Yorkshire Cricket: Weekend review on club cricket including Bradford Premier and Yorkshire North and South

The visitors chose to bat and made a whopping 305-2, a total that was boosted by 10 penalty runs off the final delivery of their 50 overs for Whiston’s slow over-rate.

Tom Keast batted throughout that time to make 138 not out, a knock that contained 17 fours and three sixes.

Captain Bill Kirby (42) played a minor role in an opening stand of 153 before Keast added 67 with keeper Tom Rollinson (67) and 85 unbroken with Sameera Sadamal (27no), with the last two overs costing 31 runs and 110 coming from the final 10.

However, the game looked up for the hosts when they needed 26 from their final two overs and 16 runs from the last three deliveries.

But they found a hero in Lewis Pike, who hit two boundaries in the 49th over and smashed the last three balls of the final over, bowled by Matthew Owen, for sixes over square leg to give Church a four-wicket victory.

Opener Andrew Tomlinson (52) laid the groundwork with Daniel Kemp (119) in a second-wicket partnership of 95 and the latter then added 139 for the fourth wicket with Aamir Jamal (71) before Pike’s peak performance of 40 not out off 21 balls.

Kemp’s run-a-ball display included 14 fours and four sixes, while Jamal’s 42-ball stay contained 10 fours and two sixes.

Whiston are now on 48 points, and wins by Cawthorne and Treeton will have caused jitters for Elsecar and Cleethorpes, with next-to-bottom Cawthorne now level with Elsecar on 82 points, with Treeton on 84 and Cleethorpes 86.

Sheffield Collegiate made 230-7 at Cawthorne, headed by Daniel Priestley’s 47 not out as five men made above 20, but Cawthorne bettered that by one in replying with 234-8 off 47.3 overs.

Treeton’s runs were similarly shared around when they were sent in by visitors Wakefield Thornes and made 244, opener Stephen Foster leading the way with 63.

Thornes also had several contributors in their reply of 217, a total which looked unlikely when they were 97-5.

Elsecar had to bow to Doncaster Town, and particularly Umar Amin, who made 124 not out in their 257-6 before the hosts were dismissed for 174, with James Keast taking 4-56.

It was also a case of bottoms up elsewhere as well in Yorkshire senior league cricket on Saturday.

The basement boys in the Bradford League Premier Division, Huddersfield League Premiership and Airedale and Wharfedale League Division One also triumphed.

The only exception was in Yorkshire Premier League North, where cellar dwellers Acomb were beaten by next-to-bottom Beverley Town.

Batley defeated Pudsey St Lawrence by 50 runs in the Bradford League’s top flight.

Sent in, they made 229-4 at Mount Pleasant, with Muhammad Hafeez (58) and Yasir Ali (61no) enjoying themselves. Weakened Saints were restricted to 179-6 in their reply, Raza Hassan taking 4-44.

At the top, New Farnley’s lead over Woodlands is now 17 points as the former recovered from a shaky start to defeat Priestley Cup final opponents Methley.

New Farnley were 34-3 but ended up on 290-8, which was thanks to stand-in captain Alex Lilley (73), former Methley captain Grant Soames (65) and keeper Dan Hodgson (38).

Methley were then rolled over for 112, with their chief tormentors being Liam Guthrie (4-27) and Gurman Randhawa (3-14).

Woodlands were 3-4 in a low-scoring derby at Cleckheaton but recovered to 139 thanks to Muhammad Bilal (35) and Elliot Richardson (33) before experienced spinners Chris Brice (5-34) and Kez Ahmed (3-18) did the business with the ball as the hosts were toppled for 102.

Ossett opener Nick Connolly became the first player to reach 1,000 league runs in the Bradford Premier when he had scored 51 of his 63 against Bankfoot.

The four-figure feat broke two league records – it was the earliest in a season that the landmark had been achieved, bettering July 25 by Russell Evans for Farsley in 1993, and it came in the fewest innings, with the 16 eclipsing the 17 by Lorenzo Ingram, also of Farsley, in 2011.

Acomb’s choice to bat at Beverley Town backfired in Yorkshire Premier League North when they were dismissed for 90, a third of which were scored by opener Edward Wade as Tom Haytack (3-28) and Joey Franklin (4-40) cashed in.

Town were then steered to an eight-wicket victory by Jacob Hunter (34no), but it is still likely that both will finish in the bottom two, although only one might be demoted.

In the Huddersfield League Premiership, last-placed Delph & Dobcross made it two wins in three matches with their seven-wicket triumph at Golcar.

Only Steve Whitwam (48) made a decent score in Golcar’s 145 after they were sent in, with Nayyar Abbas bagging 4-26.

The result was not in doubt once Mosun Hussain (69no) had put on 82 for openers with Delph & Dobcross captain Nathan Jones (29).

Leaders Otley defeated Burley, one of their main rivals, in Airedale & Wharfedale League Division One.

Meanwhile, joint bottom club North Leeds put the cat among the pigeons with their five-wicket victory over Bilton, which means that the last four are now separated by just five points, with Ilkley and Bilton on 127, Beckwithshaw on 130 and North Leeds on 132.