Horsfall keeps Booth flying high

Horsfall, one of the league’s top all-rounders on his day, hit 51 off 25 balls and then took five for 44 as Booth beat visitors Sowerby St Peter’s by 58 runs.

Matthew Hoyle and Chris Punda bowled well early on for the visitors and Booth only had 60 runs on the board half-way through their innings.

Richard Laycock made 47 and John Midgley 38 but it was Horsfall and Patrick Thomas (45 no) who really kept the scorers up to their work, taking 100 runs off the last nine overs.

Horsfall hit 28 off the final six deliveries of the innings, bowled by the luckless Punda, and Booth suddenly had a decent 231 for six.

Sowerby looked set to launch a strong assault on the total at 68 without loss but then slumped to 89 for six as Horsfall set to work with the ball, backed up well by the fielders.

Hoyle (42) and Martin Schofield (26) put on 60 but Laycock (three for 33) returned to help finish off the visitors for 172.

Second-placed Warley matched Booth’s 12-point haul while the third and fourth teams, Jer Lane and Triangle, each collected 11.

Warley won by 34 runs at Blackley, who are now 27 points adrift of safety at the bottom.

Warley were wobbling at 83 for five but Luke Duckitt helped the visitors to 184 for eight with 40.

Blackley slid from 45 without loss to 60 for three and 118 for seven, three run outs scuppering their hopes as they were all out for 150.

Jer Lane were on top from the start at home to Northowram HT thanks to an opening stand of 165 runs between Wayne Cotton (90) and Andrew Pinfield (71).

Lane made 249 for six and a maximum points success looked a formality with Northowram 111 for seven, Kier Litjens making 49.

However, Tom Clee (91) and Taylor Swaine (36 not out) mounted a fine counter-attack which earned the visitors maximum batting points at 209 for eight and left Jer slightly frustrated.

Triangle stayed in the title hunt with a tense nine-run success at Thornton.

Half-centuries from Nathan Madden and Christian Silkstone helped the visitors to 227 for nine and Ryan Brooksbank’s 82 runs was not quite enough for Thornton.

Sowerby Bridge moved 12 points clear of second from bottom Northowram thanks to Jake Dixon’s five for 56 in a five wicket win at home to SBCI.

Mytholmroyd enjoyed the same margin of victory at home to Copley, who only totalled 129 with Oliver Thorpe contributing 52. Tom Earle’s 45 not out settled matters after Royd had been 54 for four.

Joe Ackroyd’s swashbuckling 128, with nine sixes, proved in vain for Stones in Division One.

The Ripponden side were on the ropes at 84 for six at home to promotion hopefuls Queensbury before Ackroyd boosted the total to 227 for nine.

The visitors were unfazed and their top three of Jamie Priestley (49), Tom Watson (67) and Azhar Sharif (62) helped them win by four wickets.

Great Horton Park Chapel’s Amaar Syed had to be satisfied with an easy win for his Great Horton Park Chapel side after narrowly missing out on a century.

Opener Syed was 98 not out as Chapel’s overs ran out with the total on 238 for six, number eight Chris Brown (64 no) having given him great support.

Matthew Jordan then took six for 10 to shatter Crocs for 71.

Bridgeholme returned to winning ways with an easy win at bottom team Low Moor HT, who were bowled out for 83.

Leaders Oxenhope were relieved to emerge with a six run home win over Southowram, Josh Tetley making 77 in their 232.

Middle order men Scott Griffiths and Dan Pummell replied with half centuries but the Rams fell just short.

The alarm bells are ringing even louder at Greetland, who had to concede against Division Two leaders Denholme Clough.

They could only raise six men, having folded their second team earlier in the campaign.

Cullingworth won the Bradford derby at Clayton by three wickets while fellow promotion chasers Bradshaw were six-wickets winners at Shelf thanks to Aaron Buckley (five for 84) and Dean Cotton (60).

Old Town were eight-wicket winners away to a nine-man Old Town side.

Calum Westwood took five wickets and Alex Blagborough hit 69 with Sajid Ramzan (40) and Asif Ramzan (56) getting most of Old Town’s 131 runs.

Andrew Gallagher’s 86 not out saw Upper Hopton to a six wicket win at home to Luddenden Foot.

Premier Division: Warley 184-8 (Duckitt 40, Bottomley 33), *Blackley 150 (Sarwar 32, Keywood 3-81): pts 12-4. *Booth 231-6, Sowerby St Peter’s 173: pts 12-3. *Jer Lane 249-6 (Cotton 90, Pinfield 71, Lister 31, Irshad 3-52), Northowram HT 209-8 (Clee 91, Litjens 49, Swaine 36*, Johnson 3-40): pts 11-4. Copley 129 (Thorpe 52), *Mytholmroyd 130-5 (T Earle 45*, Hartley 3-47): pts 2-12. SBCI 153-8 (S Wood 40*, T Wood 33, Dixon 5-56), *Sowerby Bridge 155-5 (Holdsworth 45, Whitehill 39*, Helliwell 37, Sykes 3-53): pts 3-11. Triangle 227-9 (Madden 52, Silkstone 51, Graham 38, Hutchinson 4-57), *Thornton 218-9 (Brooksbank 82, N Hutchinson 41, Gledhill 3-41, R Turner 3-67): pts 11-5.

Division One: *Great Horton PC 238-6 (A Syed 98*, Brown 64*), Old Crossleyans 71 (Jordan 6-10): pts 12-1. *Low Moor HT 83 (Dowling 35, Mahmood 3-4, Khan 3-31), Bridgeholme 86-2 (Harris 32*): pts 0-12. *Oxenhope 232 (J Tetley 77, Bailey 43, Barker 34, Mahmood 3-39, Gledhill 3-58), Southowram 226-9 (Dyson 4-101, D Tetley 3-35): pts 11-6. *Stones 227-9 (Ackroyd 128, Thickett 36, Singh 4-98), Queensbury 228-6 (Watson 67, Sharif 62, Priestley 49): pts 4-11.

Division Two: *Clayton 192-7, Cullingworth 194-7: pts 3-11. Denholme Clough w/o v Greetland; pts 12-0. *Old Town 131 (A Ramzan 56, S Ramzan 40, Westwood 4-21, Shaukatt 3-36), Outlane 132- 2 (Blagborough 69): pts 1-12. *Shelf 167 (Green 42, O’Keefe 39, Buckley 5-84, Fisher 3-32), Bradshaw 171-4 (Cotton 60, Spendelow 40*, Butterfield 3-52): pts 3-12. Luddenden Foot 157 (Illingworth 46, Broadbent 3-51, Stanger 3-52), *Upper Hopton 158-4 (Gallagher 86*, Stott 3-24): pts 3-12.