs. They achieved this with 4.5 overs to spare, and Thomas Wood took 4-36.
Copley emerged victorious at home against Luddendenfoot, thanks to Oliver Thorpe’s 70 and Ibbi Mir’s unbeaten 42. After Luddendenfoot batted first and scored 149 all out, the efforts of Thorpe and Mir turned the score from 49-2 to 128-3. Mir finished the task, helping Copley reach a winning total of 150-3.
Triangle’s home match against Oxenhope was abandoned due to heavy rainfall during the tea interval at Grassy Bottom. This was unfortunate, considering the promising second innings chase by Oxenhope, who aimed to chase Triangle’s score of 254 all out. Noteworthy performances came from Chris Woodhead (74), Daniel Crosland (61), and Joel Fothergill (6-76) in the initial 44 overs.
