A season in Review 

by Mike Oldfield

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The overall view of the 2XI season reads very much like a school report……….we did ok but we can do a lot better next time. At the start of the season we set ourselves the challenge of finishing in the top 3 and with the team that turned out for the first game plus those pushing for a place from the Dales Council sides, there was no reason why we couldn’t meet our expectations. However throughout the season we lacked consistency, we didn’t manage to win more than 2 games on the bounce and although we put in some fantastic performances they were balanced out by some poor displays so our final league position of 6th probably was fair.

 

The Highlights

For me as a captain there are 4 games that stand head and shoulders above the rest of the others. All of these happened away from home and three against the better sides in the league. If someone had told me we were to win at the following teams I would have expected us to be challenging for the title. Woodlands (away) – Asked to bat on a wet wicket we stumbled to 52 for 5. Oldfield (48), Higgins (18), Raistrick (19) manage to push us up to a defendable 151. From 116 for 4 Woodlands collapse to 122 all out. The skip had a good day collecting 6 for 15.  East Bierley (away) – Another wet day, another bat first. Blanchard holds the innings together with 48*, Lindley-Dawe bashes 35 and Allitt bravely bats on after a knock to the head for 32. Setting the home side 200, the wickets are shared around as Burkill and Oldfield claim 3, Higgins and Stanhope claim 2. 106 all out.

P.S.L (away) – The Phil Allinson show. Top roaders think they have more than enough with 223 on the board. Burkill and Raistrick both taking 3 wickets. Then Phil blasts 104 not out, Allitt hits 59 and we win with over 12 overs to spare. Keighley (away) – Still needed to win this game to make sure of safety…. and we did. Bowled the home side out for 189 and then two of our up and coming batters did the rest as Jubb hit (63*) and Lindley-Dawe 57.
Quite a sweet victory.

 

The Lows

Don’t want to dwell on these too much but four losses on the bounce in late May/early June didn’t do us any favours. Some of these games were affected by the weather and a couple of times we were on the wrong side of the coin at the toss. If roles had been reversed I’m confident we could have turned some of the opposition over.
Apart from these its just the odd game when we didn’t perform that we can improve on!  Another disappointing Shield run. We were beaten at the first hurdle by Yeadon who seemed to have had the edge over us in the last couple of years, as they also beat us home and away in the league.

I was going to do a section called ‘Performers of the Season’ but I think everyone in one way or another has given something to the team this year.  This does not just include with bat and ball but encompasses leadership, attitude, bravery and a determination to go out onto the field and give everything they have got for the team. Once the boys come out of hibernation next February at winter nets, we will be working hard towards the start of the new season with a goal of bringing some much needed silverware to the 2nd team trophy cabinet.

 

Mike Oldfield

Pudsey Congs 2XI Captain

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Yeadon v Pudsey Congs

At High Street

Saturday September 15th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield

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The 2XI rounded off the season with a visit to Yeadon knowing a win would see them leapfrog their opponents into 4th place. Yeadon were asked to bat first and effectively switched their batting order round as the tail- enders hit out smashing 58 from the first 6 overs. From there, wickets did start to tumble as Congs grabbed some control on the game, Ben Burkill being the most successful taking 4 for 60 from 14 overs while skip Mike Oldfield bowled economically with 2 for 40 from 15 overs. Simon Raistrick picked up 3 for 35 and Congs were unlucky not to take maximum bowling points as Yeadon’s recognised batters put on 82 for the last wicket. It may have been a smaller chase if chances had been taken, it certainly had an end of season feel to the afternoon as both teams were quite relaxed about their approach to the game.

 Yeadon 234 for 9

The reply threatened but advantage was with the home side as wickets fell at regular intervals. Ben Burkill continued to have a good afternoon as he looked comfortable on his way to 40 until a false shot brought his downfall. Ben and Richard Jubb (32) who carried on his recent good form looked as though they could take the Congs all the way until Richard went much to his annoyance. Skip Mike Oldfield made 33 before perishing trying to push the score along and even Liam Stanhope’s maiden double figures (15) couldn’t take us to victory as we fell 37 runs short.

 

Congs 197 all out.

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Looking back I think the team has to be happy with finishing 6th, it’s been a tough year where minimal points have separated the whole league. As a team we’ll assess our performance and aim to improve for next year.

Finally I’d like to thank all the squad which has consisted of over 20 players this year for their hard work and efforts and our thanks go to our supporters both home and away who have made sure we knew they were with us all the way!!

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Yeadon 234-9 (50 overs ) v Pudsey Congs 197 all out (46.5 overs )

Yeadon batting: D Smith 32; G Simpson 30; D Machell 39; A Pickering 59 no; P Machell 34
Pudsey Congs bowling: B Burkill 4-59; S Raistrick 3-35
Pudsey Congs batting: R Jubb 32; B Burkill 40; M Oldfield 33
Yeadon bowling: P Machell 4-26; J Carey 3-40

Yeadon (20 points) beat Pudsey Congs (7 points) by 37 runs

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Keighley v Pudsey Congs

At Hard Ings Road

Saturday September 8th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield

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The 2XI  had a great win on Saturday as they defeated Keighley by 5 wickets to confirm their status as a division 1 team. Pudsey asked the home side to bat first and made an early breakthrough as Shane Blanchard juggled and finally held a catch from the bowling of Chris Brook. Both ‘Brooky’ and Liam bowled well early on helped by a keen fielding performance. The runs came a little easier from there as the batters looked to increase the run rate. No 2 A.Waggett ended up top scoring with 63 as the score increased to 74 for 2 and then 153 for 3. It was a different story once the top four had gone as the Keighley batters then dealt in single figures as Congs turned the screw. Captain Mike Oldfield picked up 4 for 67 and Steve Gunner bowled a controlled spell of spin with 2 for 48. Three runs outs helped Congs to maximum bowling points. A special mention must go to JLD for a great one handed catch that got rid of the top scorer, I haven’t been able to mention his fielding before because………………..well regular supporters will know why!!

Keighley 189 all out.

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The reply from Congs stuttered as they slipped to 53 for 4 but then a fantastic partnership from youngsters Richard Jubb (63*) and James Lindley-Dawe (57)  put the boys in a very comfortable position. Richard moved the ball around the field really well running the 1’s and 2’s hard while 36 of James 57 runs came from boundaries, a typical swashbuckling display. It was left to Steve Gunner to smash a quick 24* to seal what was a very satisfying win, leaving the team in 5th place with 1 game to play. It just shows how tight the league has been when we were 6th going into this game with still a slight threat of going down but now we can relax and enjoy the final game at Yeadon.

I will end with the news that Phil Higgins or ‘Dougie’ as we all know him has decided to hang up his boots. After a long career with the Congs from junior to senior including 2nd team captaincy, he feels the time is right to concentrate on other projects and we wish him all the best for the future. We look forward to catching up with him next year as he takes on a supporters role!!

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Keighley 189 all out (50 overs) v Pudsey Congs 194-5 (46.5 overs)

Keighley batting: A Waggett 63; A Birkett 40; P Wilkinson 39
Pudsey Congs bowling: M Oldfield 4-47
Pudsey Congs batting: R Jubb 63 no ; J Lindley-Dawe 57
Keighley bowling: P Wilkinson 3-35

Pudsey Congs (18 points) beat Keighley (5 points) by 5wkts

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Pudsey Congs v Woodlands

At Britannia Ground

Sunday September 2nd, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield (typed by Ali!)

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The rain intervened once again on Sunday as what potentially could have been a very interesting game ended in a draw with Congs taking 7 points and the visitors 10.  Congs made an early breakthrough and when the first rain break came,  were quite happy with the score at 66 for 2 from 20 overs.  The rain cost the game 12 overs and gave the Woodlands batting some urgency knowing they would need to declare to get a result.  Thomas Smallwood (76) and Phil Walker (75) did the damage as the visitors declared on 231-7, again Ben Burkill was the chief wicket taker with 4 for 53 from 13 overs.

The reply started positively as both Phil Allinson (14) and Warren Allitt (26) found the boundary with ease putting on 41 for the 1st wicket.  A mini collapse saw us at 59 for 4 until JLD (23) put bat to ball, as only he can! Another rain break interrupted a healthy partnership between Phil Higgins (33) and skipper Mike Oldfield (34*), which meant Woodlands would need to take the remaining 5 wickets with 5 overs of the game left.  In the time left Woodlands gained another bowling point and Congs a batting point reaching 152 for 6.

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Woodlands 231-7 (44 overs ) v * Pudsey Congs 152-6 (32 overs )

Woodlands batting: T Smallwood 76; P Walker 75
Pudsey Congs bowling: B Burkill 4-53
Pudsey Congs batting: P Higgins 33 ; M Oldfield 34 no
Woodlands bowling: P Walker 3-33

Match abandoned: Pudsey Congs (7 points) Woodlands (10 points)

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Pudsey Congs v Baildon

At Britannia Ground

Saturday September 1st, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield (typed by Ali!)

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With the division as tight as it is, 22 points separating 10 teams before play, it was important the team came away with points against Baildon. Winning the toss and bowling first, Congs took regular wickets throughout the innings.  The pick of the bowlers being Ben Burkill who returned figures of 4 for 32 from 14 overs.  Mohammed Nawaz crashed a quick 29 and was the only batter to cause Congs any real concern.  The innings closed with Baildon making 152 for 9, Congs just failing to secure maximum bowling points.

Congs reached their target with not too many problems. The main run scorers were Phil Allinson (49) and a well controlled 63* by Richard Jubb, who along with Phil Higgins (9*) saw the boys home and gaining 16 points.

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Baildon 152-9 (50 overs) v Pudsey Congs 155-3 (42.5 overs)

Pudsey Congs bowling: B Burkill 4-32
Pudsey Congs batting: R Jubb 63 no; P Allinson 49

Pudsey Congs (16 points) beat Baildon (3 points) by 7 wkts

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Gomersal v Pudsey Congs

At Oxford Road

Saturday August 25th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield

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Congs 2XI endured a disappointing day on Saturday as they went down by 52 runs at bottom placed Gomersal.

Gomersal batted first and made a good start putting 52 on for the 1st wicket, one of their openers Salim top scoring with 86. He was supported by Lightowler (44) as they made use of a good pitch and small ground as the ball found its way to the boundary on numerous occasions. Liam Stanhope,Simon Raistrick and Steve Gunner were the pick of the bowlers as Congs found the first half hard work. Despite this, the feeling at tea was that overall we had done well restricting the home side to 228 – 8, and that maybe Gomersal were 20 or 30 runs short given the conditions. Birthday boy Allinson couldn’t reproduce his form from the P.S.L match as he was back in the pavillion in the first over as the Congs reply stuttered. Warren Allitt battled hard for his 53 and with Steve Gunner (39) and James Lindley- Dawe (38) crashing the ball about the victory remained in sight. However wickets started to fall too regularly against the 3 pronged spin attack which turned out to be very effective, 8 of the 10 wickets fell to spin with Hurst (6 for 56) the pick. Congs finished 176 all out still gaining a reputable 7 bonus points. It leaves us 8th in the table and a crucial 4 games left to play. Only 22 points separates 5th place Esholt to bottom placed Gomersal. The two home games next weekend against Baildon and Woodlands could not be more important.

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Gomersal 228-8 (50 overs) v Pudsey Congs 176 all out 45.3 overs)

Gomersal batting: U Salim 86; C Lightowler 44
Pudsey Congs bowling: M Oldfield 3-67
Pudsey Congs batting: W Allitt 53; S Gunnar 39; J Lindley-Dawe 38
Gomersal bowling: M Hirst 6-56

Gomersal (20 points) beat Pudsey Congs (7 points) by 52 runs

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Pudsey St Lawrence v Pudsey Congs

At Tofts Road

Saturday August 11th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield

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Pudsey Congs 2nd XI  had their best result of the season to date with an 8 wicket win over local rivals P.S.L. and gained a invaluable 20 points to push them to 7th in the table. Phil Allinson was the Congs hero as he smashed 104* to see the boys home with 13 overs left in a run chase of 223. Phil along with Warren Allitt who also batted extremely well for 59 put on an opening stand of 164 as they both tore into the P.S.L attack. Earlier Congs had once again lost the toss and been asked to bowl on flat,hard ‘road like’ track. P.S.L started well with Milligan (51) and Randawana (53) scoring freely early on but to Congs credit they kept battling and started to pick up wickets through forcing mistakes. Chris Brook bowled a good couple of tight spells finishing with 1 for 30 from 9 overs and Simon Raistrick picked up vital wickets in a great spell at the end taking 3 for 20 from 6 overs. The skip contributed with a measly spell of 23 runs from 12 overs and Ben Burkill made sure of the full bowling points with 3 late wickets finishing with 3 for 44 from 11.5. The track suggested that more runs should have been the order of the day and realistically Congs should have been chasing 270-280 so were quite happy with the 223 that P.S.L posted. Enter the Allinson and Allitt show helped enormously by the traveling band of Pudsey Congs supporters who cheered every boundary as they always do……….their support is much appreciated by the team!!

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Pudsey St. Lawrence 223 all out (49.5 overs) v Pudsey Congs 226-2 (37.2 overs)

Pudsey St. Lawrence batting: J Milligan 57; H randawana 52; C Trapps 34
Pudsey Congs bowling: B Burkill 3-34; S Raistrick 3-20
Pudsey Congs batting: P Allinson 104 no; W Allitt 59

Pudsey Congs (20 points) beat Pudsey St. Lawrence (5 points) by 8 wkts

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Pudsey Congs v Esholt

At Britannia Ground

Saturday August 4th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield

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The 2XI picked up a vital 16 points on Saturday as they beat Esholt by 4 wickets at the Britannia. Losing the toss again, Congs were asked to bowl on a wicket that looked full of runs but they took early advantage as Ben Burkill removed one of the openers without a run on the board. Although Congs were made to work hard for their wickets it was only the resistance of Massadique (52) and West (36) that prevented them being dismissed cheaply. Once again Congs worked hard in the field and restricted Esholt to 155 – 9, skipper Mike Oldfield taking 5 for 47 from his 15 overs. The only disappointing aspect came in the warm up as all rounder Shane Blanchard turned an ankle which will see him out of action for at least 2 weeks.

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Congs started the reply in confident mood with openers Warren Allitt (15) and Phil Allinson (22) adding 50 for the 1st wicket.  Esholt tightened their bowling up and with it came the fall of a few wickets as Congs tried to finish the game as quickly as possible with the slight threat of rain. A commendable innings by Richard Jubb (51*) held the reply together and saw the team over the finish line as a couple more wickets fell as the victory target was reached. The win moves the team up a place to 10th still very much in touch with the bottom of the table but also with 4th place as the table is so tight. An important 7 games remain starting with a local derby with the top roaders next Saturday.

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Esholt 155-9 (50 overs) v * Pudsey Congs 156-6 (42.1 overs)

Esholt batting: M Massadique 52 , A West 36
Pudsey Congs bowling: M Oldfield 5-47
Pudsey Congs batting: R Jubb 51 no

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Pudsey Congs (16 points) beat Esholt (5 points) by 4wkts

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Pudsey Congs v Yeadon

At Britannia Ground

Sunday July 29th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield

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On Sunday the 2XI  again were asked to bowl first as the skip lost the toss for the second time in the weekend. He quickly made up for it running out one of the Yeadon openers without a run on the board. From here the boys put in another good bowling and fielding display taking regular wickets as the drinks interval came Yeadon were 72 for 4. Standing in their way of having a really good day were Yeadon middle order batters P. Machell (33) and W. Darby (43). At the close of innings Yeadon had amassed 179 for 9 , Stevie Gunnar finishing with 3 for 55.

In reply, Congs lost Warren Allitt early but Phil Allinson had a confidence boosting knock of 29 as they set about the run chase. Congs never looked in too much trouble with 3 of the top 5 getting starts leaving them needing 100 from the last 20 with 6 wickets in hand. But unfortunately as has happened too many times this season those starts couldn’t be built on. The Congs reply slipped away as they went down by 61 runs to the leagues second place team. Unfortunatley again some of the bottom teams picked up wins dropping Congs two places to 11th and with 8 games of the season left there needs to be an increased effort from everybody to pull away from those bottom two places.

Yeadon 179-9 (50 overs) v * Pudsey Congs 118 all out (46.5 overs)

Yeadon batting: W Darby 43; P Machell 33
Pudsey Congs bowling: S Gunnar 3-55
Yeadon bowling: J Carey 3-25; S Gilks 3-43

Yeadon (18 points) beat Pudsey Congs (4 points) by 61 runs

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Saltaire v Pudsey Congs

At Roberts Park

Saturday July 28th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield

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The 2XI were made to work very hard on Saturday as they completed a 4 wicket win over Saltaire. The Congs turned in a very competant bowling and fielding display bowling the home side out for 106 on a slow low wicket. The wickets were shared around all the bowlers with Ben Burkill claiming 3 for 28 from 14 overs. Credit goes to the fielders who backed up the bowlers well taking some great catches, especially Shane Blanchard’s caught and bowled and JLD’S dramatic dive to his left probably the pick.

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Pudsey had to bide their time in reaching the victory target as Saltaire’s bowlers gave little away. Again Shane looked comfortable for his 23 and youngsters James Lindley-Dawe and Jack Murgatroyd held the middle order together well playing sensibly during a difficult period. It was then left to Ben Burkill and skip Mike Oldfield to see the boys home on a day when three of the bottom five teams won so points here were a must.

 

Saltaire 106 all out (46.1 overs) v Pudsey Congs 107-6 (52.3 overs)

Saltaire batting: T Arshad 35
Pudsey Congs bowling: B Burkhill 3-38
Saltaire bowling: G Ambeptiya 3-27

Pudsey Congs (15 points) beat Saltaire (3 points) by 4 wkts

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Pudsey Congs v Lightcliffe

At Britannia Ground

Saturday July 14th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield

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The 2XI couldn’t halt the charge of league leaders Lightcliffe as the Congs went down by 77 runs at the Britannia ground on Saturday. Congs won the toss and bowled first doing a good job initially restricting Lightcliffe to 63 for 2 at drinks. From here they started to push the score along putting Congs under a little bit of pressure and ended up posting 205 -7 thanks to Jameson (41*), Shaw (39) and Lunn (38). Skipper Mike Oldfield returned figures of 3 for 39 from 15 overs. It was disappointing to be chasing such a score after good early work but with the pitch drying out rapidly and coming off the back of the East Bierley win, the boys were in optimisic mood.

The loss of Phil Allinson in the first over wasn’t in the Congs plan but a partnership of 42 by Warren Allitt (22) and Richard Jubb (20) repaired some of the damage. From there it went downhill as a combination of poor shot selection and tight bowling, notably by Roger Stead (4 for 12 ) meant the Congs slipped to 69 for 8. A ninth wicket partnership of 59 from Ben Birkill (48*) and Liam Stanhope (3*) gave the Congs their solitary batting point. These two showed just how easy it was to bat with a little bit of application and Ben was very unlucky to miss out on his half century. Congs closed on 128 – 8 and need to start stringing some results together as the league gets ever tighter.

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East Bierley v Pudsey Congs

At South View Road

Saturday July 7th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield

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The 2XI produced their best all round display of the season as they beat East Bierley by 71 runs on Saturday.

 Asked to bat first on a slow wicket, the top order adapted to the conditions very well and the running between the wickets was key as a very wet outfield meant the ball didn’t travel too often to the boundary. The main contributors to the innings were Shane Blanchard who made an invaluable 48* in mid innings along with James Lindley-Dawe who made a swift 35. Warren Allitt made 31 before taking a ball in the face as he attempted a pull shot. He required treatment but full credit went back out to try to boost the team’s score. Alas he only added 1 run but showed great commitment and a top attitude that should be the benchmark of the team. The innings closed with Congs 200 for 9 giving the team their highest batting points tally to date.

East Bierley started briskly and were 46 off 10 overs although Liam Stanhope had bowled well into a stiff breeze and picked up two wickets in his 6 over spell. From there, captain Mike Oldfield slowed down the run rate and managed to pick up three wickets as pressure started to tell in the East Bierley batsmen. Phil Higgins also had to contend with difficult conditions and finally managed to get rid of top scorer Petty (39) as one of his two wickets. The wickets were shared around as Ben Burkill came on to pick up the last 3 wickets in his next 11 balls as Congs gained 19 points from what is always a difficult ground to visit.
This victory meant the team moved up to 9th, only 18 points off 2nd place and in a confident  mood before the visit of league leaders Lightcliffe on Saturday.

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Pudsey Congs v Keighley

At Britannia Ground

Saturday June23th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield

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The 2XI  had a disapointing day at the Britannia ground on Saturday going down by 7 wickets to Keighley. In a game reduced to 25 overs a side. Congs lost the toss and were asked to bat first. The top of the order gave the team a platform, knocking the ball around well and taking more chances than normal given the reduced overs. Warren Allitt led the scoring with 27. From then on the middle order never really fired trying to force the pace too much against the two Keighley spinners, the pick being leg spinner Robinson who finished with 5 for 13.
In the alotted overs Congs finished on 105 for 9.

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An early breakthrough by Liam Stanhope gave the Congs a lift in defending what was a modest total given the conditions. But that brought the Keighley No3 batter Lee Gordon to the crease who ended up being the visitors match winner hitting an unbeaten 43 as he saw his side home with 9 balls to spare. It may have been a different story as once again Congs let a couple of catches go to ground and this is an area the team has to work on as they look to climb what is becoming a very tight mid table.

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* Pudsey Congs 105-9 (25 overs ) v Keighley 106-3 (23.3overs)

Keighley bowling: A Robinson 5-13
Keighley batting: L Gordon 43 no

Keighley (14 points) beat Pudsey Congs (1 points) by 7 wkts

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Woodlands v Pudsey Congs

At Albert Terrace

Sunday June 17th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield

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Congs 2XI skipper Mike Oldfield had a good day with both bat and ballas the team came through a tough game away to Woodlands. Asked to bat first, Pudsey had a steady start against some tight bowling finding it hard to force the pace on a slow low wicket. Warren Allitt was the main scorer of the top order with a patient 34. The score was 52 for 5 when Oldfield came to the wicket with 33 overs gone. He managed to push the run rate up supported by Higgins (18) and Raistrick (19). The fielders heads started to drop as the ball found its way to the boundary occasionally dropping in the odd garden around the ground. One big shot too many saw Oldfield perish for 49 but closing on 151 the boys thought it was more than defendable on this particular wicket. Woodlands skipper Walker finished with 5 for 40.

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Pudsey Congs 151 all out.

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Some tight bowling early on was rewarded as Oldfield and Stanhope reduced Woodlands to 15 for 3. From then on Pudsey were made to graft hard as Walker (47) and Godfrey (57*) put on 101 for the 4th wicket and looked as though they were more than capable of taking their side to victory. All the Pudsey bowlers toiled away trying for the breakthough supported by a noisy Richard Jubb who kept the boys going well with encouragement. The breakthough came as Oldfield had Walker trapped lbw and from there the last 5 wickets fell for 6 runs with Higgins,Stanhope and Oldfield contributing,the skipper finishing with 6 for 15 from his fifteen overs. A hard earned 17 points leaves Pudsey in 10th place but less than 20 points separates us from 3rd place. If we can build on the last 2 victories then the boys are confident of challenging the teams at the top.

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Woodlands 122 all out. (Woodlands only fielded 10 men)

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Pudsey Congs 151 (48.3 overs) v *Woodlands 122 (45 overs)

Pudsey Congs batting: M Oldfield 49, W Allitt 34
Woodlands bowling: P Walker 5-40
Woodlands batting: R Godfrey 57no, P Walker 47
Pudsey Congs bowling: M Oldfield 6-15

Pudsey Congs (19 points) beat Woodlands (5 points) by 29 runs

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Baildon v Pudsey Congs

At Jenny Lane

Saturday June 16th, 2007

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Pudsey Congs 2XI trip to Baildon fell foul to the weather on Saturday.
The game was called off at 2pm due to an unfit pitch. Both sides take 2 points.

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* Baildon v Pudsey Congs
Match abandoned: Baildon (2 points), Pudsey Congs (2 points)

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Pudsey Congs v Gomersal

At Britannia Ground

Saturday June 9th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield

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The 2XI returned to their winning ways as they brushed aside Gomersal by 8 wickets at the Britannia ground. Winning the toss, Pudsey elected to bowl first on a dry track that played slow and low right throughout the game. The ‘bowling hero’ for Pudsey was young opening bowler Ben Burkill who returned career best figures of 11-6-12-7 as Pudsey took just 35 overs to dismiss the opposition. Ben’s first spell showed great control taking 4 wickets and conceading only 1 run in 7 overs. He came back to clear the tail up taking his other 3 wickets to finish off a great performance.

Gomersal 91 all out.

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Pudsey were cautious as they started the run chase as Gomersal slowed the pace right down opening with a spinner and using them predominantly throughtout. Warren Allitt (30) and Richard Jubb (28) put on 57 for the 1st wicket pushing the ball around nicely. It was then left to Shane Blanchard (24*) and debutant Jack Murgatroyd (10*) to steer the team home for a welcome 15 points.

 

Pudsey 94 for 2.

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Gomersal 91 all out (35 overs) v Pudsey Congs 94-2 (33 overs)

Gomersal batting: C Rhodes 41
Pudsey Congs bowling: B Burkill 7-12
Pudsey Congs batting: W Allitt 30, R Jubb 28, S Blanchard 24no, Jack Murgatroyd 10no

Pudsey Congs (15 points) beat Gomersal (1 point) by 8 wkts

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Hanging Heaton v Pudsey Congs

At Bennett Lane

Saturday June 2nd, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield 

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The 2XI endured another disappointing day with the bat as they went down by 12 runs at Bennett Lane. The players were optimistic at tea having restricted the home side to 150 for 9 in the first innings, the bowling was tight from all four bowlers backed up by tidy fielding. Hanging Heaton accumulated their runs slowly but did manage to build partnerships at some stages of their innings, top scorer was No 3 Smith (48) who rode his luck on a number of occasions. Main wicket takers were newly wed Higgins (3 for 31) and captain Mike Oldfield who was returning from injury who bagged 3 for 48. The Congs innings started briskly with Allinson (23) and Allitt (34) putting 40 on for the first wicket. But then the innings took a twist as Congs lost the next 7 wickets for 45 runs, the tight bowling of ex Congs man Horner (4 for 36) and spin of Rehman (5 for 64) doing the damage. From here the game nearly turned on its head as Oldfield came in at 10 to smash 48* including four 6’s and five 4’s supported by Ben Burkill and then Liam Stanhope. Unfortunately the tail end resistance was finally broken and Congs slipped to their 4th defeat in a row.

 

Hanging Heaton 150-9 (50 overs) v Pudsey Congs 138 all out (35.1 overs)

Hanging Heaton batting: M Smith 48
Pudsey Congs bowling: P Higgins 3-31; M Oldfield 3-48
Pudsey Congs batting: W Allitt 32; M Oldfield 48 no
Hanging Heaton bowling: M Horner 4-36; U Rehman 5-64

Hanging Heaton (17 points) beat Pudsey Congs (5 points) by 12 runs

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Pudsey Congs v Pudsey St Lawrence

At Britannia Ground

Monday May 28th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield 

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In another game affected by the weather, Pudsey Congs 2XI lost their 3rd game on the bounce on Bank Holiday Monday to Pudsey St Lawrence by 4 wickets. After a poor display at Esholt, it was vital the team produced a performance and they did but unfortunately came up just short in the end. Congs batted first and posted 162 for 7, Warren Allitt producing a captain’s knock with 65 supported by Shane Blanchard who made 21. Facing a decent four bowler attack from the top roaders, it was left to Barry Brooks (24*) and Ben Burkill (20*) at the death to push the score up ensuring the Congs had the 2 batting points in the bag. Young spinner Hopkins was the most successful bowler returning 3 for 43 from 8 overs.

 The P.S.L. reply was steady. Opening bowlers Burkill and Stanhope delivered good early spells but as he has done in previous seasons, opening batter Stringer hit 64 to keep the board ticking for the visitors. Stringer and Mortimer (36) put on 83 for the 2nd wicket. A quick flurry of wickets including the run out of Stringer by an agile Allinson gave the Congs some hope but the visitors reached their target with more than 2 overs remaining.

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Pudsey Congs 162-7 (40 overs) v Pudsey St. Lawrence 163-6 (37.4 overs)
Pudsey Congs batting: W Allitt 65;
Pudsey St. Lawrence bowling: A Hopkins 3-43
Pudsey St. Lawrence batting: M Stringer 64; L Mortimer 36

Pudsey St. Lawrence (15 points) beat Pudsey Congs (5 points) by 4wkts

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The team can take heart from this performance and hope kick on for the rest of the season. The last couple of weeks have been tough as some Senior players have been missing but as they start to return to the team, hopefully they can help the team to winning ways starting at Hanging Heaton next Saturday.

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Esholt v Pudsey Congs

At Esholt Lane

Saturday May 26th, 2007

Report by Vice Captain, Warren Allitt

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Saturday’s visit to Esholt brought another enforced change to the Cong’s 2nd X1 line up with Wicket Keeper Paul Eachus out with an injured foot.  After winning the toss, the stand in wicket keeper Waren Allitt donned the gloves and the Cong’s had first ball on an overcast day. Our opening spell from Liam Stanhope and Ben Burkill was excellent, restricting Esholt to 24 from 11 overs with the added bonus of Stanhope bowling Jason Wilkinson.Chris Northrop replaced Stanhope at the ‘Caravan End’ and immediately found good inswing. With Brassington falling early to ‘Throppers’ 26 for 2 was looking good for the Congs. Unfortunately we failed to push home the advantage and with Des Wilkinson riding his luck, being dropped behind the wicket, ‘Chinese cutting’ past his stumps and chipping into the gaps, Esholt built a mid-innings partnership and moved the score on to 116 before losing a third wicket. Shane Blanchard worked hard trying to maintain control at one end and with Ikram Zaman replacing Chris for a three over spell producing two wickets, we gradually got back into the game. Liam and Ben came back well at the death, both picking up wickets. With two 50’s in Esholt’s innings, a score of 217 for 9 seemed achievable.
In our reply the lack of partnerships was again to be our downfall. Our first 3 wickets fell for only 15 and at 48 for 6 we were always ‘behind the eight ball’. Our final score of 118 all out flattered the home side and with only 4 Congs batsmen finding double figures, we were indebted to a fighting 48 from James Lindley-Dawe to bring us some respectability. I hope this defeat makes us more determined to bounce back for the Pudsey derby on Monday.

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Pudsey Congs 162 for 7, Warren Allitt 65

Pudsey St Lawrence 162 for 6, no notable bowling figures

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Pudsey St Lawrence (15 points) beat Pudsey Congs (5 points) by 4 wickets

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Pudsey Congs v East Bierley

At Britannia Ground

Saturday May 19th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield

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The 2XI team endured a frustrating day with the weather and ultimately the result as they fell 2 runs short of East Bierley’s target at the Britannia. They were unable to start on time due to rain having got under the covers and this coupled with other periods of rain meant the game was reduced to 28 overs a-side starting at 4pm. Congs won the toss and both Liam Stanhope and Chris Northrop opened up well, keeping the East Bierley openers fairly quiet. Chris bowled without reward ending up with 0 for 29 from 9 overs while Liam was backed up well by another good fielding display by the Congs as he finished with 4 for 22 from 8 overs, 3 of Liam’s wickets coming from good work from Jubb, Allinson and Eachus. Davis (43) and Petty (35) gave the visitors scoring some impetus taking advantage of the short boundary on more than one occasion as the bowlers found it tough against two batters who were looking to score quickly. Davis was run out on the last ball of the innings by Steve Gunnar who did his ‘Bambi on ice’ impression before regaining composure to fire a great return over the top of the wickets.

East Bierley finishing 129 for 7.

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The Congs found the early run chase hard against opening bowlers Abbott and Brook, the latter bowling 4 maidens in his first 5 overs. Allinson and Gunner put on 22 for the 1st wicket before Gunner was harshly given out LBW.  Shane Blanchard was again the mainstay of the Congs innings making 30 but he like many of the batters perished trying to move the scoreboard along as the they tried to battle against an ever increasing run rate. Paul Eachus fired a quick 17 including a massive 6 as he, along with Richard Jubb, moved the ball around well but as Eachus was bowled looking for another boundary it was left to Bragg and Jubb to try and find 8 runs from the final over.  Opening bowler Brook came back to bowl a good final over to leave the Congs just short at the end.

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Pudsey Congs 127 for 6.

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Pudsey Congs v Saltaire

At Britannia Ground

Saturday May 12th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield

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Saltaire were the visitors to the Britannia on Saturday and were asked to bat first by skipper Warren Allitt who won the toss on a pitch that looked like it may help the seamers early on. Chris Northrop made the breakthrough in his second over bowling the Saltaire opener leaving the score 6 for 1. Then the game followed a similar pattern to previous games as Saltaire took the game to the Congs scoring fairly quickly, taking advantage of too many full balls which were put away. The introduction of Ben Burkill and Shane Blanchard slowed the scoring rate and in doing so wickets started to fall at regular intervals. Shane picked up the key wicket of Ijaz (50) who found scoring quite easy throughout his innings, but from that only 3 other batters reached double figures. Shane finished with impressive figures of 9-4-21-4 whilst Ben and John Patrick chipped in with 3 wickets between them. Liam Stanhope cleared the tail up leaving Saltaire all out for 143.

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The Congs reply faltered early on with Phil Allinson being bowled by a good yorker from Saltaire all rounder Ijaz but it was Warren Allitt who built the foundations for the run chase hitting 52 in 56 balls finding the boundary on 8 occasions. Supported by Shane Blanchard who capped a good day with bat and ball, he scored 35 to put Congs within touching distance of victory. It was left to debutant Barry Brooks (14*) and Ben Burkill (7*) to see the Congs home for their 3rd league win in four outings putting them 3rd in the table. The Congs face a tough game next Saturday as they welcome East Bierley to The Brittannia for a 3rd vs 4th battle.

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Pudsey Congs v Yeadon

At Britannia Ground

Sunday May 6th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield

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The 2XI couldn’t take their good league form from the win at Bowling Old Lane on Saturday into the shield game with Yeadon on Sunday as they went down by 22 runs on a windy day at the Britannia. Winning the toss, the Congs asked Yeadon to bat and they set about the bowling attack with vigour as they reached 100 in the 18th over. Pickering (65) and Darby (65) took full advantage of the fielding restrictions that comes with the cup as the bowlers struggled to come to terms with their sometimes fortunate striking. But the Congs bowlers perservered and came back well with John Patrick (1 for 36 from 10 overs) and Phil Higgins (5 for 29 from 9.5 overs) really putting them back in the game. Ben Burkill (4 for 42) came back at the end of the innings to wrap things up to leave Yeadon 226 all out. Credit goes to the Congs bowlers and fielders for never giving up as at one stage it looked like 300 plus would be the target.  The Congs batting suffered from regular dismissals and at least one unfortunate decision, Richard Jubb was unlucky to be given out caught and bowled at it appeared the ball was grounded. Throughout this there was one shining light from the Congs top order as Shane Blanchard batted for over 3 hours to keep them in the game. His fine 95 was a superb innings backed up admirally by Ben Burkill (36), the partnership looked as though it may carry the Congs through at one stage but the target was just too big as both perished trying to move the score along. The tail was wrapped up in the 49th over leaving the Congs to ponder on another fruitless shield campaign and look with optimism to the league program ahead.

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Yeadon 226 all out

Pudsey Congs 204 all out

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Bowling Old Lane v Pudsey Congs

At Birch Lane

Saturday May 5th, 2007

Report by Mike Oldfield

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The second team produced a fantastic all round display to win a close game at Old Lane on Saturday. Winning the toss the Congs bowled a tight opening spell restricting the scoring, backed up by some excellant fielding, which continued throughout the innings. The Congs were made to work hard for the first wicket, falling at 73 it went to debutant James Bragg who returned figures of 5 for 65 from 12 overs, a great start for a player in his second season with the club. James was backed by all the bowlers who really turned the screw on Bowling Old Lane restricting the home side to 198 all out. Liam Stanhope and Phil Higgins chipping in with 2 wickets apiece. For Old Lane, opener Rashid Ramzam top scored with 50. The shine was slightly taken off the bowling performance due to an injury to skipper Mike Oldfield. He was involved in a clash with Liam Stanhope, both trying to make ground to take a catch, Mike may have suffered knee ligament damage in the process.

Phil Allinson and stand in skipper Warren Allitt set about the Old Lane attack quickly reaching 31 before Allinson was trapped L.B.W. Allitt followed 20 runs later trying to step up the scoring rate. This brought James Lindley-Dawe and Richard Jubb together who were the stars of the Congs innings putting on 104 for the 3rd wicket. Lindley-Dawe (60) and Jubb (57) both played an innings beyond their years to put the Congs within touching distance of victory. At the end it was left to Phil Higgins to blast a quick 20 and with the help of 4 byes to win the game, the Congs pasted 200 to gain the extra batting point.

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Bowling Old Lane 198 all out

Pudsey Congs 201 for 5

Congs (19 points) beat Bowling Old Lane (5points) by 5 wickets.

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Lightcliffe v Pudsey Congs

At Wakefield Road

Saturday April 28th, 2007

Report by Warren Allitt

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The Congs won the toss and decided to bat first away to Lightcliffe at Wakefield Road. This soon proved to be a bad decision for the stand in Captain (myself) as I was out caught behind in the first over for a golden! Phil Allinson and Steve Gunner set about building a good partnership, only to be parted with the score on 78 when Steve was caught at point for a good 33. Phil was soon to follow being bowled for 40, and again we lost a 3rd quick wicket with the score still on 82, Paul Ashton being caught behind for our second golden duck. Phil Higgins and Shane Blanchard put on 45 for the fifth wicket, Shane and Richard Jubb adding 34 for the sixth, which took the total to 161 before Shane was LBW to the ever green Roger Stead for our best individual score of 43. Our last four wickets fell for 18 and included our third Golden from Chris Northrop. Our final score came to 179, which would have to be defended in 55 overs as our innings ended prematurely. We felt we had a chance of winning the game at tea if we could exploit the uneven bounce and two paced pitch, however Lightcliffe started well and reached 32 for the first wicket before Chris Northrop struck. Our second wicket was snapped up with the score on 44 by Liam Stanhope , again Lightcliffe’s batsman being clean bowled. Lightcliffe found stronger partnerships amongst their line up and also batters with a little more freedom. Their Number 4, R.Powe chanced his arm and was dropped twice on his way to 65 from 48 balls. His knock gave the home side the impetus they were looking for and although we never gave up, even the guile of  Phil Higgins and Steve Gunner’s spin couldn’t prevent a
Lightcliffe victory. The home side finishing with 180 for 6 with 11 overs remaining.

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Our bowlers finished with:

Liam Stanhope 1 for 32 from 9
Chris Northrop 1 for 32 from 7
Ben Burkill 0 for 24 from 9.5
Shane Blanchard 0 for 27 from 5
Steve Gunner 2 for 32 from 6
Phil Higgins 1 for 14 from 7

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We hope to improve for next week’s visit to Bowling Old Lane.

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Pudsey Congs v Farlsey

At Britannia Ground

Saturday April 21st, 2007

Reported by Mike Oldfield and Paul Coates

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The 2XI got the new season off to a good start by beating Farsley at the Britannia Ground, gaining 17 points in the process. Farsley chose to bat on a good track and found runs hard to come by with some tight bowling from opening bowlers Mike Oldfield and Chris Northrop. Chris made the breakthrough with two early wickets and the pressure was kept up by first and second change bowlers Liam Stanhope and Ben Burkill, both showing good early form with the ball picking up a wicket apiece. Wickets fell steadily backed up by some good fielding, at drinks Farsley were 71 for 4. The only notable runs from Farsley at this stage coming from Moodley (30). Spin was introduced in the form of Phil Higgins and Steve Gunnar,both bowling with control keeping runs to a minimum, both taking one wicket. A partnership between J Higgins (30) and N Thornton (30) was pushing the score along before Mike Oldfield came back to claim a hat trick with the last 3 balls of his spell ending with 3-45.

 Farsley finishing on 167 all out.

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Pudsey chased down the total inside 32 overs, the main run scorer being Steve Gunnar who smashed 61 including 11 fours and a six, his fifty coming in 38 balls. James Lindley-Dawe made an encouraging start to the season with 23 including 2 straight sixes, one clearing the changing rooms. All in all a good start to the new campaign, the team now hopes they can kick on from this to have a successful season in both the league and the shield