Olympian Heroes!
It's been a long time coming, but at last I can happily announce that both of our teams won this weekend! Ta-da! Perhaps the Olympics has inspired everyone?
Yes, the boys did us proud on Saturday providing a double dose of woe for their Denholme opponents, and in the process opened up a bit of a cushion from relegation in their respective divisions. Also of note was the agreement to allow M Qadeer to remain with the second team, well done to the two team captains for working for the overall health of the club as a whole. That's the sort of pulling together I meant in the last blog - well played gents.
At home with the first team, Denholme won the toss and chose to bat first. Unfortunately for them, Mohammed Zulfiqar was on fire taking 7 wickets for just 41 runs. I suspect this is one of the performances of the week - perhaps a second showing on the Yorkshire region honours board for the season? Aftab Khan (2-26) and Mohammed Arshad (1-4) picked up the other wickets as Denholme were bowled out for just 107. In response, Riddlesden cruised to victory with notable contributions from Mohammad Shahnawaz (21), Goher Ayoub (27) and Aftab Khan (38). Given that Denholme were six places above us at the start of the day, such a comprehensive win is magnificent and all the players should be applauded for their effort. Special mention for Shehryar Hussain for stepping up to the 1st team.
The second team won their toss and elected to bat first. The best opening stand of the season saw them reach an incredible 129 before losing their first wicket, with Dale Pinkerton (69) and Mohammad Qadeer (57) building the perfect platform for a big total. Imran Kamal (17) and Mick Cryer (23 n/o) saw Riddlesden through to a final score of 195. Denholme only managed 156 in reply. Bowling-wise, all the bowlers played brilliantly according to Bob Morrisroe (who took 2-32) and Danny Kernan (2-35). The main wicket takers though were Mohammad Qadeer (3-42) and Darren Shields (3-14). Stephen Bailey as a replacement wicket keeper this week took 5 catches! Speaking to Bob after the game, he described the team performance as being one of the best overall that he's been part of. This sounds great for the future. And even more impressive - we only had ten players against Denholme's eleven!
So, with most of the other results affecting us already in, the league tables are looking far healthier for both teams. The 1sts are now up to 9th and have a six point lead over relegation placed Cowling, and ten points over bottom placed Foulridge. The 2nds are also in 9th place in division 3, again with a six point cushion over the relegation zone. With just five matches left in the season, every point is crucial.
Fixtures next week:
1st - away at Sutton-in-Craven: could be a tough one against 4th place, but after this weekend why not win again? They narrowly beat us at home earlier in the season with our bowlers not really performing on the day, but if we bowl well next week...
2nd - home to Sandy Lane: Sandy Lane are 2nd in the table, but we've been getting stronger as the season's gone on. They only scored 125 against us at their place, but we capitulated to just 113 (despite 49 from Dale) all out. We're better than that now!