PUDSEY CONGS CRICKET CLUB

Under 11’s

Fixture List and Match Reports 2009

Manager: Mark Allman, assisted by Robin Kettlewell

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A Very Successful Season For Our Unders 11’s

BY DOMINIC ALLEN

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The season has certainly contained no little drama for this young and impressive side. It commenced amid a player crisis of sorts and the team that was put out in the first game bears hardly any resemblance to that which finished the league campaign. Starting the season with back-to-back defeats was not what coach Mark Allman was looking for but they were missing several ‘star players’, however our under 9’s players Harry Jackson, Harry Allman and Daniel Lock coped admirably against the older opposition. Skipper Jack Allman had finally acquired what is now regarded as his best side against Saltaire in late May and the team racked up a club record 308 in a big win with Zaheed Mahmood, Tom Colley and Daany Ahmed making impressive debuts along the way.  Vice captain Jacques Allen, Mustafa Rafique, Danish Hussain, Jack Allman, Ross Kettlewell and Liam Leonard have all performed with credit this year and the addition of, Zaheed Mahmood, Daany Ahmed and Tom Colley has produced a squad as good as any in the league.

The JCT 600 Cup competition is an eleven a side tournament so some of our under 9’s have been drafted in and the like of Awaise Hussain, Joshua Chapmen, Joe Stolarski have joined Harry Jackson and Daniel as regular cup players. A comfortable victory over East Bierley in Round 1 was followed by a quarter final match at Lightcliffe, which should have carried a Government Health Warning. Liam hit a 4 from the final ball of the game to earn us a tie and a replay here at the Britannia Ground. Lightcliffe had missed their chance and were well beaten in the replay.  Danish and Zaheed both scored 22 not out in a fine all round team performance to defeat Manningham Mills in the semi final on a wet night late last month.  Defeat in the final against Spen Victoria was a disappointment but should not take away from a fine season.

Congratulations to all the boys.

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Match Reports 2009 by Mark Allman & Dom Allen

Pudsey Congs v Spen Victoria

JCT 600 Cup, Final

Sunday August 9th, 2009

Special report by Dominic Allen

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So the day of reckoning finally arrived and all of the waiting and anticipation was over for 12 nervous young Pudsey Congs cricketers. At last we had weather to match a fantastic occasion and by the start of play, a scorching sun had just about burnt away the last of the morning dew. We should probably start with a role call of the Cup Final team which was as follows: Danish Hussain, Tom Colley, Mustafa Rafique, Zaheed Mahmood, Jacques Allen, Jack Allman, Ross Kettlewell, Daany Ahmed, Awaise Hussain, Harry Jackson, Liam Leonard and 12th man Josh Chapman. All of the players looked a picture in their shirts and trousers but a very special mention must go to Zaheed Mahmood who looked like he was running for president, he was so immaculately dressed.

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Spen Victoria won the toss and elected to bat and this meant Congs had fielded first in every single round of the cup. Pudsey’s preparations were immediately dealt a blow when it became clear opening bowler Mustafa Rafique had attended the ground without his kit. This problem was exacerbated when news came through that his father’s car had broken down, whilst making its second trip to the ground that morning with the aforementioned kit. Had dear old Jeremy Beadle still been with us, coach Mark Allman would surely have been scanning the ground for a bearded gentleman holding a microphone. As it was, Josh Chapman took the field with the team whilst all lockers and drawers were searched for some gear in a desperate attempt to get the most potent bowling force onto the field. And the drama was not contained to off field activities. Daany Ahmed’s first delivery of the match to Senior was helped around the corner but in the air and straight to the safe hands of Zaheed Mahmood at backward square leg. Spen were 0-1 and pandemonium broke out in the Congs ranks who had got off to the best possible start. It was to Spen’s great credit that such a potentially destabilising start did not really affect them one jot. Ferguson and North both scored heavily and took advantage of some uncharacteristically lethargic fielding from Pudsey, Ferguson racing to his 30 retired, North scoring a wonderful 22. The leg spin that had served Pudsey so well in earlier rounds did not seem to work this time around, going at five per over and far too many balls went straight through hands and legs for four when a mere single had looked on the cards. Ross Kettlewell did gain a useful breakthrough that slowed the scoring rate when he had North caught at square leg by Rafique but Pudsey will have felt they allowed the opposition 25 or 30 too many, though the final total was still infinitely gettable.

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Spen Victoria 103-3 (R.Ferguson 30 ret; T.North 22; R.Kettlewell 1-6; D.Ahmed 1-9)

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After just eight balls of the reply, Danish Hussain managed to pull an innocuous looking delivery straight up in the air to get the Congs chase off to a poor start. It was going to be interesting to see how they would cope without a contribution from the baby-faced assassin and for at least the next seven overs the answer was, admirably. However, the turning point in the game arrived when Rafique departed as he tried to haul a straight delivery through mid-wicket; a shot probably borne of desperation to avoid facing out an excellent maiden over from Grant. The only part of the scoreboard that did not shudder to a grinding halt was the wickets section as Pudsey collapsed from a comfortable 31-1 to a disastrous 41-5. A combination of poor shots and bad luck played their part but the game was as good as over. Jack Allman made an impressive 14 including two exquisite boundaries and Daany Ahmed initiated a couple of well timed assists around the corner to fine leg but the collapse had signalled that the end was nigh. Bizarrely, Congs seemed to stop trying to score runs toward the latter end of the innings and they finished on a slightly misleading 71-8.

One interesting point to come out of the game was that the old adage ‘catches win matches’ was strangely absent. Spen dropped somewhere in the region of six during the Pudsey innings but still managed to hold on comfortably. In fact, other than the disastrous first ball, Spen Victoria bossed this game from start to finish, played the better cricket at the more pressurised moments and having played three cup games in a week are more than worthy winners of this inaugural trophy. Our congratulations go out to them and Mark Allman made the wonderful gesture of donating two bottles of champagne to their after-match celebration party.

For our team, they have nothing to be ashamed of and can look back at a fantastic run in this competition. The club is immensely proud of their efforts and they should be very proud of themselves. The Britannia Ground looked a picture for this final and there was no doubting the sense of occasion; one that the players had brought about through their efforts. The defeat will be character building for the young men and in future years they will call on their experience here to help them win other finals.

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Pudsey Congs 71-8 (M.Rafique 14; J.Allman 14; D.Grant 2-6; O.Brooke 1-4)  

Spen Victoria  win by 32 runs

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Saltaire v Pudsey Congs

Sunday August 2nd, 2009

Report by Dom Allen

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Sadly, due to the unremitting deluge of rain that fell on Saturday morning and then again in the afternoon, coach Mark Allman received a call at teatime to confirm that the game with Saltaire would be abandoned. As Saltaire’s ground is located right next to the River Aire, their pitch is particularly susceptible to wet weather.So, a disappointing ending to the league campaign but the match would have turned out to be a dead rubber in any case due to the previous weekend’s result at Tofts Road. The youngsters can now firmly concentrate on the JCT 600 Cup Final this coming Sunday.

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Pudsey Congs v Manningham Mills

JCT 600 Cup, Semi-Final

Tuesday July 28th, 2009

Special report by Dominic Allen

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The young Congs took on Manningham Mills for the third time this season after narrowly completing a double over them just a week ago. This match up was guaranteed to be even more sternly contested and probably represented the most important match in which the majority of players had taken part thus far (Yorkshire representatives excluded). How disappointing then that the weather could not have been less befitting of such an occasion; cold, gloomy and extremely wet, the large crowd, coaches and teams can take great credit for seeing the game through to a conclusion.

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At the toss Jack Allman made the somewhat surprising decision to field first although as events transpired it proved to be a huge advantage later in the game. Congs regular opening bowlers Mustafa Rafique and Daany Ahmed bowled with their usual control and after four overs, Mills had reached 12 without loss. The breakthrough came in the fifth over when Zaheed Mahmood was brought into the attack and the left handed Wajaht Iqbal tried to pull him over the mid-wicket boundary. The ball only made it half way towards the intended target and straight into the welcoming hands of Danish Hussain. This brought the dangerous Kyme Khan to the crease and the Pudsey players needed no reminding of his destructive ability after he so nearly got his team over the line in their previous encounter. Although he was to be top scorer this evening with 18, he played a much more controlled innings, nudging ones and twos, rather than attempting any massive blows. Next man to go was Wahab Mirza after he had put on 23 with Khan for the second wicket. Danish Hussain managed to get a beautifully flighted delivery under his defences and he was gone for 10. Hussain finished with the remarkable figures of 1-3 from his three overs and he was replaced after his spell by Jacques Allen who managed to bowl Khan with a further looping delivery. He too finished with tidy figures of 1-7. All of the Pudsey bowling had been magnificent bearing in mind that half way through the innings, constant rain began to fall that never really looked like stopping. Only three boundaries were conceded throughout the innings and two of these were the result of sloppy mis-fielding rather than poor bowling. Despite this, the fielding had also been of a high calibre with Harry Jackson probably shading the fielding point with a superb stop that left him counting his fingers, the ball was hit so hard.

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Manningham Mills 73-3 (K.Khan 18; D.Hussain 1-3; J.Allen 1-7; Z.Mahmood 1-9)

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Due to Tom Colley pulling up lame in the field, Pudsey decided not to risk his injured leg and Jacques Allen was promoted to open the batting with Danish Hussain. It is worth bearing in mind that the rain was not getting any lighter and the pitch was starting to resemble a quagmire. The pair batted with great intelligence though, utilising their fortune with the conditions to the full. Knowing the ball would be difficult to pick up and that fielders were finding it difficult to keep their feet, they tried to run a single to anything not going straight to a man. Hussain put the crowd through the torture that is customary for his innings; once pulling the ball inches over the outstretched hands of a Mills fielder, another time miscuing a shot to mid-wicket that was only dropped as the fielder hit the ground. But despite this, his talent shone through once again and he plays strokes hardly ever seen by youngsters both in terms of the power and skill level required. His defence also looks to be as solid as a rock. Having put on 27 for the first wicket, Khan gained his revenge on Allen when he failed to spot an excellent quicker ball that was through him before he had played the shot. Zaheed Mahmood was promoted to number three and having been warned about the quicker ball was quite comically set in defence, waiting for it each time Khan tried thereafter. Having seen off the undoubted best Mills bowler, the pair started to play with a little more freedom and chipped away at the target. From over seven onwards the pair scored at least eight per over and it was simply a matter of how long it would take. Mahmood hit the winning runs; consecutive boundaries over mid-wicket off his namesake in the Mills side. Both batsmen finished on the identical score of 22 not out and both had looked highly impressive.

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It has to be acknowledged that Manningham Mills suffered by far the worst conditions in the game. Having to field and bowl for the duration with a wet ball on a pitch that made it very difficult to keep your feet, they will rightly feel very aggrieved that the cricketing gods chose to treat them in this way. This was a shame for Pudsey also because on balance they would have more than fancied their chances in perfect circumstances. Still a win is a win and the atmosphere in the clubhouse after the game was something to behold, as times such as these are to be treasured. The youngsters can feel very proud of their achievements in reaching the August 9th Final and will doubtless be even more confident in the knowledge that the game is to be played on their own ground.

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Pudsey Congs 76-1 (D.Hussain 22 no; Z.Mahmood 22 no; K.Khan 1-8)

 Pudsey Congs win by 9 wickets

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Pudsey St Lawrence v Pudsey Congs

Sunday July 26th, 2009

Match Report by Dom Allen

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After a glorious Saturday the rain arrived right on cue for this championship-deciding game which also represented the re-match of the two local rivals. It appeared the day might have been a huge anti-climax when the persistent rain refused to budge but after a discussion between both coaches it was agreed that the game would commence irrespective. Having spent half the week believing they would be fielding their strongest team, the final eight in fact did not bear a resemblance as Congs were without Zaheed Mahmood (Yorkshire), Danish Hussain (holiday) and after a very late withdrawal, Daany Ahmed (flu).

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Jack Allman won the toss, electing to put St Lawrence into bat and the opening pair of ‘Pockets’ Rhodes and Fleming set about the Congs attack. The ball was as slippery as a bar of soap during the opening exchanges and the conditions did not favour the all leg spin Congs attack but Tom Colley and Jacques Allen stuck to their task, conceding 19 runs to the openers. Mustafa Rafique came into the attack in an attempt to exploit St Lawrence’s frailties against quicker bowling. In reality Ross Kettlewell (who was probably the most impressive Congs bowler all day) outshined him. Despite a well-taken run out, the St Lawrence score was starting to mount up and with two partnerships to come, a large total seemed all but a certainty. This was confirmed when J.Pearce, C.Tiffany and Archy Scott all climbed into the weaker bowlers, showing little mercy. After a difficult day in the field, the unfortunate Congs bowlers did not have one wicket to show for their troubles, as both men out fell to run outs.

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Pudsey St Lawrence 282-2 (B.Rhodes 16no)

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With the most destructive batsmen split across the four partnerships, Congs’ batsmen marched to the middle to attempt their thorny chase of 283. The coaches had given them free licence to have a go at anything wayward. Therefore, it would have been difficult to imagine how the opening partnership could have gone any worse. In the second over a comfortable single was inexplicably turned down and when Kettlewell gloved the very next ball to the keeper, you could sense there and then that the match was over as a contest.  It was remarked upon that cricket becomes a different and much harder game when you have to hit the ball and when Allen could only get one ball away for four in his innings, the writing was firmly on the wall. The troubles were compounded when Liam Leonard took a nasty blow on the foot and had to retire hurt. Jack and Harry Allman and Harry Jackson all tried manfully but the St Lawrence bowling was simply too good. As the panic set in, so the running between the wickets became more and more comical. Three wickets fell during the final partnership and every one down to a complete breakdown of communication in the middle.

So the local bragging rights are once again firmly in the hands of our friends at Tofts Road. Their performance in testing conditions was exemplary and they were more than worthy winners in this match. Had Congs best possible eight been available for this game, they would still have had to play out of their skins to beat such an impressive St Lawrence unit. But another day, another dollar and on Tuesday night in the Cup, an infinitely stronger Pudsey team, hungry to avenge this defeat, will take on Manningham Mills in what now represents their only chance of silverware this year.

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Pudsey Congs 204-6 (J.Pearce 1-1)

Pudsey St Lawrence win by 78 runs

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Pudsey Congs v Lightcliffe

JCT 600 Cup, 3rd Round Replay

Wednesday July 22nd, 2009

Special report by Dominic Allen

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And to think this impressive young side were within one ball of going out of the JCT 600 Cup………

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The eagerly awaited replay of the now infamous Quarter Final at Lightcliffe got underway at the Britannia Ground on a cloudy Wednesday evening. Pudsey were without Jacques Allen from the previous encounter but they did welcome back Danish and Awaisse Hussain, plus hugely missed keeper Jack Allman so all in all, the side was stronger. Lightcliffe again won the toss and opted to make first use of a slightly damp but extremely flat wicket. Mark Allman made an inspirational speech in the dressing room, asking the players to have belief in themselves and to ensure they perform to the best of their ability. Robin Kettlewell also asked for an improvement in the field, pointing out this could save dozens of runs. With all of the wise words ringing in their ears, the young guns took the field and Mustafa Rafique opened the bowling. His second delivery was beautifully timed through the covers for four by Jordan Pickles and the crowd were maybe thinking along the lines of ‘here we go again’. But he struck with the fifth ball of the same over, bowling James Hodgson with a ball that just clipped the off stump. Both opening bowlers (Daany Ahmed was at the other end) bowled with great control and after four overs, Lightcliffe were 17-1. The tone for the evening was set in Tom Colley’s first over when he first bowled Robbie Broadbent with a superb quicker delivery and then caught and bowled Freddie Stoker the very next ball. He looked a little disappointed to see his confident appeal for LBW turned down on the hat-trick delivery but 2 for 1 from his first over was still a great return. Zaheed Mahmood was introduced at the other end to provide an all leg spin attack. He bamboozled the dangerous Pickles for four balls before bowling him with a beautifully flighted, spinning delivery fifth ball. Jack Booth pulled the first ball of Colley’s next over for four and whilst the crowd were busy applauding him, a couple of the players realised the poor lad had trodden on his stumps in the process and he became Colley’s third victim, hit wicket. Mahmood then took control, bowling a double wicket maiden followed by a further wicket maiden. He was to finish with the stunning figures of 4 for 0 but even more impressively, had bowled a series of unplayable deliveries. Danish Hussain entered the attack and bowled Bradband with his first ball. An hilarious altercation then took place between Mahmood and Hussain with Mahmood pleading that Hussain should not take the final wicket, in order that he be afforded the opportunity to take a ‘five-fer’. Hussain gave him short shrift and promptly bowled last man Mitchell Sutcliffe first ball. Lightcliffe were all out for 29 and this had been a mesmerising bowling display by Congs. Through much improved keeping and fielding, they had also blocked off Lightcliffe’s main scoring area behind the stumps from the first match.

Sadly, as the batsmen were leaving the field, a couple of the Pudsey fielders indulged in some unpleasant gloating at the Lightcliffe team. Although borne of excitement at their achievement, they were immediately chastised on the field and asked to apologise. A further dressing down was issued by coach Allman in the changing rooms after the game and the club would like to apologise to Lightcliffe through this medium for any offence taken. It should be noted by all that the club, in no way, tolerates such behaviour.

 

Lightcliffe 29 all out (Z.Mahmood 4-0; T.Colley 3-10; D.Hussain 2-0)

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After an interminable and unexplained delay, the Pudsey Congs reply got underway with Danish Hussain and Tom Colley opening the batting. Both looked solid in defence but it did not take long for Hussain to open his shoulders. He began by pulling a ball to the square leg boundary and during the next few overs combined hard drives down the ground with further fierce pulls. His innings was certainly not chanceless, no less than three times skying the ball into gaps between fielders but as so often happens on these occasions, fortune favours the brave, especially chasing modest totals. The game was all over after 5.4 overs, Hussain finishing on 29 not out and Colley 3 not out.

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Before the game, if you had contemplated the perfect performance, it would have looked something like the display the young Congs produced here. Clinical in the extreme, it is worth pausing for a moment to consider that, but for Liam Leonard’s famous boundary, the undoubted weaker team would have progressed to the semi finals, even acknowledging star batsman George Aireton was unavailable for this game. Nevertheless, the Under 11s will take a huge amount of confidence into their semi final with Manningham Mills next Tuesday (also at the Brit) after completing this victory at the second time of asking.

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Pudsey Congs 33-0 (D.Hussain 29no)  

Pudsey Congs win by 10 wickets

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Manningham Mills v Pudsey Congs

Sunday July 19th, 2009

Match Report by Dom Allen

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On a thoroughly miserable morning, the high-flying youngsters travelled to the far side of Bradford for their re-match with Manningham Mills. The previous encounter had produced a run-fest on a scorching day and this game could not have been played in more contrasting conditions. Jack Allman lost the toss and Pudsey were asked to make first use of the bouncy track with Jacques Allen promoted to open the batting with Mustafa Rafique. In truth, this combination did not really work and served to starve Rafique of the majority of the strike, wasting his big hitting. His score of 5 runs demonstrated just how few balls he actually faced, Allen finishing on 13 but having once again fallen for the five card trick of trying to smash a ‘pea-roller’. Tom Colley was impressive yet again, scoring 10 but also protecting the lesser-experienced hero from Monday evening Liam Leonard. Colley certainly demonstrates a wonderfully straight bat. Confusion between Ross Kettlewell and captain Allman led to a needless run out and all of the players will need to consider the fact that it is not how well you hit the shot but WHERE YOU PLACE IT that determines whether to call for a run or not. Allman more than made amends however by unleashing his favourite pull stroke and the pair finished in credit. Zaheed Mahmood and Danni Ahmed appeared last for Congs and after a quiet start, Mahmood exploded into life, smashing 5 fours in his 23. This was a wonderful knock that the team were to become hugely indebted to.

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Pudsey Congs 269-3 (Z.Mahmood 23no; J.Allman 11no)  

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Superb opening spells from both Rafique and Ahmed kept the Mills pair of Dean and Mahboob down to 210 and after Allen had taken two wickets with his new leg spin, Manningham had slipped into arrears at 197 after 8 overs. It looked like a comfortable victory might be on the cards but the opposition had brilliantly hidden away their weaker batsmen in the second pairing to allow for the forthcoming onslaught. Wajid Iqbal and Wahab Mirza were remorseless on the Congs weaker bowlers and also managed to cart county player Mahmood to all parts. They added almost 40 runs for their pairing and got Mills right back in the match. So the scene was set for K.Khan to launch his pyrotechnics and this he duly did. He is clearly going to be some player and he blasted the ball on six occasions to the boundary, two of these clearing the rope on the full by a considerable distance. The crucial ball of the whole match was bowled by Tom Colley. Khan jumped right across to the off side and tried to smash it to the mid wicket boundary but was bowled around his legs. This gave Congs some much needed breathing space. Thus 16 were needed from the last over bowled by Ahmed. His customary unerring accuracy fell to pieces under the unrelenting pressure of Khan’s on side strokeplay and he was picked up three times over square leg. After allowing a second run that put Khan back on strike, Pudsey once again faced the torture of a match coming down to the final delivery. Fortunately for Congs, Ahmed bowled down the off side and Khan could only drive the ball to mid off where cool Tom Colley calmly fielded the ball and under armed it in to prevent any further addition to the score. Another wonderful game of cricket, won in the opinion of the coaching staff on the basis of the better team spirit enjoyed by Congs.

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Manningham Mills 268-4 (J.Allen 2-6; T.Colley 2-8)  

Pudsey Congs win by 1 run

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Lightcliffe v Pudsey Congs

JCT 600 Cup, 3rd Round

Monday July 13th, 2009

Special report by Dominic Allen

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If you are of a nervous disposition then look away now. As well as the ‘tight as a drum’ nature of this game, the tension was exacerbated for the majority of onlookers because they will have been routing for one or more of the players on a personal level. When the game finished at around 9.30pm , the crowd had been treated to a wonderful spectacle, plenty of drama and no little skill. It may well be something of a cliché but a government health warning should have accompanied this match.

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Captain Jacques Allen’s plans to put Lightcliffe under pressure by posting a large total were scuppered when he called incorrectly at the toss. Pudsey therefore took the field with a number of the Under 9s in tow once again and our thanks and gratitude for their help must be noted. Mustafa Rafique’s first delivery went for four byes but he made instant amends, bowling opening batsman J.Booth without scoring off his legs next ball. Lightcliffe appeared to have held back their best batsman, George Aireton, for the number three slot and he played some exquisite strokes on his way to 30 retired. In fact, the scoring rate during the first 10 overs was bordering on an alarming 8 or 9 an over. No matter what the bowlers tried, the ball seemed to follow the younger players at high speed as Aireton and J.Pickles made hay. Tom Colley stemmed the flow to a degree with his spell but the rate was reduced further when the leg spin of Allen and Zaheed Mahmood produced wickets to bring quieter batsmen to the crease. Dani Ahmed’s control at the end of the innings was highly impressive and a required rate of just over five per over was not ideal but much lower than feared half an hour earlier.

 

Lightcliffe 105-4 (Z.Mahmood 2-10; M Rafique 1-11; J. Allen 1-15;  D.Ahmed 0-10)

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Robin Kettlewell gave the youngsters a stern lecture at half time, asking them to get their heads around the fact that if they were out, that was it for the night; there were no second chances at this format. It would therefore have been foolish to offer a penny for the coach’s thoughts when, after just four balls of the innings, an appalling call for a run that was never there, led to the run out of Tom Colley and the score was 0-1. This was a disaster for Congs and necessitated a period of consolidation from Rafique and number three Allen. This initially went a little too far and with the score still only in the teens after six overs, Rafique was encouraged to express himself a little more. He hit 3 fours in one over and several more subsequently until he was very quickly asked to retire on 30. At the other end Allen was trying to balance solidity with the occasional boundary. Zaheed Mahmood came to the crease and was immediately dropped by the keeper first ball. This was a massive let off for Congs and Mahmood was not going to waste the opportunity he had been gifted. Combining deft touches for singles with fierce strokeplay, he brought up his 30 in double quick time and ensured Congs were right up with the asking rate. At the other end, Allen had also upped the tempo and after at first finding the left arm bowling difficult, he smashed a ball straight over mid off to bring up his total of 31. It was a concern that both batsmen brought up their 30s almost simultaneously and with just two overs remaining Congs had two new batsmen at the crease, still needing seven runs. This equation got worse when after the loss of Ross Kettlewell and Dani Ahmed, five runs were required from just five balls.

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Liam Leonard was the man tasked with trying to achieve the target and when after four balls the scoreboard had not moved, many in the ground had either given up (on the Congs side) or commenced indulging in gloating. Foolish. The last ball was bowled outside off stump and Leonard saved the greatest shot of his life so far, for the most important moment; a square cut, past a despairing Lightcliffe fielder for four invaluable runs and the match was tied. The scenes of jubilation and despair that followed were an experience that will live long in the memory. The Congs players all charged the field and mobbed Leonard to a man, even making an audacious but ultimately flawed attempt to chair him from the middle. It was real Boy’s Own stuff and for a while amid all the confusion, Congs were convinced they had proceeded to the next round on the basis of losing fewer wickets. This proved optimistic however and whilst it is still to be confirmed, the most likely outcome is that the two sides will need to replay at the Britannia Ground. But having been as good as out of the Cup, Congs went home extremely happy even though many of the parents were in need of a stiff drink. A slightly more comfortable victory next time out would be most welcome.

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Pudsey Congs 105-3 (M.Rafique 30 ret; J.Allen 31 ret; Z.Mahmood 30 ret)  

Match Tied

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Pudsey Congs v Tong Park

Sunday July 12th, 2009

Match Report by Dom Allen

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Incessant overnight rain had led to the near cancellation of this fixture but when the day dawned bright and breezy, the ground was declared fit and play got underway on time. Tong Park batted first and one sensed that Congs were not quite on the money. Whether this was down to the forthcoming fixture in the Cup or the perceived weaker nature of the Tong Park outfit it was not clear but the fielding was a little sloppy. In fact, Tong Park batted extremely well, losing only four wickets on their way to a respectable 245. Mustafa Rafique and Zaheed Mahmood were the pick of the bowlers with 1-9 and 1-6 respectively. Jacques Allen chipped in with 1-14 and an excellent run out effected by Ross Kettlewell accounted for the other wicket.

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Tong Park 245-4 (Z.Mahmood 1-6; M Rafique 1-9; J.Allen 1-14)

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The target could have proved difficult but fortunately for Congs, their batsmen were in the zone by this stage and the Tong Park fielding was (they will freely admit) poor. Rafique (20 not out) and Tom Colley got the home team off to a perfect start and almost half the deficit was eroded after their four overs. Jacques Allen (11 not out) was his usual steady self with Liam Leonard. However he did cut loose with a six that sadly landed full onto the head of Ross Kettlewell, sat on the steps of the changing rooms. Everyone’s hearts were in their mouths but this quickly turned to relief as it became clear that no serious injury had been sustained and the poor lad was suffering from shock. It seems the peak of his cap had proved his saviour but as his father later pointed out, this was a poignant warning for youngsters to keep their eye on the ball AT ALL TIMES . The injury resulted in a change of batting order and Mahmood blasted his way to 22 not out, Ahmed 12. Both players effected some wonderful strokes and took the game away from Tong Park at a rate of knots.

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Therefore when Kettlewell and the very impressive Harry Jackson came to the crease, the game was up for Tong Park . The fact that Kettlewell came out to bat at all says wonders for his courage bearing in mind that 15 minutes earlier he’d taken such a nasty blow. They saw things through to a conclusion without losing any further wickets and Congs finished on a 300 plus score for the third time this season, thanks in part to an horrific last over that contained seven no balls or wides.

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Pudsey Congs 305-1 (Z.Mahmood 22no; M.Rafique 20no ; D.Ahmed 12; J.Allen 11no)

 Pudsey Congs win by 60 runs

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Keighley v Pudsey Congs

Sunday July 5th, 2009

Match Report by Dom Allen

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On a very humid morning, the young Congs travelled into the Yorkshire Dales to visit table-topping Keighley. Due to several players appearing later that day in representative matches it was agreed that Keighley should bat first. Tight bowling (Dani Ahmed, Mustafa Rafique and Jacques Allen) and two impressive catches (both from bucket hands Tom Colley) saw the opening pair of Bellerby and Rashid leave the field with a negative score. Tom Colley and Zaheed Mahmood then proceeded to treat the crowd to a master class of leg spin bowling. Whilst neither took a wicket, in fairness, the majority of the deliveries were just too good to lay a bat upon. The final Keighley total of 227 possibly represented a disappointment on their part but they had set out their stall to avoid losing wickets and so only losing two to such quality bowling was an achievement in itself.

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Keighley 227-2 (D.Ahmed 1-9 ; J.Allen 1-10 ; T.Colley 2 cts)

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Pudsey Congs chase got off to a slightly shaky start with the loss of Rafique twice. He was bowled ‘hoiking’ across the line and his dad made it clear that he was less than impressed with the shot selection of his talented son. He was also run out backing up after the bowler deflected a very firm drive from Colley back onto the stumps. This is the most unfortunate event the game can throw at a player but at least it only results in the loss of eight runs at this level. Tom Colley had in fact played a number of highly impressive and technical strokes for his 15 runs. The lad has a very bright future in the game. Jacques Allen and Liam Leonard edged Congs closer to the Keighley total and Jack Allman and Ross Kettlewell pushed them into credit with some well timed strokes. The final pair of Dani Ahmed and Zaheed Mahmood were a revelation, adding 22 runs without further loss. Encouragingly, the majority of these were singles which demonstrated good running between the wickets. This was a highly convincing batting display and coach Mark Allman told the players after the match that he felt it was the best he had seen his young chargers bat all season.

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Pudsey Congs 257-3 (T.Colley 15no ; Z.Mahmood 16no)  

Pudsey Congs win by 30 runs

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Pudsey Congs v Pudsey St Lawrence

Sunday June 21st, 2009

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It was a scorching Sunday morning at the Britannia ground which greeted the visitors from up the road, Pudsey Saint Lawrence. The Congs won the toss and decided to bat. This week they opened with R Kettlewell and D Hussain in front of a large crowd for this local derby. Hussain set off in typical fashion smashing two fours off the first two balls, with Kettlewell playing well at the other end scoring a lovely boundary, these two put on 17 for the loss of one wicket. Next in were J Allen and J Stolarski. Joe played to instructions and did really well keeping his wicket intact against some very good deliveries and Jacque was his usual steady self picking the bad balls and scoring 9 without loss. Following them were Harry and Jack Allman. Harry unfortunately was out twice but a tremendous batting display at the other end saw Jack hitting shots all over the ground scoring 20 not out; well done! Last in for the Congs were the batting pait of Ahmed and O Hussain. These two batted steady with some good running between the wickets progressing the final score onto 241 for 4.

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So it was the turn of PSL and after a good start by Congs bowlers, the away side had scored just two runs. The consistent Danny Ahmed struck bowling Ben Rhodes with the PSL openers putting on 14 for one wicket. The next pair came in and R Kettlewell provided some tight bowling with D Hussain chipping in with a wicket, they put on 12 runs for the loss of one wicket. Next in were J Crampton and J Pearce. These two scored 20 runs for the loss of two wickets with some good bowling from H Allman, O Hussain and J Stolarski. So with the game evenly balanced, the last two batters came into the crease and with both excellent defensive batting and good bowling by the home side, it went to the last over with Congs needing  a wicket from it to win. J Allen bowled very well but was very unlucky not to get the desired wicket. PSL held out for the win in a very entertaining game. Special mention must go to the under nines who came up to the 11’s to help out due the three players on Yorkshire commitments. The players that stepped up were H Allman, O Hussain and J Stolarski, all fine cricketers to watch for in the future.

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 Bradford & Bingley v Pudsey Congs

Sunday June 7th, 2009

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On an overcast day, the Congs were the visitors to the Bradford & Bingley ground looking to avenge a defeat earlier in the season. Congs lost the toss and the home side decided to bat and sharp started nicely with a 4. At the other end, D Hussain claimed a wicket with his third delivery with the opening pair finishing up scoring 19 for the loss of 2 wickets. The next pair came in and batted steadily putting on 15 for the loss of 1 wicket with tight bowling from both Allen and Colley. Nicoll and Cloudson came in for the home side and put 15 on without loss with R Kettlewell bowling especially well being very unlucky on a few occasions and going for 9 runs from his two overs. The last pair came in and with some tight bowling, on came Danish Hussain to bowl the last over. He promptly took 2 wickets with some excellent line leaving  B & B on 230 for the loss of 5 wickets.

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The Congs then started to bat and opened with the inform Colley and Hussain. Danish Hussain is on fire at the moment with the bat and set about the bowling with a display that was an absolute pleasure to watch, hitting 7 boundaries in a total of 32. Our opening pair had finished the score on 232, a remarkable effort. Next in were J Allman and R Kettlewell and they kept their wicket intact, despite some good B & B bowling.  Following them in were J Allen and L Leonard. Some good defence from Leonard, followed by some classy shots from Allen, including four boundries, took the score onto 269 and the Congs were cruising at this point. Next in were D Ahmed and A Hussain. These two produced some good shots but decided they were going to run for everything and finished up being run out between them three times. Afterwards Mark Allman remarked that he had jet black hair before they came in and it was now a distinct shade of grey!!!

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So Pudsey finished on 247, winning the game. Many thanks to Bradford & Bingley for their hospitality. The Pudsey U11 bandwagon rolls on, thats five on the bounce, well done guys !!

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Pudsey Congs v Manningham Mills

Sunday May 31st, 2009

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Manningham Mills were the visitors to the Britannia Ground this week. They won the toss and put the Congs into bat. Opening the batting were D Hussain and T Colley, who put on a splendid 39 runs for the first wicket losing just the one wicket. Next in were J Allman and Z Mahmood with Mahmood batting well for 17. Following them were J Allen and R Kettlewell with both players hitting a couple of nice boundaries on the way to adding 18 runs for the loss of a wicket. Bringing up the rear for the Congs attack were M Rafique and Danny Ahmed who both kept their wickets intact. Rafique kept the crowd entertained once again with a brilliant 30, so the score was set for Mills at 303, a very good days work.

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Danny Ahmed opened the bowling and promptly struck in his first over and with rafique bowling very well at the other end, limited the openers to 10 runs for the loss of two wickets. The next pair in for Manningham were also to struggle for runs due to some tight bowling by Colley, having just two runs of  his two overs despite staying up all night watching the Britains got talent final. A fantastic spell from J Allen finishing with 4 for 20 from his 3 overs. R Kettlewell came on, also to pin the batsmen down with a maiden and so the last pair came in and despite adding 27 runs, they lost two wickets to leave Mills on a final score of 193. Special mention to Danish Hussain who took a couple of great catches in the field.

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All in all, a great team performance and well done to Manningham Mills for playing in good spirit and sticking at it

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East Bierley v Pudsey Congs

JCT 600 Cup, 2nd Round

Wednesday May 27th, 2009

Special report by Dominic Allen

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On a cool, windy and cloudy evening, the Congs U-11s visited East Bierley for what was to be their first outing in the new 20-20 Cup. Played under standard cricket rules this format offered the youngsters none of the protection afforded by the Sunday morning league matches. It would be a stern test of the boys’ characters more than anything and the parents and coaches hoped they could make the necessary adjustment. It was quite clear from the off that they had a huge advantage over their opposition as, sadly, East Bierley had not recognised the format change and could only muster seven players. Jacques Allen again won the toss and inserted the opposition. Danesh Hussain and Danni Ahmed opened the bowling in front of an unexpectedly large crowd, bearing in mind the game coincided with the Champions League Final. The game started steadily but exploded into life in the fifth over bowled by Zaheed Mahmood when three wickets fell with the score on six. Another fine catch from Tom Colley started the rot by removing Declan Blakeley and a fizzing leg spinner accounted for Curtis Hill third ball. When Joe Taylor was run out without troubling the scorers, Colley followed up his catch with two excellent turning deliveries to leave East Bierley on the edge of a precipice at 20-5 and only one wicket to fall in view of their lack of numbers. Ryan Stewart and Max Thompson dug in for the home team and almost doubled their total but they were merely delaying the inevitable and East Bierley were bowled out for 37, using only 13 of their allotted overs.

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East Bierley 37 all out

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What followed was cruel on the home side and one had to feel for them, whilst at the same time marvelling at the stroke play of Danesh Hussain. He smashed the first over for 22 runs; all but one of the deliveries finding the boundary. The match was finished after just three overs, Hussain finishing on 27 not out, Tom Colley 1 not out. It is difficult to imagine a more emphatic victory and whilst it has to be said that the opposition were clearly below strength (and numbers) you can only beat what is placed in front of you. Pudsey demonstrated a level of awareness that would almost certainly have seen them win the game against a full strength East Bierley team. Make no mistake; this was a strong performance and it bodes well for future rounds.

One further point worth making is that special thanks go out to all of the U-9 players that helped out, Joe Stolarski, Josh Chapman and Harry Jackson. Their fielding was exemplary and they did themselves proud.

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Pudsey Congs 38-0, Congs Progress

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Pudsey Congs v Saltaire

Sunday May 24th, 2009

Special report by Dominic Allen

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The U-11s game against Saltaire took place on the first truly warm day of the season and this ensured a decent crowd was in place to witness an historic occasion. Captain Jacques Allen won the toss and decided to insert Saltaire on what appeared a very flat but saturated wicket. The former adjective proved most apt however, with the moisture providing a complete red herring and the pitch playing to almost county ground standards, as not a ball deviated all day. In conjunction with some very short, square boundaries, a run-glut was all but guaranteed. In the absence of the Allman family, Ross Kettlewell donned the gloves for the thankless task behind the stumps. Mustafa Rafique and Danni Ahmed opened the bowling with two very tight spells. Ahmed has very quickly established himself as a mainstay member of the team and is an accurate left arm medium pacer, conceding just four runs from his three overs. Zaheed Mahmood and Danesh Hussain followed; Mahmood looking particularly impressive on debut against Saltaire’s best batsman, Lee Robinson. Robinson hit him for several fours but he bowled some superb leg spin deliveries, containing flight, loop and no small amount of turn. Saltaire’s score was fairly rocketing along when a huge turning point in the game took place; a brilliant catch by Tom Colley off the bowling of Hussain. It was hit straight at him but like a tracer-bullet and at this age group such chances take some catching. This appeared to diminish the ferocity of the Saltaire attack and the scoring rate never quite reached the same dizzy heights. Tom followed this up with a further display of excellent leg spin bowling and fortunately for Pudsey, wickets continued to fall. Jacques Allen and Awaisse Hussain completed the bowling line up and a total of 250 appeared as though it would take some getting at half time.

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Saltaire 250-5

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The fact that it didn’t was largely down to Danesh Hussain who almost single-handedly knocked the stuffing out of the Saltaire side. Opening with Tom Colley, he scored a gargantuan 39 runs in a partnership that almost wiped out the initial 50 run deficit. Hussain hits the ball with a brutal power that is extremely rare at his age group. Colley was a magnificent foil at the other end, looking a picture of solidity. Zahid Mahmood and Awaisse Hussain followed and continued to score freely, Mahmood in particular cashing in on some wayward bowling. The game was all but over at the half way stage of the innings, Pudsey being 25 runs in credit already. They suffered a minor setback when Jacques Allen somehow contrived to be bowled twice, once to a careless stroke, the other being a victim of misfortune, playing on a wide ball off his legs but he did manage to score 22 runs. When Rafique and Ahmed came together for the final pairing, the result was a foregone conclusion. Posting a steady 17 runs between them for the loss of only one wicket, Pudsey finished on a net score of 308, the highest in the club’s history at this level. This was a strong performance all round from the boys and bearing mind there is much improvement to be made in the field and players to come back, other teams will be nervous when making their visit to the Britannia Ground this season.

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Pudsey Congs 308-3

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Tong Park v Pudsey Congs

Sunday May 17th, 2009

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Tong Park was to be the venue of the under 11’s first away match of the young season and Congs were put into bat first. The Congs started soundly with R Kettlewell and Thomas Colley putting on eleven runs without loss on a very unpredictable wicket. Next in were Liam Leonard and Jacque Allen, both again batting well with Allen making 14. At this stage Congs were going well with the the loss of only one wicket. Next in for Pudsey was Jack and Harry Allman and in some good defensive batting, put four runs on without loss. Jacks dad remarked this was the longest he had seen them together without arguing!!!  Last in for Pudsey was M Rafique and D Ahmed. Ahmed showing solid defence and Rafique playing superb for 20 not out, making a final total of 272 for 1 a very good score. So Tong Park then began their innings and their openers put on 19 runs without loss against some good bowling from J Allen and especially Danny Ahmed who beat the bat on several occasions. The next two batters came in and despite not losing a wicket added just six runs to the total struggling against some hostile bowling from Rafique and good leg spin from Colley. The third pair came in and added six runs for the loss of one wicket with Jack Allman taking a stumping chance. So onto the last pair and with Tong Park having a mountain to climb, Rafique rose to the occasion with J Allman taking a catch behind that his hero Barney Gibson would have been proud of. Thomas Colley weighed in with a great catch so in the end, a very comfortable win for Pudsey in what was to be a really good team effort. Special mention to Danny Ahmed for his excellent bowling and fantastic fielding, well done.

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Pudsey Congs v Keighley

Sunday May 10th, 2009

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Pudsey entertained high flying Keighley looking for a win on a overcast Sunday morning. Keighley won the toss and put the home side into bat. Debutant Danny Ahmed opened the batting with R Kettlewell and put on nine runs for no wickets, a good start. Next in was Jacque Allen and L Leonard, these two also kept their wicket intact with Allen scoring a superb 13. Next in were Jack Allman and Harry Jackson. These two kept up the trend of not losing a wicket, both batting well with Jack scoring a useful five runs. Last in for the Congs was M Rafique and Harry Allman. These two were to add twelve runs to the total but sadly for the loss of three wickets due to some crazy running between the wickets. Pudsey finished on 233 for 3.

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Keighley then began their innings and started solidly. The openers scoring nine without loss with excellent batting from D Birkett. Next two came in for Keighley and J Overend took to the Pudsey bowling scoring 18. This pair lost a wicket off the bowling of Harry Jackson,  who bowled excellently. The next pair came in and didn’t trouble the scoreboard too much but also didn’t lose a wicket and by the time the last pair came in, the game was very evenly balanced. With Harry Allman’s third over in the match, A Hussain edged a catch behind to Jack Allman who took the catch well. Jacque Allen took a wicket in his last over but the scoreboard was ticking along and with Rafique bowling the last over, Keighley were one run in front. Rafique went close a couple of times nearly bowling the opposing batsmen three times but it wasn’t to be and Keighley finished up winners by one run. Whilst this is a defeat and nobody enjoys losing, everybody left the ground agreeing that this was a fantastic advert for under 11s cricket and  well done to both teams for that

 

 

Pudsey Congs v Bradford & Bingley (Home Opener)

At The Britannia Ground

Sunday April 26th, 2009

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It was an unusually sunny start to the cricket season at the Britannia ground as a such depleted Congs side took to the field without four players who were in the final trial for Yorkshire and we wish them good luck. Jack Allman (Capt) won the toss and put the opposition into bat. Jack Allen opened the bowling and took a wicket with his third delivery. Jack Allman bowled tight at the other end going for four runs in his first over and following up  with a maiden. Jacque Allen struck again in his second over, the next two in for B&B were to make big inroads with M Walker scoring sixteen runs without loss, but also some very tidy bowling from Harry Jackson making his debut and eventually finishing with figures of  3-2-6-0. The next pair in scored 21 runs for the loss of only 1 wicket, good bowling by Liam Leonard and Daniel Lock, also making their debuts.  The last pair came in and kept the score board ticking over for the visitors with 15 runs with the loss of 3 wickets including an excellent run out by Harry Allman, leaving a final total for the visitors of 228.

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Pudsey Congs opened their innings with Ross Kettlewell and Thomas Colley making his debut. Both batted solidly and left the field making 10 runs without loss of their wicket. The next pair in were Jacque Allen and Harry Jackson. Harry batted well whilst Jacque really cut loose scoring 21 runs including 5 boundaries.  The next pair were Liam Leonard and Daniel Lock. These 2 batted really well losing just 2 wickets but with the score looking a little depleted, the last 2 came in being Jack and Harry Allman.  Jack hitting 2 excellent boundaries but finished up being out 3 times due to pushing for runs to chase the winning total and this left Congs losing 7 wickets in total making their final score 198.

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All boys that came in today have done really well and rest assured there will be much more to come from the under 11’s side this season.

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