Lightcliffe batsmen struggle

Visiting skipper Connor Harvey (6-27) and Richie Bresnan (4-37), the younger brother of Yorkshire and England’s Tim, did the damage for the Castleford side.

Lightcliffe were 31-7 before skipper Matt Baxter (24) helped them save a little face with his side’s only double figure score.

Spinner Suleiman Khan was handed the new ball and took three wickets but opener Jonathan Booth (31) ensured that Townville won with six wickets in hand.

Brighouse put the hammer blow of knowing they will be playing in Championship Two next season behind them with a victory by the same margin at Spen Victoria.

Spen were 56-5 before a 66-run stand between Liam Grant (41) and Josh Fell (26) helped them to 138, Quadratullah Azizi taking three early wickets and returning to snap up two more for figures of 5-27.

Brighouse sped to their target in the 23rd over with 47 from Deron Greaves and 35 not out from Sohail Hussain.

With Brighouse set to be the only team relegated from the Championship, following a player irregularity and 90 point deduction, Northowram Fields’ main focus is on their promotion-gunning seconds.

The ‘reserves’ won at Great Preston yesterday to stay second but the firsts lost by five wickets at home to Buttershaw St Paul’s.

The visiting Saints bowlers made the most of particularly helpful conditions early on, reducing Northowram to 11-3 before Jacob Slator (26), skipper John Lister (32) and Dru Patel (23) helped stage a partial recovery to 137 all out.

Buttershaw slipped from 35-0 to 74-5, leaving the game in the balance. However, James Robson was crucially dropped in his teens and went on to make a fine match-winning 52 not out for the visitors.

Jake Hooson stole the show as Walsden stayed on course for the Lancashire League title with an emphatic 145-run win at home to Middleton.

The 24-year-old local product because the latest club amateur to make a big score in 2019, hitting 132 not out as Walsden piled up 314-5.

The left-handed opener shared stands of 147 with Josh Gale (66), 56 with pro Umesh Karunaratne (41), 37 with Joe Gale (12), 42 with James Rawlinson (24) and 31 with Cameron Hanson (10).

Hooson doesn’t get too many opportunities with his slow left-arm orthodox bowling but took 5-19 after Middleton had threatened to make it difficult for the Scott Street men to bank maximum points.

James Tierney (59), George Walker (31) and pro Chris Williams (26) helped the visitors to 139-2 before Hooson and fellow spinner Karunaratne (3-52) sent wickets tumbling and Middleton were all out for 169.

Walsden retained a 16-point lead over Lowerhouse ahead of today’s weather-threatened trip to play Church.

Todmorden remain just below the cut-off point for next year’s top division in spite of getting back to winning wins with a fine 23-run win at Norden.

They key was a fourth-wicket stand of 139 between pro Chris Schofield (81) and Ben Sutcliffe (64). Freddie Priestley (20) and skipper Andrew Sutcliffe (19) were the next leading scorers as the Centre Vale side posted a useful 244-6.

Norden batted solidly but were kept in check by the visiting attack to reply with 221-7.

Hamza Ali took 2-39 off 12 overs with Joe Humphreys (48), pro Jake Sandham (46) and Harvey Fitton (42) leading the home effort.

Barkisland retained the leadership of the Huddersfield League’s Championship with an easy eight-wicket win at Meltham.

Aussie Samuel Moyle (5-43) and the consistent Jamie Sykes (3-46) rattled through Meltham’s top six and it would have been a sorry looking home score sheet had Abdul Hamid not come in and made 44.

Meltham were all out for 106 in the 30th over and Barkisland needed only 20 overs to reach their target with Jake Finch unbeaten on 50 after losing fellow opener George Hampshire for 30.

Elland staged a dramatic fightback to beat visitors Slaithwaite by 19 runs.

The Hullen Edge side’s top order batsmen struggled with only Liam Fletcher (48) getting to grips with the visiting bowlers and the conditions after Friday’s rain.

Skipper Alastair Finn hit 36 down the order and that later proved crucial as Elland made 154.

That total looked unlikely to be enough when Slaithwaite moved to 95-1. However, Peter Dobson (5-43) and Jack Hendy (4-41) sent the visitors plunging to 135 all out with spinner Dobson’s victims including opener Hasnat Yousaf for 74.