2014 Second XI
Final League Position = 5th, 224 Points
Bradford & Bingley v Pudsey Congs
at Wagon Lane
Saturday August 16th, 2014
Match Report by Chris Doey
On a day that can only be described as slightly blowy, the 2XI made the somewhat longer than normal journey to B&B. With the disappointment of the Keighley game still fresh in the heads of the lads, they knew a job had to be done this week to right the wrongs of the previous week. The toss was won by B&B and they elected to bat on what looked to be a dry wicket despite the amount of rain from the last couple of days.
The lads took to the field wrapped up with aim number 1 to win the game convincingly and aim number 2, to keep warm on a day when it felt like winter had hit early. Shaun Howe opened the bowling with the wind and bowled quick, hitting the seam and making the batsmen play. The unfortunate Harris Mohammed opened from the other side into the wind and although he didn’t bowl as quick his lines were impeccable and really tied the openers down. The hard hitting McCarthy was playing his normal game hitting the ball hard, but he could only really find the fielder until he dragged on from outside off stump off Howser. At this point fellow opener and ex Congs player Warren Allitt was struggling to get the ball away full stop. The bowling was tight and stayed this way until Harris decided to give B&B a few runs in his last over. Take nothing away from either opener, both did a superb job in difficult conditions, especially Harris bowling into the wind who only went for 19, 13 of which were in his last over. The change of bowling saw Qasim and Paddy come into the game. They carried on the disciplined bowling and made steady breakthroughs, most noticeably the removal of Warren for 22 after he was made to play to try and score some runs. After this B&B played the long game and scored slowly, the pitch showing that it wasn’t as nice to bat on as first thought. Enter, the part time bowler C. Doey and spin king Zahid Mahmood. After a few loose overs, Chris found his feet and got the ball swinging taking the wicket of B&B number 4 and 6 whilst Zahid never really found his momentum and was expensive for his wicket. At this point Linnerz changed the bowling again for the last 10 overs and allowed Howser and Paddy to come back on and get into the tail. And get into the tail they did. They cleaned up the rest of B&B for a score of 136 off 50 overs. It was good to see the lads bounce back in the field with strong and disciplined bowling and fielding.
Onto the batting, a problem area for the lads this season especially with the strength we have got in individual players. Again some immaturity/lack of experience showed with Qasim and Arbaab falling early. The return of Ashley Slater was entertaining but short lived as he hit his way to 21 before being caught behind. Throughout all of this JLD was nurdling singles with his pads and trying to use his bat as little as possible, scoring 5 from around 17 overs before he managed to score further runs with the bat. This didn’t last much longer as he fell to the same fate as Ash for 16. The new partnership was Tom Elliott and Zulfi and looked to be moving the score along nicely until Zulfi hauled out quickly followed by a poor shot from Zahid which left the Congs six down needing 35. Doey came in and after hitting the first ball for 4 was bamboozled by the 2nd ball luckily too good to even hit the wickets the ball went for 4. The last noticeable moment of the game came from Tom Elliott when he hit a fairly large 6 off a short ball nearly clearing the car park.
Although the game was won, we dropped to 4th in the league due to Woodlands picking up more points than us. Again questions marks are raised about the loss of 6 wickets chasing down a measly score of 136, but the most important aspect is that the game was won and that is what is needed now until the end of the season.
Well done guys, let’s take it to the damp and gloomy Yeadon next week.
Pudsey Congs v Morley
At the Britannia Ground
Saturday July 12th, 2014
Match Report by Chris Doey
With the sun beaming down and plenty of talent in the team you would expect 250 runs to be scored on a fresh wicket at the Brit. Well, the arrival of third place Morley on Saturday proved this is not always the case. Doey took the reins from a so far very successful JLD on possibly the biggest game of the season to date. With JLD otherwise engaged ensuring the females of Ibiza all have nice teeth and Qasim promoted to play for the first team, the batting looked slightly depleted. This was solidified when the small but faithful following saw Doey and Zahid walking to the middle after Congs won the toss and elected to bat. With stern words still ringing in the ears of the players from the pre match talk the start looked good until Zahid didn’t follow through with his shot and chipped a low shot which was well held by mid on. At this point Doey was joined by Arbaab who realised that he was there to do a job with a tremendous amount of pressure on his young shoulders. From this point until the 25th over Doey and Arbaab looked solid, running very well to the field and piercing the bad ball through the field for 4. The ball after Doey reached his 50 he was bowled playing a lazy shot to a ball a little straighter than he first realised. This brought Mani to the crease looking to show a change in his previous form with the bat. Arbaab fell not too long later again bowled which left Congs with two new batters at the crease in the form of Mani and Chippers, both low on confidence but destructive players when it comes off. It didn’t come off. Mani fell, Chippers fell, and so did the rest of the Congs tail apart from some late resistance from Paddy and Stan who added about 30 runs in a quick fire 5 overs. Finishing all out for 167 after being 99/2 is nothing more than infuriating and again a lack of respect for the bowling and playing the wrong shots at the wrong time of the game proved costly to the Congs line up.
After the heroics of the bowlers at Baildon the previous week and the strong unit they have been all season it was still in the heads of each player in the changing room that the game could be won. All that was needed was tight bowling and some confident fielding. Howser started very well and looked strong throughout his first spell, unfortunately the openers somewhat got after Stan at the other end and left the score looking as though it favoured Morley. Quick bowling changes were the plan of action, dont allow the batters to settle and keep things moving. This brought Paddy and Zahid on to bowl who got a wicket a piece and really changed the game. After the new batters started to get on top of the bowling attack Doey brought on Jamie Allen and Harris Potter who both got a wicket in their first over and completely changed the game once again with Morley needing 91 runs to win with 6 wickets remaining. Against our bowling attack we were more than confident. That was until Richard Winn took the attack to the bowlers with some of the cleanest hitting that the division has seen, blazing his way to 50 in 58 balls before getting caught by Arbaab off the Bowling of Patrick. At this point the game was massively in the hands of Morley and with only 11 runs needed to win the only way to play the game now was to pick up bonus points and reduce the damage caused by the loss. No more wickets were lost and Congs lost their first league game in the JLD era (despite him not being there).
Ultimately we were 60/70 runs short of making a good game of it but at least 100 runs of a score that should have been achieved on that wicket with the talent that is in the changing room. Whether we were two batters short or not we did not show any passion with the bat and once again it seemed the middle order were looking to with the game in 10 balls rather than playing the long game. The team as a whole must start producing more professional performances, drawing out inning which will bring runs and in turn confidence. Win lose or draw the team will work hard to overcome the areas of weakness and hopefully it is done quick before the New Farnley game at home next week.
Baildon v Pudsey Congs
at Jenny Lane
Saturday July 5th, 2014
Match Report by Chris Doey
Congs travelled to Jenny Lane to play a somewhat weakened Baildon side compared to years gone by. After a very early arrival, due to the skipper worrying about the Tour de France traffic, the lads looked at a very grassy wicket in shock. Never the less the toss took place, Baildon won and elected to field as they only had 9 eligible players. The kind hearted nature of the Congs skipper allowed them to field 2 club members as fielders to fill the gaps.
Going out to bat, Dave and JLD looked comfortable at the crease despite the varied bounce and some tight bowling from one end. The first wicket fell when JLD played with soft hands and the ball dropped to his feet and spun back onto his wickets after looking good for his 15. Qasim ‘David’ Khan carried on his good form making his way to 55 before departing to another ball that should have been found at the bottom of Baildon hill. During his 55, Dave saw many partners fall and no real resistance was offered from any other Congs batsmen leaving the score on 111 and some fired up players in the away changing room. Special mention to Q. Khan who made 55, JLD who made 15 and E. Xtras who 3rd top scored with 11.
Out came 11 men after tea who were looking to avenge a poor batting display with some tight fielding and solid bowling. Just as the doctor ordered The Guns of Howser and Harris Potter opened the bowling with some sublime pace and accurate bowling which was just too much for Baildon’s top order. The score at 8/3 looked like it favoured Congs, with Harris taking 2 wickets, caught at point and square leg and Howser clean bowling the opening batsmen only 3rd ball of the game, beaten by sheer pace and movement. Some stiff resistance by Baildon’s number 2 and 5 meant that Congs had to wait and play patiently until the next breakthrough which came with Paddy Power bowling his straight and full doozies, which had Baildons number 2 stuck infront of middle stump and out LBW. After this wickets fell in regular intervals to Qasim and Adam who finished off the game, Baildon all out for 56.
A special mention needs to be made to Qasim for another good innings and also to Adam (5.2/3/8/4), Shaun (6/3/14/1), Harris (5/0/14/2), Qasim (2/1/4/1) and Zahid (3/0/14/0) who all bowled extremely well and took the game to Baildon. Furthermore after a week of fielding practice, it was nice to see some strong fielding and each players wanting to play for the badge and everyone else wearing a Congs shirt on the field.
Take it into next week’s big game against Morley lads.
Pudsey Congs v Farsley
At the Britannia Ground
Saturday June 21st, 2014
Match Report by James Lindley-Dawe
Farsley won the toss and elected to bat first.
The wicket was hard from a weeks worth of sun but with a bit of grass on it.
Congs opened the bowling with the aggressive pace and bounce of S.Howe and the spin of Z.Mahmood. Zahid made the breakthrough getting one of the openers stumped when the Farsley batter lifted his back foot after pushing at a full ball. Shaun then cleaned up Farsley’s #3 with a nasty inswinging ‘yorker’ with the score 1 for 2. A double bowling change of M.Rafique and A.Patrick continued to add pressure and caused the calling through of a suicidal single. A.Hussain did the rest with a brilliant direct hit from mid wicket. Adam picked up a couple of wickets with his usual accurate bowling and Mustafa got the other Farsley opener bowled with a beauty just as he was starting to look dangerous with the score on 63 for 6.
Farsley started to throw the bat and a mixture of some good hitting and streaky edges pushed the score past the hundred mark. S.Howe returned with some tight bowling and Q.Khan mopped up the tail from the other end.
Farsley 116 all out (38 overs)
Bowling Figures: S.Howe 1-31, Z.Mahmood 1-14, M.Rafique 1-21, A.Patrick 3-27, Q.Khan 3-18.
Congs openers Q.Khan and J.Lindley-Dawe got off to a great start smashing the Farsley openers around the ground. The partnership of 75 which included several 6’s was eventually broken by a late inswinger trapping Qasim LBW for 26. A.Hussain strode to the wicket and carried on in the same vane leaving the Farsley bowlers visibly demoralised. Arbaab was dismissed snicking off to a wide ball for 22 bringing M.Amin to the crease for his batting debut. Unfortunately it was short lived getting out first ball to an LBW decision that looked a bit leg sideish from the non-strikers end. J.Lindley-Dawe fell to a good inswinging yorker for 55 which contained five 6s with Congs still requiring 8 runs to win. M.Rafique and I.Ahmed steadied the ship and bludgeoned the remaining runs off within 18 overs.
Congs 118 for 4 (17.4 overs)
Pudsey Congs (15) beat Farsley (2) by 6 wickets.
A great win for Congs bringing the league winning streak to 5. Next game is away to East Bierley.
Pudsey Congs v Hanging Heaton
Sovereign Healthcare Priestley Shield 1/4 Final
At the Britannia Ground
Sunday June 15th, 2014
Match Report by James Lindley-Dawe
Congs lost the toss and fielded first.
The wicket was wet and green and sawdust a plenty was required.
S.Howe and C.Doey bowled brilliantly restricting Hanging Heaton to 13 for 1 off the first 10 overs. Shaun bowled his 10 overs straight through picking up the wickets of both openers. Q.Khan and A.Patrick came on first change and continued with the accurate bowling and were backed up by some amazing fielding, but HH batters ground it out and put on 65 for the 3rd wicket partnership. Z.Mahmood on his bowling debut for the 2s put the batters under great pressure turning it both ways and picked up 2 wickets in his ten overs. M.Inwood the HH captain batted very well and ended up with 70 before getting out LBW to Q.Khan. They reached the total of 161 for 9.
Bowling figures: S.Howe 2-22, C.Doey 0-16, A.Patrick 2-22, Q.Khan 3-33, Z.Mahmood 2-37, H.Mohammad 0-25.
After tea Congs got off to a brilliant start with Q.Khan showing his class and J.Lindley-Dawe enjoying the banter from the HH opening bowler. James fell for 19 feathering a good ball through to the keeper. Qasim (18) went the over after mistiming a drive. A.Slater and M.Zulfi were out soon after for 0 & 1 respectedly. Congs collapsed from 40 for 0 to 41 for 4.
A.Hussain (16) showed some defiance before holing out to a half tracker to the only man in the deep. Congs’ tail were quickly wrapped up in 32 overs for a dismal 79.
Very disappointing to lose in the way we did but the better, more experienced side won on the day. Fantastic in the field and with the ball, very below standard with the bat. The defeat will make us hungrier to win next week in the home fixture against Farsley as we focus on continuing our fantastic run in the league.
Lightcliffe v Pudsey Congs
Wakefield Rd
Saturday June 14th, 2014
Match Report by James Lindley-Dawe
Congs won the toss and elected to bat
The wicket was hard but with a bit of grass on. J. Lindley-Dawe punished a poor first over from the Lightcliffe opener with 13 runs coming off it but then played a very poor shot in the 3rd getting bowled for 10. Q. Khan and A.Hussain batted very patiently and pushed the score past 50 before Qasim was bowled for 17 and then Arbaab followed soon after for 26. Congs were 62 for 3 at drinks.
A.Slater and I.Ahmed then started to get on top of the 2nd change bowlers with several balls going over the ropes into the farmers field! Imran was caught at backward point for a well made 36. Zulfi (10) batted with good aggression before getting caught. Ashley was manipulating the strike very well but unfortunately wickets were tumbling at the opposite end at a regular pace. He was eventually bowled for 62. Congs were all out for 180 in 43 overs.
In reply Lightcliffe openers started patiently with C.Doey and S.Howe bowling in the right areas. 10 overs down the skipper turned to spin and threw the ball to I.Ahmed. Immy immediately made the break through getting one of their openers out stumped. He also got the other opener out bowled with a juicy full toss that the batter missed! At the score 46 for 2 Congs started piling the pressure on the Lightcliffe batters with accurate bowling from A.Patrick and Q.Khan both picking up wickets. I.Towers started to get on top of Immy’s bowling so H.Mohammad was handed the ball and he bowled him with a lovely Yorker for 47. Congs were clinical against the tail and dismissed Lightcliffe for 150.
Bowling figures: S.Howe 1-22, C.Doey 0-14, I.Ahmed 2-39, A.Patrick 3-31, Q.Khan 2-17, H.Mohammad 2-13.
Pudsey Congs (18) 180 all out beat Lightcliffe (7) 150 all out by 30 runs.
Congs stay 2nd in the league 4 points behind New Farnley.
Pudsey Congs v Bradford & Bingley
At the Britannia Ground
Saturday May 31st, 2014
Match Report by James Lindley-Dawe
Congs lost the toss and were inserted.
A week full of rain had left the wicket slightly damp and soft and the B&B bowlers were putting it in the right areas. Openers J.Lindley-Dawe and Q.Khan were watchful against a ball which was both swinging and seaming but still managing to punish the bad ball and pick up runs. Qasim fell LBW to a late inswinger for 16 with the score on 54. A.Hussain joined the captain at the crease and together they batted through till drinks with the score on 105 for 1.
J.Lindley-Dawe (54) snicked off in the over after drinks against some accurate spin bowling from R.Norris. A.Hussain and A.Slater both batted well and played some gorgeous shots but both fell in the 30’s getting themselves out. M.Zulfi (25) and M.Rafique (23) were aggressive and dangerous sending the B&B bowlers back over their heads but fell trying to push the score on towards the end of the innings.
Congs’ innings stuttered and stalled in the final overs collapsing from 207 for 4 to 209 all out in 48 overs due to some reckless shots. Special mention to former PCCC player W. Allitt for a splendid diving one handed catch to dismiss C.Doey. A very good batting display from the Congs top order but disappointing not to have picked up maximum batting points.
After tea, Congs openers S.Howe and M.Rafique bowled with venom and fury reducing B&B to 6 for 3, a great example of swing and seam bowling. Wickets continued to fall and with some very accurate and economical bowling from A.Patrick and Q.Khan, B&B edged to 43 for 5. H. Mohammad came on and bowled well taking 2 wickets in consecutive balls leaving B&B 86 for 7. B&B’s tail batted well against a ball that had stopped swinging and wickets were harder to come by. C.Doey made the breakthrough for the 8th wicket bowling H.Iqbal for a well made 36. R.Norris came out and played some aggressive shots and raced onto 41 before skying one to A.Patrick at mid-on off the bowling of M. Rafique. S.Howe wrapped up the innings with B&B managing a total of 139.
Bowling figures: S.Howe 3-44, M.Rafique 3-17, A.Patrick 1-20, H.Mohammad 2-14, C.Doey 1-25, Q.Khan 0-13 (off 7 overs)
Pudsey Congs (19) 209 all out beat Bradford & Bingley (6) 139 all out by 70 runs.
The victory puts Congs 2nd in the league only 3 points behind New Farnley after NF got penalised 10 points for fielding an ineligible player. 4 wins in 4, lets hope we can make that 5 in 5 in our next match at home to Yeadon.
Keighley v Pudsey Congs
Lawkholme Lane
Monday May 26th, 2014
Match report by James Lindley-Dawe
Congs won the toss and elected to field.
On a slow damp wicket it was a very good toss to win as the Keighley openers struggled to score against some aggressive and challenging bowling from S. Howe and A. Patrick. Eventually the breakthrough came with 51 on the board and then wickets started to fall quite regularly. Q. Khan bowled his 7 overs with his usual accuracy gaining wickets in the process. A special mention to J. Allen playing his first game for the 2s. Jamie bowled brilliantly and was rewarded with the wicket of their opening batter. H. Mohammed struggled with his length early on but once he found his rhythm, the Keighley batters found him troublesome. Harris pulled off a sharp catch off his own bowling. Shaun and Qasim came back on to mop up the tail eventually bowling Keighley out in 49 overs for 117. Congs fielded well holding ever catch that came.
Bowling Figures: Q.Khan 5-19, H. Mohammed 2-11, S. Howe 2-32, J. Allen 1-11, A. Patrick 0-35 (off 15 overs)
Congs openers J. Lindley-Dawe and Q. Khan knew that if they matched last weeks performances the game would be won. We got off to a good start with free flowing shots moving the scoreboard along. Qasim (16) and James (23) then both went quickly to similar balls that held up in the two-paced wicket. A. Hussain (12) was looking good but unfortunately snicked off down the leg side to a good take by the Keighley keeper. D. Clifton (10) and I. Ahmed (15) looked to play their shots and score runs but both holed out in the deep. Runs continued to come for Congs but worryingly, so did the wickets. Good resistance was given by J. Allen (10), H. Mohammed and a hobbling S. Howe. Keighley’s frustration was clear for all to see when their wicketkeeper (after missing a stumping) decided to boot a stump halfway down the track, then pick it up and throw it down again. The umpires had a quiet word.
Congs managed to knock the runs off 9 down with a lovely pull for 4 from Shaun that was greeted with glee from the dressing room. A very hard fought victory for the Congs and a well earned 15 points which leaves us joint 4th in the league.
3 wins on the trot now and the momentum is with us for our next game at home against Bradford and Bingley on Saturday.
Great Horton v Pudsey Congs
Sovereign Healthcare Priestley Shield Second Round
At Ewart Street
Sunday May 18th, 2013
Following the triumph of Saturday versus Woodlands, Congs felt confident in traveling to Ewart Street to face Great Horton.
Great Horton won the toss & elected to bat.
With the sun shining and a hard wicket, Congs knew that a hard graft was going to be required in the field for the first half. C. Doey and S. Howe bowled well but the batters were getting the rub of the green finding the gaps with expansive drives and Great Horton rattled onto 57 after 10 overs. Enter A. Patrick and Q. Khan. Through some superb accurate wicket to wicket bowling and tight fielding, the pressure proved too much for the Great Horton batsman and they collapsed to 94 all out with Adam taking the last three wickets in a hatrick!
Bowling figures: A. Patrick: 6 for 13 (inc. hatrick), Q. Khan 4 for 9.
Congs openers Captain J. Lindley-Dawe and Q. Khan strolled to the wicket knowing that replicating yesterday’s opening stand would win us the game. Both batters were watchful to begin with but soon began to get on top of the bowling punishing the bad balls. Congs knocked off the runs without losing a wicket in 17 overs.
Q. Khan 37* and J. Lindley-Dawe 55*
A fantastic weekend of cricket for the 2’s and the momentum will be brought into the next games for the double weekend at Hanging Heaton and Keighley.
Pudsey Congs v Woodlands
At the Britannia Ground
Saturday May 17th, 2014
Match Report by Ralph Middlebrook
New Captain James Lindley Dawe inspired his team to a stunning victory against League leaders, Woodlands. On a hard flat pitch, with a little more grass on than usual, Congs bowlers bowled beautifully. Accurate, quick,and penetrative. Early wickets set the benchmark and the introduction of Khan and Patrick saw wickets fall to deliveries on a perfect length with movement of the pitch which would have troubled much higher grade batters. Doey and Howe returned to wrap up a 43 run partnership for the eighth wicket and with good backup in the field Woodlands were always battling. Harris Mohamed claimed a run out with a direct hit from mid wicket being the highlight.
With 132 required could the fragile batting line up secure the victory?
The Captain and his opening partner Qasim Khan were composed, clinical and careful as they built a stand that took the Congs to cusp of victory with elegant shots, fiercely hit boundaries and speedy running. Qasim was calm, JLD was calm and powerful Arbaab was careful as their opponents score was passed with ease.
A truly magnificent performance by any stretch of the imagination, really well done, a joy to watch.
New Farnley v Pudsey Congs
At the Barry Jackson Ground
Saturday May 10th, 2014
Match Report by James Lindley-Dawe
After a wet week, play looked unlikely on Saturday morning, however with a well draining pitch play managed to get started at 2.00pm with a reduction of overs to 43 a side. Lindley-Dawe in his first game as captain won the toss and elected to field. Congs opened with Q. Khan and A. Patrick and through accurate testing bowling the wickets started to fall. H. Mohammad came on first change and bowled magically. After getting New Farnley nine down, a light rain shower came and the umpires decided to take an early tea. Once play resumed it took S. Howe three balls to remove the final batter with a final total of 56.
Some fantastic bowling figures: Q. Khan 2 for 19, A. Patrick 2 for 24, H. Mohammad 4 for 8.
Unfortunately for Congs the rain then came and no further play was able to occur.
A fantastic performance from the bowlers gave Congs a total of 8 points and with the majority of games not being played, has allowed us to catch up to the teams above us.
Pudsey Congs v East Bierley
At the Britannia Ground
Saturday May 3rd, 2014
Match Report by James Lindley-Dawe
Congs won the toss & elected to bat.
After a disappointing start where Congs were 31 for 3, a fifty run partnership between Zulfi and Arbaab got the innings back on track. M. Zulfi went for 20 and A. Hussain batted on, just to fall 3 runs short of his half century on 47. The tail battled well to eventually give a total of 154 all out.
Congs knew that early wickets would be vital in stopping Bierley from chasing down a below par total. Unfortunately wickets weren’t easy to come by and through good batting they knocked off the total 4 wickets down. A brace of late wickets from A. Slater gaining Congs an extra point that may prove vital come the end of the season.
Crowther Cup
Wrenthorpe v Pudsey Congs
At Bradford Road, Wakefield
Sunday April 20th, 2014
Match Report by Imran Ahmed
Congs arrived at Bradford Road, Wakefield on the back of a poor performance with a positive attitude to put things right. Ashley Slater rejoined the team for this fixture and young Harris Mohammed following his first team experience to remember the previous day. Captain Ahmed back to usual form lost the toss and Wrenthorpe elected to bat first. Opening bowling partnership of Stanners and Shaun Howe continues from the previous day bowling consistently good areas troubling the opening partnership of Wrenthorpe. A drop catch gave opening batmen a second life that didn’t last long when he was removed by Stanhope. Stanhope bowled out his 10 overs picking up 2 wickets. Harris Mohammed on second team debut bowled a very good 7 over spell. Despite not picking up any wickets, he bowled some unplayable deliveries and held an end while Adam Patrick picked up 3-19 at the other end in his impressive 10 over spell showing great control. Newly promoted Qasim “David” Khan showed his all rounder abilities as he bowled an impressive 7 over spell picking up 4 wickets with figures of 4-15. Captain Ahmed brought himself on to replace Patrick after his superb spell of bowling, and finished the innings cleaning up the batsmen seeing Wrenthorpe finish on 97 all out. A much better fielding performance still with room for improvement. But a superb bowling performance from all bowlers, who bowled great areas and constantly built pressure on the Wrenthorpe batsmen. Previous seasons top run scorers Slater and Clifton opened up for Congs. They got Congs off to a good start, scoring easily and at a good rate.Clifton launched the opening bowler out of the ground but fell shortly after. He was replaced by Arbaab Hussain who saw Slater get bowled and the Captain joined Arbaab at the crease. Young Arbaab continued to look solid on his previous days performance, and the captain also looked in good form despite a stinker decision the day before. Both batsmen scored freely punishing poor deliveries and ran well between the wicket. The pair saw Congs over the line with Arbaab finishing the innings with a very clean hit 6 to the longest boundary. A much better performance from Congs with the bat, and improved fielding performance. The bowling unit was impressive and bowled superb. Still room for improvement but a much better team performance which gives the young side confidence heading into next weeks league fixture against Baildon at the Brit.
Morley v Pudsey Congs
At Scatchard Lane
Saturday April 19th, 2014
Match Report by Imran Ahmed
The Seconds first game in the new season saw them face league champions Morley, in what proposed to be a tough fixture to start their division 1 campaign. Congs won the toss and elected to bat on what looked a decent pitch for start of the season. What followed the toss, was not anticipated or expected. Reckless batting, a poor decision with Morley lads showing what a set of “top” blokes they are, lead Congs to be 4 down within 5 overs. Dan Clifton looked good until he top edged one to third man, and young Arbaab Hussain solid until he got a good delivery from the experienced Richard Winn. Congs embarrassingly finished on 77 all out, not even making it to drinks. A terrible start to the season, and embarrassing first half to the game. Having skittle’d the league champions for less than 77 the previous year, the game was not over but a lot was to be asked of the bowling unit in the second half. Shaun Howe and Liam Stanhope bowled with a serious degree of control keeping the opening batters honest. Stanhope got the breakthrough and S.Howe followed it up. The opening bowling partnership of Stanhope and Howe continued to trouble the Morley batsmen, as Stanhope removed the dangerous Richard Winn with a tidy take from JLD. Unfortunately the game was already gone from Congs and Morley chased the score 4 down. Howe and Stanners both claiming two wickets a piece. Morley opener George Robson somehow finishing on a far from convincing 40*. Had the fielding being up to scratch with drop catches, things may have been a bit closer. An embarrassing batting. Poor fielding performance. First game or not, Congs must improve and perform to their potential to compete in this division. Positives from this were the bowling performance was outstanding trying to defend a nothing score. Also despite getting out for 22 receiving a good delivery, young Arbaab Hussain was looking solid, and will be one to watch this year.
Watch this space. Congs start again tomorrow in the Crowther cup fixture against Wrenthorpe.