2014 Third XI
Farnley Hill v Pudsey Congs
at Greyhound Pub, Tong Village
Saturday September 13th, 2014
Match report by Macauley Gaunt
After last week’s game was abandoned due to rain, Congs travelled to the Greyhound knowing that they had to win 1 of their last 2 games to stay in Division A. Team news saw us massively strengthened by the inclusion of Liam Stanhope, who would offer us quality in all departments.
Farnley Hill batted first and opener T.Leighton got them off to a perfect start with a slop sweep for 6 off the first ball of the innings. However, his time at the crease didn’t last long as L.Stanhope got him in the next over, which was brilliantly caught by Jq.Allen. Apart from that, neither Stannerz nor Ahtsham got any more wickets in their opening spells (although both bowlers didn’t go for many runs considering the small boundaries they had to deal with). Captain Malpass brought on M.Ferguson to bowl which proved to pay off as he removed other opener T.Breakwell.
This brought J.Walker to the crease, who looked to up the run rate with a flurry of boundaries. At the other end, M.Ferguson continued to bowl well and he took the wicket of M.Watson, who was set on 25. Jq.Allen came on to bowl but J.Walker continued to make use of the short straight boundaries and hit Allen down the ground for a couple of 6s. However, Jq.Allen did get a wicket – he got G.Mattison bowled for 24. The dangerous G.Beaumant was in next; he and J.Walker continued the flow of runs as they made a partnership of 67, with J.Walker reaching his 50 during the partnership. J.Chapman, after bowling well last week before the rain came, was brought into the attack and he started off poorly with 3 wides, however, brought it back with the vital wicket of J.Walker, caught superbly by the agile S.Jolly.
I.Nazir came on to bowl and was welcomed by a couple of straight 6s by G.Beaumant, but the youngster held his nerve and got his man bowled for 33. I.Nazir’s next ball saw him take the wicket of G.Clarke, who was superbly caught by S.Bhatti with a trademark 1 handed take. On a hattrick, I.Nazir bowled an absolute ripper, which missed the outside edge and the off peg. Nonetheless, the next ball I.Nazir got D.Harland plumb LBW. Ahtsham came back on to bowl and finished the innings off getting the last batsman bowled. This meant Congs had to chase down 200 to win. This was a great effort by the Congs bowlers and fielders.
Farnley Hill 200 all out
(I.Nazir 4/1/22/3; M.Ferguson 9/0/42/2; J.Chapman 1/0/17/1; Ahtsham 7.5/1/32/1; Jq.Allen 3/0/34/1; L.Stanhope 10/1/46/1)
Congs got off to a great start with openers Ahtsham and Jq.Allen starting the chase with a solid opening partnership. This was scored at a good rate (with help of extras). Both looked good while at the crease, but both fell in quick succession – first Ahtsham LBW to J.Walker for 16 then Jq.Allen was bowled by C.Harris for 12. Things got worse for Congs as the dangerous S.Bhatti fell without scoring.
Three down, Congs needed a partnership to make sure they got the win they needed and N.Bose and M.Ferguson didn’t let the team down. N.Bose smartly gave the strike to M.Ferguson, who was in no mood to hang around. M.Ferguson dispatched the Franley Hill bowlers for many a 6. With Farnley Hill having nothing to play for, Congs were helped out by the fact that usual keeper C.Snowden was bowling what can only be described as innocuous leg spin. M.Ferguson didn’t complain as he made his first 3rd team 50 bringing it up with a 6, a much deserved one at that. Once he got to 50, however, he fell next ball to C.Snowden who out-foxed him with a quicker one, which kept a tad low. N.Bose took charge of the chase and took over from M.Ferguson by dispatching the Farnley Hill bowling. M.Gaunt played a quick cameo, hitting a couple of boundaries but soon fell.
L.Stanhope came to the crease and was calm, playing no risky shots and with a straight bat. N.Bose continued to play his strokes but was bowled by M.Watson for 46 – a much needed innings from N.Bose who deserved a 50. S.Jolly and L.Stanhope saw the team home for a convincing win in the end as Congs chased 200 with 14 overs to spare.
This was a fantastic win which means that Congs are now safe. Congs stuck at it in the field with the bowlers taking wickets at vital times. M.Ferguson and N.Bose played superbly with the bat, which ensured the win. Congs can now play their last game with no pressure.
Well played lads!
Pudsey Congs 201-6 (M.Fergson 53, N.Bose 46)
Pudsey Congs (20pts) beat Farnley Hill (8pts) by 4 wickets
Baildon v Pudsey Congs
at Sandal School
Saturday August 29th, 2014
Match report by Macauley Gaunt
Congs travelled to Baildon this week for a must win game for both teams, who found themselves near the foot of the table. This was the 3rd team’s first game since their Twenty 20 cup win, as bad weather last week meant our game against Tong Park Esholt was called off. So the 3rd team were hoping to bring their cup success from 2 weeks ago into the remaining league fixtures.
Captain Malpass won the toss and put Baildon in to bat on a soft pitch which would assist the bowlers. J.Allen and J.Lorryman opened the bowling for Congs. Lorryman made the breakthrough with a trade mark Lorryman inswinger which went in between bat and pad to clean bowl Baildon opener Griffith. Though little runs came off the Congs opening bowlers first spells, both bowlers failed to control their swing which saw M.Gaunt diving down the leg side too often, which was very unlike the two opening bowlers.
Ahtsham was brought into the attack and continued his fine bowling form this season and removed Clapham in his first over, caught smartly at slip by J.Lorryman after the ball took a deflection off Macca’s gloves. The next period of play saw Javed score some agricultural boundaries which wouldn’t have looked out of place on a baseball diamond. In contrast Butterfield at the other end looked to dig in which began to frustrate the Congs fielders. However the Congs stuck at the task and Ahtsham struck again, bowling Javed for 17 who played one too many shots across the line. H.Hussain came to the crease and scored a breezy 23 before Ahtsham took a superb catch off the bowling of Jq.Allen. After 2 hours at the crease, Butterfield finally fell for 15 after being bowled by Jacques. Hodgson tried to up the scoring rate and put away some poor bowling from Congs. I.Nazir came into the attack and was the pick of the Congs bowlers. His spin troubled the Baildon batsmen who couldn’t read his variation and he got Hodgson caught for 16 and, quickly after, got I.Hussain bowled in his next over. He then picked up his 3rd wicket when Free was done in by some excellent flighted spin bowling which drew him down the track which led him to be bowled. J.Lorryman came back on to bowl and bowled much better in his second spell and his aggressive bowling got Whittrick caught, once again by Ahtsham who caught superbly all game. Congs failed to get the last wicket, however to restrict Baildon to 105-9 after 45 overs was a great effort by the bowlers and fielders – especially 13 year old I.Nazir who continues to impress.
Baildon 105-9 (I.Nazir 9/2/22/3; A.Ahmed 7/2/19/2; J.Lorryman 12/6/17/2; Jq.Allen 10/5/27/2; Ja.Allen 7/4/6/0)
Congs looked to openers Ahtsham and Jq.Allen for a solid start; however Congs didn’t get off to a great start as Ahtsham was bowled for 2 by I.Hussain. This brought N.Bose to the crease who didn’t mess about as he hit back to back fours off M.Hussain to get off the mark. Despite this, M.Hussain had the last laugh as he bowled N.Bose with an absolute jaffer, the ball pitched on middle and leg and swung away to hit the top of off. At 12-2 a lot of the thirds would have thought another batting collapse was on the cards like much of this season, but Jq. Allen and S.Bhatti had other ideas. Jq.Allen played one of his best knocks all season, milking singles and putting away the bad balls for four. Jacques looked particularly classy when the Baildon bowlers strayed onto his legs with some exquisite flicks off his legs and one pull shot for four just showed how domineering he was at the crease. At the other end S.Bhatti played a gem of an innings as well. Taking the singles early on and once he was settled he was his aggressive self, smashing any loose ball to the boundary. A 50 partnership between Jq.Allen and S.Bhatti settled any nerves in the Congs camp. However a Baildon bowling change saw N.Javed brought on and his skiddy bowling was the downfall of Allen for a well-made 38 with Congs 67-3. However this didn’t faze S.Bhatti one bit, who finished the game off in style. A flurry of boundaries from S.Bhatti meant that Baildon got no momentum from their 3rd wicket. He and M.Gaunt saw the team home for a vital win, S.Bhatti finishing it off with two fours which brought up the his 50 and the win.
This was an excellent victory for Congs, with some great performances by I.Nazir, Jq.Allen and S.Bhatti. This result has put some breathing space between ourselves and the relegation places. However there is no room for complacency at this stage. Let’s finish the season off in style with 3 wins in our last 3 games.
Pudsey Congs 107-3 (S.Bhatti 50 Not Out, Jq.Allen 38)
Pudsey Congs (19pts) beat Baildon A (3pts) by 7 wickets
***Special Report***
Dales Council T20 Final
Bradford Moor v Pudsey Congs
at Salts CC, Saltaire
Sunday August 17th, 2014
Match report by Jacques Allen
Jamie won the toss in the final and elected to bat first as he realised as well as everyone else that you never want to be chasing in a final on a poor wicket as it would always be nervy. Zulfi and Mani opened the batting and Zulfi fell cheaply, closely followed by Immy and Jacques. Mark and Shahid also fell for less than five with Mani the only batter from the top six showing any resistance. When Mani then fell for a very good 24 including two huge sixes, Congs needed someone else to step up. Ahtsham scored a much needed 20 and boosted the score up well with Macca, Jamie Lorryman and Jamie Allen all providing Ahtsham with help to make the score incredibly respectable. The last wicket fell when Dom got stumped as his technique clearly hasn’t changed and he was already halfway down the track and he just couldn’t recover his ground off of the last delivery of the innings, although he did hit one boundary as hard as the ball had been hit all day.
Pudsey Congs 83 all out (Mani Amin 24; Ahtsham Ahmed 20)
Jacques and Jamie Lorryman opened the bowling together and kept it extremely tight which soon began pay off with wickets when Jamie sent the middle and off stump both cart wheeling out of the ground. This was certainly a first for most people to see and by this stage Bradford Moor were two down. The very next ball, the new batter tried to take a suicidal second but Jacques fired the ball in and Macca whipped the bales off very quickly resulting in Bradford Moor losing another wicket when they couldn’t really afford to.
After this Bradford Moor endured 13 dot balls which slowly heaped pressure on the favourites. Jacques eliminated Naveed Andrabi thanks to an outstanding caught behind from Macca and when Jacques and Jamie had finished their spells, Bradford Moor had been reduced to 33-4. Ahtsham and Jamie Allen came into the fray and began well, bowling tight lines and lengths and it was only a matter of time before the pressure was going to tell once more.
Finally the pressure did tell and Ahtsham took an outstanding catch off his own bowling to get rid of one of the dangerous hitters. Mark replaced Jamie and got rid of another dangerous striker with a brilliant ball. The next three wickets fell incredibly quickly with Mark claiming another one and Ahtsham claiming two more, one of which was thanks to yet more outstanding wicket keeping. Bradford Moor were 60-9 but everyone was just trying to keep their heads and just not think of the final wicket falling. Ahtsham bowled a full length ball which was chipped back to him and he caught it easily before throwing the ball up. Jubilant scenes ensued as the T20 cup belonged to Congs for the second year running.
Bradford Moor 60 all out
(Ahtsham Ahmed 4-14; Mark Ferguson 2-1; Jacques Allen 2-15; Jamie Lorryman 1-18; Jamie Allen 0-11)
Pudsey Congs won the T20 cup by 23 runs