Scholes march on following second successive victory

Scholes have made a determined start as they bid for a quick return to the top flight and they are level on 40 points with Methley, who gained a second comprehensive victory when they defeated fellow relegated side Morley by 10 wickets.

Akbar Badshah (52), Jackson (37) and Shoukat Ali (35) led the way as Scholes posted 228-9, despite the efforts of Mohammad Altaf (4-42) and Thomas Cordon (3-35).

Yasir Ali (5-36) and Christian Jackson (4-20) then helped skittle Yeadon for 86, with captain Damon Gormley (30) their top scorer.

Methley dismissed Morley for just 65 as Shohail Raz (4-31) and Marcus Walmsley (3-6) impressed before openers Marcus Walmsley and Muhammad Akhlaq shared an unbroken stand of 69 to steer them to a 10-wicket win and maximum points under the new scoring system.

Birstall slipped to a second successive defeat, going down by five wickets to Undercliffe, who maintained their winning start and are just a point behind Scholes and Methley.

Veteran New Zealander Eric Austin is back at Birstall this season and he battled hard for top score of 53 as his side were bowled out for 156, with opening bowlers Zeeshan Qasim (5-26) and Craig Wiseman (4-32) the main instigators.

Birstall have 10 points from their opening two games and the face joint leaders Scholes this Saturday.

Gulsheraz Ahmed sped Undercliffe towards their target with an innings of 78, which included five sixes and seven fours.

Opener Toby Thorpe made 38 as Undercliffe won despite the determined efforts of Haris Mohammad (4-40).

Gomersal bounced back from an opening day defeat to Scholes when they defeated Ossett by four wickets to record their first win.

A fine spell of 3-35 by new signing Joe Duffy helped Gomersal restrict Ossett to 160-9, which owed much to the efforts of Zubair Raje (68) and Imran Patel (30).

Another new Gomersal recruit, Nick Whitehill, then helped steer his side to victory with 39.

Wrenthorpe recorded the day’s highest score when they made 323-7 in a 189-run win over Bankfoot.

Captain Greg Wood (95) and Luke Patel (59) led the way in Wrenthorpe’s innings before Jonathan Rudge (6-69) helped restrict Bankfoot for 134 as they collected a maximum 20-point haul.

There was a close game at Bowling Old Lane where the home side beat visitors Baildon by eight runs to claim their first win of the season.

Opener Farakh Hussain top scored with 68 to help Old Lane reach 219-9, with Baildon captain Simon Bailey (3-75) his side’s best bowler.

Jack Hainsworth (72) and Mounam Ejaz (51) looked to be steering Baildon home but they fell just short as they finished on 211-5.