2012 Second XI
Final League Position = 3rd, 285 Points
Idle v Pudsey Congs
At Cavendish Road
Sunday September 2nd, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – None
Match report by Captain Liam Stanhope
Hoping to bounce back after the defeat at Keighley two weeks ago, Congs were back finally back in action (following their free week and Brighouse’s no show) against a weakened Idle side at fortress Britannia.
Idle won the toss and elected to bat, as Shaun Howe and Josh Purser took the new ball. Idle openers, Dave Pearce and Neil Johnson began steadily with Pearce playing his usual swashbuckling way and Johno slowly getting his eye-in following his lengthy absence from the crease. With the score on 21, Purser eventually had Johnson (0) caught at point, before removing Nick Sugden (0), Graham Dobson (4) and the wily Pearce (caught at long-on for 25). Captain Liam Stanhope, brought himself into the attack and produced seasons best figures of 4-5, as Idle were dismissed for 58 in 22 overs.
A quick turnaround brought Ashley Slater and Keegan Moodley to crease and Slater sensed an early finish as he clobbered Pearce’s first over for 14 runs. Slater fell to a lazy shot for 22, with the Congs requiring just 4 for victory. Callum Murgatroyd (6no) joined Moodley (32no) to finish the game off as Congs claimed another rapid-fire victory at the Brit.
Another excellent bowling display, was however, overshadowed by the loss of batting bonus points which will prove vital as this young Congs side look to go one better than last season.
Brighouse v Pudsey Congs
At Russell Way
Saturday September 1st, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – None
Match report by Captain Liam Stanhope
With Brighouse unable to raise a team, the match was forfeited and PCCC are given a walkover and 15 points*.
*Points to be ratified by Management Board
Keighley v Pudsey Congs
At Hard Ings Road
Saturday August 18th, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – None
Match report by Captain Liam Stanhope
In what may well have been Pudsey’s most crucial game of the year, they failed to turn up. Dismissed for 40, the performance was reminiscent of last season’s finale at Manningham Mills.
Unsurprisingly, Keighley reached their target with one down, shortly after 3 o’clock. Danny Clifton picked up the only wicket for Congs, ripping a big ‘un to clean bowl Keighley skipper Paul Wilkinson (29).
A bad day at the office all round.
Pudsey Congs v Undercliffe
At Britannia Ground
Saturday August 11th, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – Pudsey Congs 2nds
Match report by Captain Liam Stanhope
Undercliffe were the visitors to the Britannia as the Congs looked to keep the promotion push going as the top of the league gets ever tighter.
Winning the toss and batting first, Callum Murgatroyd and Keegan Moodley opened the innings. Yet, the usually dependable Moodley fell cheaply chopping on a Tahir Mahmood delivery for 1. 14 year old, Arbaab Hussain (making his BCL debut) replaced Moodley and went on to score a splendid 35. Putting on 71 for the 2nd wicket with Murgatroyd, Hussain looked supremely confident, punishing anything off line or length with the 4 or 5 Vaughan-esque cover drives being the definite highlight. Murgatroyd (39) and Slater (7) soon followed Hussain back to the pavillion as the Congs were reduced to 103-5. Another ‘new’ boy Danny Clifton (returning to his former hunting ground), together with Matthew Humpleby, pushed the score on to 190 as Clifton scored 70 from 47 balls with Humpleby (38) playing an excellent supporting role. As the tail attempted to wag, Congs brought up their 5th batting point as they finished on 234-9.
In reply, Chris Doey and Shaun Howe looked to bowl full and straight in order to pick up early wickets and put the game to bed ASAP. Doey picked up the wicket of Adnoan Shaffique LBW with the score on 11 before the introduction of Josh Purser did away with Zafran Ghaffar and Phil Dixon, both cleaned bowled. 59-3 soon became 60-4, 71-5 and 106-6 as Wasim Bashir took 3 wickets. Sofian Khan battled hard for a gutsy 57no. However, Khan was to eventually run out of partners with the score on 176, as the straight bowling of the skipper Liam Stanhope removed the tailenders to return figures of 4-52. Underclife 176 all out.
20 points, Top of the league! #mustkeepwinning.
Bankfoot v Pudsey Congs
At Cleckheaton Road, Odsal
Saturday August 4th, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – None
Match report by Captain Liam Stanhope
Congs 2’s visited a lowly Bankfoot side looking to claim 20 points and go top of the table as promotion rivals Bradford & Bingley and Saltaire met at Wagon Lane.
Bankfoot captain Myles Robinson won the toss and elected to bowl first. Openers Callum Murgatroyd and Keegan Moodley both went for 6, whilst only Tom Elliott (37) and Ash Slater (47) made significant contributions to the Congs innings (however both should have made half centuries and more). Elliott showed glimpses of his undoubted ability, striking the ball hard and straight before missing a straight one off the bowling of Jamie Bonner and Ashley Slater, as always, battered anything too short, too wide or too full before he failed to fully connect and was caught at mid-off. Nobody in the tail threatened to make more than 10, as Congs were bowled out for 148 in 35 overs.
Bankfoot flew out of the blocks in reply, with Atif Khokar (21) and Hissan Ahmed (18) punishing anything wide of the stumps. Mushy Shah was quickly brought into the attack and he went on to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. Removing the dangerous Khokar in his second over, before returning figures of 6-30 from 13 overs, as the 10 men of Bankfoot were dismissed 45 short of their target.
A disappointing first half performance almost cost us the game and denied us of some extremely important bonus points, but the Congs youth showed exceptional fighting spirit to defend a low score and now move into 2nd spot, three points off the top. #mustkeepwinning
Pudsey Congs v Bradford & Bingley
At Britannia Ground
Saturday July 28th, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – Moira Carr
Match report by Captain Liam Stanhope
Former Congs man Warren Allitt and his Bradford & Bingley side made their way over from Wagon Lane for this potentially promotion deciding game. A must win for Congs as they hope to stay in the hunt to regain a spot in division one.
B&B won the toss and elected to bat in what appeared to perfect batting conditions. Their innings got off to a flying start scoring 40 from the first 10 overs before Josh Purser trapped Allitt LBW for 23. Enter Mushy Shah and Skipper Liam Stanhope. Both returning figures of 15 overs for 28 runs, they restricted the B&B batters to very few scoring shots, as the rest of the side turned it on in the field to really limit the B&B total. However, after 45 overs of all round excellence a couple of lapses in concentration gifted B&B some valuable runs, as they finished 162-7 with Richard McCarthy unbeaten on 46.
The Congs reply got off to a shaky start with Callum Murgatroyd falling for 1, Mushy Shah for 0 and Tom Elliott for 6, as it seemed like all the good work in the first half would be undone. Ashley Slater joined Keegan Moodley at the crease with the score on 28-3 and put on 81 for the 4th wicket before Slater (39) was eventually dismissed via a leading edge. When Humpleby quickly followed without troubling the scorers, B&B sniffed a chance. Danny Cockin had other ideas and bravely steered the boys home alongside the unflappable Moodley who finished unbeaten, four short of his 3rd ton this season.
A fantastic 15 points puts the Congs right back in the promotion mixer, just 9 points off the summit!
Spen Victoria v Pudsey Congs
At Spen Lane
Saturday July 21st, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – None
Match report by Captain Liam Stanhope
Spen Victoria 70 all out (Liam Stanhope 4-24, Wasim Bashir 3-13)
Pudsey Congs 71-5 (Imran Ahmed 47)
After two brilliant captains performances last weekend (Keegan Moddley 152no vs Mills & Imran Ahmed 72no vs Windhill) could the returning skipper Liam Stanhope follow it up in this 3rd vs 4th clash away at Spen Victoria?
Spen captain Mark Loker won the toss and elected to bat on a wet, green track and the Congs attack worked hard to take full advantage of the favourable bowling conditions. Chris Doey and Shaun Howe opened up looking to bowl full and straight, before Doey got the breakthrough in the 7th over trapping M.Loker LBW with the score on 6. Runs were hard to come by as Doey, Howe and Adam Patrick all maintained good line and length to restrict the Spen batters to the odd single here and there. The Skipper brought himself into the attack and ripped through the top order finshing with 4-24 from 15 overs. Imran Ahmed claimed the highlight of the innings when expertly running out Spen number 4 Lee Manton with a superb direct hit with just one stump to aim for. Was Bashir showed his class destroying the lower order and returning figures of 3-13 from 9 overs before Imran was tossed the ball to claim the final wicket. Spen Victoria 70 all out.
It was made clear that conditions suited the bowlers and that 70 could easily become a very difficult score to chase, especially as the Spen players and supporters appeared more than just a little fired up for this one. Keegan Moodley, Ashley Slater and Tom Elliott all fell without troubling the scorers and the Congs innings was left tetering on 1-3. Enter Callum Murgatroyd and Imran Ahmed. Callum once again demonstrated his increasing maturity and the fighting spirit he showed vs Windhill two weeks previous to score and invaluable 20. Whilst Imran showed he’s more than just a hitter (playing straight and along the floor) picking up single after single as well as the odd the boundary before falling to an unbelievable caught & bowled courtesy of the wily Stuart Houlbrook. Doey finished the innings scoring the remaining the 2 runs lofting the ball over mid-on to claim a vital 15 points for the Congs.
Pudsey Congs 71-5.
Pudsey Congs v Windhill
At Britannia Ground
Sunday July 15th, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – Towergate Group
Match report by Liam Stanhope
Imran Ahmed returned as Congs looked to gain more momentum up the table as we pass the half way stage of the season.
Bowling first against an experienced Windhill top order, Chris Doey removed Andy Evans with the first ball of the game. Simon Curry and Derek Wilkinson put on 47 before the introduction of Mushy Shah did for Wilkinson when he was cleaned bowled. Shah picked up another 4 wickets to finish with figures of 15-7-30-5. Ably supported by Adam Patrick 6.1-2-10-1 and Wasim Bashir 9-4-19-3. Windhill were all out for 116, with only Simon Curry (45) making any real contribution.
In reply it was a case of another day, another captains innings. Captain Imran Ahmed made 72no from 50 balls, as the Windhill bowlers failed to tie him down. Ahmed bludgeoned 9 fours and 4 sixes and was well supported by yesterdays hero Keegan Moodley (28). It was left to Mushy Shah (4no) to hit the winnings runs as the Congs reached their target in the 15th over for the loss of one wicket.
35 points from the weekend with a number of players unavailable.
Fantastic work by all leaves us in 3rd place.
Manningham Mills v Pudsey Congs
At Scotchman Road
Saturday July 14th, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – None
Match report by Liam Stanhope
Keegan Moodley took a slightly differently looking Congs side to Scotchman Road. With Tom Huffinley and Adam Patrick in for the acting stand-in skips Liam Stanhope and Imran Ahmed.
Batting first, Moodley produced the perfect captains innings with a sublime 152no from 140 balls. Well supported by Mushy Shah (63), they added 137 for the second wicket before Shah was stumped off the bowling of young spinner leg Kyme Khan. The middle order all came and went whilst trying to push the score on with Moodley, as Congs finished on a brilliant 262-6.
Mills’ chase began steadily scoring at 3 runs per from the first 5 overs before Shaun Howe struck twice in the 6th having Danesh Hussain caught at slip by the captain Moodley and then clean bowling wicket keeper Sabir Khan. Chris Doey grabbed the next 2 wickets to leave Mills 35-4. From this stage Mills’ chances of victory were all but over. Mushy Shah wrapped things up with 4 wickets and two run outs sealed 20 points for the Congs.
Windhill v Pudsey Congs
At Busy Lane
Sunday July 8th, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – None
Match report by Josh Purser
The second team travelled to Windhill on what seemed a surprisingly humid day. Having had two of the previous three games abandoned due to this very English summer and a disappointing loss to Idle last Sunday, it was vital that we came away with a win. However, things didn’t start well as captain Liam Stanhope lost the toss and Congs were asked to bat on a soft green track.
Congs’ openers Imran Ahmed and Tom Huffingley started well in tricky conditions and the pair looked to be settling in but Tom was caught off the bowling of Daniel Bell. This brought Tom Elliot to the crease and although Ahmed was beginning to score more easily, Tom’s wicket fell again to the useful Bell. Ashley Slater strode out to meet Immy in the middle as they looked to build a partnership. However, Windhill’s Bell had other ideas as he captured both their wickets, now accounting for all the top four batsmen. Immy fell five short of his fifty with a hard-working 45 in tough conditions. And as Matthew Humpleby fell quickly, this left Callum Murgatroyd and Josh Purser at the crease with the score on 63 for 5 with 28 overs remaining. The pair took time to settle into the conditions but soon started to work the ball around the field picking up valuable ones and twos. The dangerous Bell had now been safely seen off by them finishing with 4 for 31 off his 15 overs. This was seen as an opportunity to now build a solid partnership and post a decent score. Although boundaries were hard to come by, good running and sensible cricket meant the scoreboard continued ticking. Murgatroyd also woke up some of the spectators with a big straight six back over the bowlers head. But it was back to the more boring cricket until Callum eventually fell. Windhill’s Drake getting his revenge for that six by bowling Murgy as he looked to push the score along. Callum playing a very hard-working and mature innings of 32 valuable runs. Great credit must go to Murgy for the part he played in the partnership which had now taken Congs to 133 for 6. With five overs remaining Wasim Bashir fell for a duck bringing Chris Doey into the game. As the balls went by the batters become more adventurous in their running, trying to reach a respectable score, resulting in the run out of Doey for a quick 8. Shaun Howe then joined Purser with the score on 146 for 8 as the pair looked for the 150 batting point and beyond. Purser eventually fell in the second to last over caught at mid-on trying to force the rate along. Josh scored an important and maybe surprising 41 in his innings leaving with the score on 161 for nine. Enter the skipper Liam who with Shaun pushed the score onto 170 before Stan was run out on the final ball of the innings. A ‘huge’ six from the captain the ball before had put the third batting point in sight but unfortunately Congs fell just short. A score of 170 however was very respectable in the conditions, especially considering it looked as though a score of less than 100 was likely at one stage.
Windhill began their innings against opening bowlers Shaun Howe and Chris Doey. With the overcast conditions and green pitch the pair were always going to be dangerous for the two batsmen. Both bowled tight lines moving the ball in the air and with the pitch also offering assistance scoring was difficult for Windhill. Soon enough the breakthrough came from Doey when he found the edge of Andrew Evans bat and Humpleby took a good low catch behind the stumps. Then the rain came as it has done so often this season and after a fairly long wait the captains agreed to end the game.
Congs will be disappointed with only taking the 7 points from the game when the game was there to be won but nothing can be done about the rain. The lads must now look to upcoming fixtures and make sure they get the required wins to propel the team up the league table as they push for promotion.
Pudsey Congs v Idle
At Britannia Ground
Sunday July 1st, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – N/A
Match report by Captain Liam Stanhope
Following the former Captain’s resignation, Liam Stanhope took over at the helm for this clash vs Idle. Winning the toss on a damp looking track, Stannerz elected to bowl first in the hope of making good use of the bowler-friendly conditions.
Dave Pearce (18) had other ideas however and hit two sixes and a four in his quickfire cameo at the top of the order before falling to a Chris Doey slower ball with the score on 19, only 13 balls into the game. The scoring soon slowed when Stannerz entered the attack in the 16th over and batsmen 1 & 3 were soon back in the pavilion. 52-3 became 72-4 as Congs sensed maximum bowling points. Yet, Tom Johnson (81) and Greg Wilkinson (26) put on 92 for the fifth wicket before Josh Purser returned to remove Johnson with the first ball of his second spell. Chris Doey took the next 4 wickets to return figures of 13-2-43-5 and Mushy Shah wrapped up the innings trapping James Massheder LBW. Idle 188 all out.
The experienced Dave Pearce kept the Congs scoring down to a minimum, and Callum Murgatroyd ultimately succumbed to the pressure attempting a run which was clearly not on to be ran out for 6. Pearce outfoxed the incoming Imran Ahmed second ball with his swing and movement off the seam and did the same to Keegan Moodley in his following over. Although good starts from Ash Slater (15), Mushy Shah (19) and Tom Elliott (20) got the score up to 100, nobody could capitalise and go onto make that big score as Johnson did in Idle’s innings. Spinner Shiraj Patel claimed 3 wickets before Dave Pearce returned to finish off the Congs 70 short of Idle’s total.
A hugely disappointing result and an even worse performance from the boys. Must improve if the Congs hope to gain promotion come September.
Pudsey Congs v Great Horton
At Britannia Ground
Saturday June 30th, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – Chadwick Lawrence
Match report by Liam Stanhope
After last weeks washout, Congs hoped to earn 20 points against Great Horton. With Imran Ahmed and Liam Stanhope on 1st team duty and Callum Oliver considering his cricketing future, Keegan Moodley took over the reins and on winning the toss elected to bowl first.
GH openers Mohammed Doud and Mohammed N Ashan got the score up to 41 before Chris Doey clean bowled Doud and Ahsan followed shortly after bowled Purser, caught Murgatroyd. After a 90 minute rain break, Purser picked up a second wicket caught behind. Then Mushtahsan Shah struck twice in the following over to leave GH 74-5 and then twice again in his final over to return figures of 15-5-35-4. Wasim Bashir took two more wickets before Shaun Howe was brought back into the attack to bowl Great Horton out for 109.
In reply, Callum Murgatroyd fell for 9 before the rain intervened for good with Congs on 31-1. 10 points for the Congs in this rain affected match.
Cleckheaton v Pudsey Congs
At Chain Bar, Moorend
Saturday June 9th, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – None
Match report by Liam Stanhope
As the Congs arrived at Moorend, it looked as though the weather would ruin todays encounter. However, due the efforts of Cleckheaton’s groundstaff and players, play commenced at 2pm with 40 overs per side.
Cleck’s hopes will have been boosted by the absence of Imran Ahmed from the Congs side, who earlier this season smashed a quick-fire Century in the Priestley Shield 1st Round match scoring 110no from 50 balls. However, those hopes were soon dashed as Captain Callum Oliver (87) and Ashley Slater (99no) helped the Congs post an impressive total of 216-4 from their 40 overs.
In reply Clecky began steadily scoring at around 4 an over before Josh Purser struck twice in the 6th over to remove opener Joe Bowman LBW and no 3 Craig Blackburn clean bowled. Josh picked up a third wicket when Shahid Rehman was caught by Tom Elliot at mid-wicket. Captain Callum Oliver was soon in on the act as well picking up 2 wickets. Yet, as the runs dried up and ended the match as a contest, Congs could only manage one more wicket as they failed to pick up maximum bowling points. Cleckheaton 139-6.
A useful 17 points for Congs, as the majority of teams around them failed to get a game in.
Pudsey Congs v Brighouse
At Britannia Ground
Monday June 4th, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – Nova Coin Automatic
Match report by Liam Stanhope
A clear mismatch in quality saw Congs demolish the 9 men of Brighouse inside 28 overs in an hour and 50 minutes. Josh Purser the destroyer, returned his best ever figures of 7 overs , 1 maiden, 19 runs, 7 wickets. And had Gareth Millthorpe 21no and Eric Charlesworth (1 from 32 balls) not kept the last wicket intact for 13 overs the game may well have been over in well under an hour. Charlesworth eventually fell LBW to Mushy Shah to leave Congs 48 to win.
Captain Callum Oliver and Keegan Moodley got the score up to 2 runs required before the skipper fell for 17 trying to finish the game off with a biggie. Callum Murgatroyd at 3 levelled the scores before Moodley (26no) ended Brighouse’s misery with a four to win the game. Congs 51-5 and the quickest 15 points I imagine the Bradford League has ever seen.
Undercliffe v Pudsey Congs
At Intake Road
Saturday June 2nd, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – None
Match report by Liam Stanhope
Today’s visit to Intake Road put a severe dent in the promotion hopes of this young Congs side looking to go one better than their 3rd spot finish last year. Captain Callum Oliver made a rare misjudgement of the pitch and conditions at the same ground where he made ultimately the wrong decision last season and ultimately the Congs were dismissed for 96 on seam-friendly pitch.
Inspite of a low score, Congs showed immense spirit in their defence. However, the experience of Phil Dixon brought UCC home as he scored a 114 ball 41no showing great patience. An asset which the young Congs batters simply did not seem to possess. Had Keegan Moodley held on to either of the two extremely difficult chances which Dixon presented him with, perhaps Congs would have taken the points back to their own Intake Road ground.
Pudsey Congs v Bankfoot
At Britannia Ground
Saturday May 26th, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – Nova Coin Automatic
Match report by Liam Stanhope
After disappointingly bowing out of the Priestley Shield against Keighley six days ago. The Congs bounced back in devastating fashion against Bankfoot.
Batting first, Congs posted 269-5. Courtesy of a first wicket stand of 159 between Callum Murgatroyd (40) and Keegan Moodley (110) before a mini collapse saw Congs fall to 174-4 with Murgatroyd, Captain Callum Oliver (1st ball), Moodley and Mushy Shah (6) all departing in quick succession. Fortunately Ashley Slater bludgeoned his way to 58 after a steady start (scoring 2 from 17 balls, the following 56 runs came in 21 balls). Tom Elliott also contributing a further 37 to take the Congs past maximum batting bonus points.
Although wickets failed to come regularly, Bankfoot’s reply was never going to get near 269. Yet, despite a mini breakthrough with the score on 77-3 when Humpleby had Atif Khokar stumped off the bowling of Mushy Shah and Liam Stanhope claiming 2 wickets in 2 balls in the following over to reduce Bankfoot to 77-6. Bankfoot rallied to 116 thanks largely to 24no from former Congs junior Hissan Ahmed. Before Shah struck 4 times in 4 balls in the 39th over to put the game to bed and earn the Congs 20 points.
Keighley v Pudsey Congs
Sovereign Healthcare Priestley Shield Second Round
At Hard Ings Road
Sunday May 20th, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – None
Match report by Callum Oliver
Cong’s Priestley Shield campaign came to an abrupt halt at Keighley. Missing Stanhope, Slater, Murgatroyd, Moodley and Purser, the boys who came in from the 3rd and 4th team would have to work hard to beat a decent Keighley side.
Initially the Cong’s efforts went well. Bowling first on a decent enough track, they bowled Keighley out for 148. Chris Doey took 2 early wickets and looked threatening with the new ball, however Allan Birkett and Richard Wood Steadied the Keighley ship as they added 70 for the 3rd wicket and Keighley looked dominant on 87 for 2. However the skip twins Shah and Bashir began to work their way through the Keighley Line up, Shah claiming three wickets as he turned the ball both ways and looked in total control, assisted by Bashir at the other end who was doing his usual trick of bowling a good line and length and waiting for batters to make the mistakes, and his efforts brought him 4 wickets. Keighley all out for 148, with 54 of them being extras – 41 wides showing how the introduction of leg side wides into the second team competition can completely change a team’s innings!
Congs however came up well short with the bat, all out for 95, Tom Huffinley added a calm 20 before he and the rest of the Congs line up succumbed to some excellent and controlled bowling from the Keighley boys. Dave Hall and Ashley Robinson claiming three wickets each as they sunk the Congs innings.
Out of the shield, however we now focus on the league and hopefully it will give us the focus we need to gain promotion.
Bradford & Bingley v Pudsey Congs
At Wagon Lane
Saturday May 19th, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – N/A
Bradford & Bingley 90 (31.3 overs) (Mushy Shah 3-22)
Pudsey Congs 94-3 (20.2 overs) (Imran Ahmed 50)
Pudsey Congs 15pts bt Bradford & Bingley 1pt by 7wkts
Match report by Liam Stanhope
Looking to bounce back after last weeks below par performance at Saltaire, Congs 2’s visited fellow title contenders and early pace setters Bradford & Bingley. Overnight rain had managed to penetrate the covers, therefore play started at 14.30 with 35 overs per side. As is usually the case on these wet early season wickets, the toss was an important one to win (no pressure then for stand-in skip’ Stannerz!!!). Heads the call, heads the result, “We’ll have a bowl” the reply.
With Doey and Howe opening up, the B’s batsmen struggled against the pace and movement and Howe got the breakthrough, clean bowling Allitt with the score on 7. Newly promoted wicketkeeper Humpleby then snaffled two fantastic catches behind the sticks to reduce the B’s to 17-3, before Ahmed was introduced into the attack due to Doey injuring his back. Ahmed struck immediately, grabbing the wicket of the potentially dangerous Swallow, caught Cockin at mid-off. Enter McCarthy, striking the ball straight and powerful he looked like the man who could rescue the innings. Skipper Stanhope then introduced spin-twins Bashir and Shah into the attack, a decision which paid dividends with Bashir removing Keeton for 14 after a partnership of 31 and then Shah, first bamboozled McCarthy with his unpickable wrong ‘un and then had him caught at mid-wicket off Goodchild the following ball (70-6). The Congs sniffed 5 bowling points and with Bashir picking up another wicket and Shah another two, Stanhope brought himself on to wrap up the innings as the tail-wagged slightly. Bradford and Bingley 90 all out.
With 4 of the top 5 missing, Stanhope and Huffinley opened the innings for Congs. After a promising start (dispatching a rare full toss from BCL legend Richard McCarthy) the stand in skip/opening batsmen fell to Macca, caught at short-leg. Huffinley soon followed with no further score to leave the Congs innings tetering on 8-2. You could sense B&B felt 90 might be enough, yet in-form man Imran Ahmed had other ideas. Ably supported by Shah at the other end, Ahmed batted patiently (by his standards), punishing anything too short or too full and made his half century from 40 balls. With 5 to win Immy tried to finish the game in style, yet failed to make contact whilst charging ul-Hassan and was stumped by Allitt. Elliott replaced him at the crease and after Shah added 3 more to the total, he put one over the rope to end the game how Ahmed had intended
Overall, a much improved performance from last week, Earning the Congs a valuable 15 points.
Saltaire v Pudsey Congs
At Roberts Park
Saturday May 12th, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – N/A
Pudsey Congs 87, *Saltaire 88-2
Saltaire 15pts bt Pudsey Congs 1pt by 8wkts
Match report by Callum Oliver
After a week of poor weather and heavy rain, the Congs boys were glad to see the sun shine as they arrived at Roberts park. The pitch however was damp and green, and after losing the toss and being asked to bat first, the game was pretty much decided in retrospect.
The ball moved all over the place early on and the Congs line up was pretty much demolished by some fine bowling from Govinder Bagota and young leg spinner Abbas Ahmed who took 4 and 3 wickets respectively. Congs were skittled for just 87, with only the skipper with a dogged and ugly 40 and Doey with a rapid fire 10, managing to reach double figures. However with the sun still shining the boys were hopeful of salvaging some bowling points after their unsuccessful efforts with the bat.
After tea however it became quickly obvious that the pitch was completely different to when the Saltaire bowlers had been on it. Some sideways movement off the pitch still occurred early on with the new ball however and Shaun was successful in claiming Javed Iqbal LBW for a duck! The ever dependent Khalid Rehman took the spark out of the Congs attack though, as he led the way with a solid 49 not out from the other end. Despite taking a wicket himself, the skipper saw 4 catches go down and some generally poor fielding didn’t help the Congs efforts as Saltaire reached their total with only 2 wickets down.
A disappointing game, which in effect was lost by a combination of the toss and some average fielding from the boys, however taking positives from the game, we still salvaged a point, and none of the top order were undone by their own doing, as they all put up a spirited effort on a difficult pitch.
Pudsey Congs v Cleckheaton
Sovereign Healthcare Priestley Shield First Round
At Britannia Ground
Sunday May 6th, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – Cliff Bales
Cleckheaton 125 all out (Craig Blackburn 66, Mushy Shah 4-22)
Pudsey Congs 126-2 ( Imran Ahmed 112no)
Pudsey Congs won by 8wkts
Match report by Captain Callum Oliver
Sunday brought the return of the Priestley Shield competition, and after reaching the semi-finals this year, Congs have their eyes set on another lengthy cup run, starting at home against Cleckheaton.
Playing on a used track, Congs again opted to bowl first and initially it didn’t look like such a smart idea. Cleckheaton’s openers Craig Blackburn and skipper Chris Dobson had few issues against new ball duo Doey and Howe, as they took their partnership past 50 and both looked set for big runs. However the spin twins Wasim Bashir and new boy Mushy Shah grabbed the game and literally turned it in Congs favour. Bashir with ever improving accuracy and variations of pace worked well alongside Mushy, as they worked their way through the Cleckheaton line up who struggled with no pace on the ball to work with. Only Blackburn persevered against the spinners, taking most of his 66 from Bashir, but aside from him the spin twins did the job for Congs, Shah taking 4 for 22 off his 10 overs and Wasim playing the supporting role with 45 for 2 at the other end. Congs sharp fielding in the ring brought about 2 run outs before Keegan Moodley’s part time off spin brought the innings to a close as he snaffled 2 for 5 as Cleckheaton slumped to 125 all out.
The Congs chase after team however started indifferently, Mushy Shah played on first ball and Keegan was caught for 8 meaning skipper Oliver and Immy Ahmed were left to score the remainder of the runs. However the skipper did very little except watch the ball fly around the Brit all afternoon, as Ahmed decided that he wanted to be off early to watch Countryfile. Blasting the Cleckheaton attack round the ground, reaching his 50 in 33 balls then taking only 11 balls to reach his hundred, He took a particular liking to the young left armer Blezzard who was unfortunate to come up against Imran in a hurry.
I believe the conversation before his third over had been:
Callum: “right mate just take your time and wait for it, no need to rush just put the bad ball away”
Imran then went on to smash his first 5 balls out of the park, and slapped the last one through midwicket for 4 (to many lighthearted boos from the spectators). An excellent display of hitting from Ahmed meaning Congs chased their total down after only 14.1 overs.
Job done, the next round is away at Keighley.
Pudsey Congs v Manningham Mills
At Britannia Ground
Saturday May 5th, 2012
Match Ball Sponsor – Eric Thompson
Manningham Mills 85 all out (32.1 overs) (Hashim Khan 32. Liam Stanhope 4-19)
Pudsey Congs 88-2 (20.5 overs) (Keegan Moodley 48)
Pudsey Congs 15pts bt Manningham Mills 1pt by 8wkts
Match report by Captain Callum Oliver
The second team hit the ground running this season by avenging the defeat that cost them promotion last year at home against Manningham Mills. Mills were put in on a slow and low track and only 2 of their batters got into double figures as they lacked the patience and application required to play on a damp track.
Debutant Shaun Howe bowled with good pace and combined well with Chris Doey to get a wicket apiece early on. Josh Purser then bowled excellent channels taking 2 for 23 from his seven overs, whilst Liam Stanhope, who was doing his usual trick against Mills at the other end, taking 4 for 19 off his 10 overs and effectively breaking the back of the Mills innings. The skipper came on taking 2 for 9 to finish off the Mills innings, only Hashim Khan (32) and Hasseb Rehman (27) showed any form of application as they ended up 95 all out.
The Congs innings started with new opening duo Callum Murgatroyd and Keegan Moodley playing some excellent strokes as they both worked the ball well. Moodley played with power and style, punching the bowlers straight with his ever improving ‘mood-scoop’ (™Keegan Moodley) before he fell for a well crafted 48 to one that kept very very low. Murgatroyd worked the ball well for his 26, displaying finesse and at times power, before he departed to leave the skipper (1*) and Immy (4*) to finish the task.
One game = one win…..bring on the shield!