Oakworth Cricket Club 2022 Third Xl

With the club as whole boosted by an influx of players during the winter, all three teams looked to have good prospect for 2022. However, the changes to Craven & District League membership continued, leaving a 20-match fixture list for nine teams in Division Four. This was further exacerbated by the late withdrawal of Foulridge lls. The fixtures were again re-juggled with Oakworth lls playing Ingrow lls four times, and both Bingley Congs and Hepworth & Idle llls three times in the eight team Division. The good news was that the CDCL had approved Oakworth to play home matches on Sundays, as was also the case for Keighley llls.

The opener was against Keighley at Wide Lane, and it was a much-changed line-up to take the field. There were debuts for Wajid Hussain, Tim Harrington and juniors Oliver Thompson and Logan Scarborough. And there was one other team-debutant in club Chairman Michael Scarborough who along with his nephew Jack Davison had arrived back from holiday too late for the Saturday fixtures and so were included in the Third Xl. Keith won the toss and asked Keighley to bat. Junior Asim Khan made the first breakthrough with the wicket of Qurban for 15 at 38-1 only to signal his partner Zahid Bashir to cut loose. Another 80 runs were added in partnership with Patel as the score rocketed to 118-2 before Asim again hit the timbers [Patel for 18]. The platform was set but two wickets fell at 140 for new man Wajid Hussain. But three runs later the smash and grab from Bashir [78] was ended with a smart caught & bowled to give ‘Waj’ his third on debut. The final wickets were taken by the two 13-year-olds Oliver Thompson and Logan Scarborough to help halt Keighley at 175-7. Wajid had a great start with 8-0-30-3 as did youngsters Asim 10-1-29-2, Ollie 4-1-22-1 and Logan 1-0-3-1. Jack Davison bowled just 3 overs. The target was tough but a steady start from Asim with 24 from 57 balls gave us a decent opening which carried us on to 69-4. Wajid with 48 no underlined his credentials in a cracking unbeaten partnership of 107 with Jack Davison [55 no] in rapid fashion as we cruised home in just 31.4 overs.

The following Saturday we went to park Field to take on Glusburn lls. A second toss win brought a second insertion. The first innings followed a similar pattern to the first game as opener Mark Johnston rattled off 75. Parkin and Webster chipped in good returns and Glusburn reached 188-6. Johnston had fallen as fourth wicket to the skills of returned-to-action Matt House, who returned 8-3-27-2 to steady our ship. Michael Scarborough again played and bowled 10 very frugal overs conceding just 18 runs. His impact on the game was enhanced in a 106-run stand with Wajid on his way to a match-winning run-a-ball 76 no. Wajid Hussain had followed up his 48 of last week with another 59 this week to confirm the quality of his all-round skills. The win came up after 36.1 overs on 192-5 scoring again at over 5 per over.

Back on home soil, it was our turn to be inserted by the opposition, Sutton. The confidence from the opening two fixtures was palpable and none more evident than the 71 [111 balls] from Asim Khan.  He shared stands of 35 with Sultan Khan, 73 with Michael Thompson, 56 with Stevie Powell and 37 with Wajid. He proved a great anchor-accumulator with Michael showing belligerence in his 53 in just 29 balls. Our 40 overs topped the displays of the previous weeks with a tally of 221-5. Steady scoring from Sutton was never really up with the frate but they batted well, led by the experience of Andrew Fountain [49] and 26 from Ed Simpson. Sutton replied with 152-5. Our top bowling came from the off-spin of Elis Jones with 10-1-21-2. Three out of three and top of the table!! The following weel also saw full points from the cancelled fixture with Foulridge lls.

On Sunday 22^nd May table-top rivals Bingley Congs llls were at Wide Lane and opted to bat first. Their batting was led by Paul Sansom with 38 and Jamie Teal with 37. From 99-4 their innings slipped away to 149-7 with the advent fo fourth change Matty Lee whose 9-3-21-3 belied his rarely used skills. And it was his batting that anchored our reply which faltered considerably. His 43 and 10 from Dawud Shahzad were the only highlights in a disappointing 96 all out. The team had lined up without Wajid who with Michael were selected in the Second Xl. Most of the damage was done by Yvonne Baines with 3-37 and Andrew Copping 2-7. 4-0-1, still a great start. But the wheels were back on the following Saturday at distant Hepworth & Idle llls. Safter a 19-run opening stand, the runs just flowed. Father and son duo Asim and Amin Khan plundered 71, but the fourth wicket pairing of Elis Jones and Michael Thompson proved awesome with 107 added to take us on to 229-4. Amin had tallied 48 from 65 with Asim 32 from 72 but Elis 71 from 45 and Michael’s 51 from 36 completely pulverised the eight Hepworth bowlers. The final tally was 247-5. The contest was over very soon with our juniors taking all the Hepworth wickets in just 20.3 overs. Leading the attack was Asim Khan with an amazing 5-5. Ollie Thompson had 2-5, Ayaan Basharat 1-16 and Elis 1-17. Hepworth & Idle all out for 45 and a 202-run victory. 5-0-1 and flying high.

Flaming June brough a second visit from Bingley Congs who once again brought us down to earth. Andrew Copping’s 76 no from 100 balls anchored their line up and with 29 from no 7 Andrew Greenwood a highest yet concession of 197 all out was conceded. We used seven bowlers and took all the wickets without anyone dominating the batsmen. Debutant Usman Rafiq chipped in 2 wickets as did Sultan, Ollie and Michael. It was a decent day for the Khans, Sultan [26] and Amin [36] but the loss of Michael for 12 signalled a collapse to 107 all out in the 32^nd Over. Valley bottom picturesque Airedale hosted our boys and batted first. Its was the turn of fast-developing junior Ayaan Basharat to grab the bowling headlines with his 3-23 from 8 overs. He had great backing from Sultan Khan and back-in-harness Bilaal Khan, each with a brace. Saqib Javed held the Airedale resistance together with 51 from their total of 131 all out. Unbelievably Our batsmen were adjudged lbw five times in the innings, and not all to the same bowler! The batters to survive long enough were Michael Thompson [46] and Amin Khan [22] as we struggled to 108 all out in 36.3 overs.    Perhaps it was the pitch or some other factor. Nevertheless, it was a second successive defeat, 5-0-3.

Back on our turf the visitors were Ingrow lls, who asked us to bat first. Yet another of the Khans, Naseem made his debut, and he picked off a magnificent 75. With 25 from Amin and 20 not out from an impressive Ayaan Basharat, we grafted our way to 151-5 in the 40 overs. Ingrow also found progress hard and Mo Chowdhory’ 33 was a major contribution. Sultan Khan proved the ace up the sleeve with a late 3 for 6 from just 2 overs to round off earlier successes from Naseem [2-10] and Asim [2-14]. Ingrow subsided to 97 all out to hand us a 54-run margin.  6-0-3 and still contending. The return match came the following week, and the change of venue brought a change of result. Ingrow batting improved far beyond that at Wide Lane, and they posted 172 all out. Most of that improvement came from Adam Marks who cracked 86 runs in the Ingrow cause. Amongst the run making Taariq Khan made his season’s mark with 6-17 from 9.3 overs, whilst everyone else toiled. It was also a one-man show for our batting as Michael Thompson dominated to make 74 whilst the others compounded 48 and with 12 extras produce 134 all out, a 38-run turn-round defeat, our fourth.  6-0-4 at the half-way mark.

The return at Keighley might nor be as comfortable as at the season start and so it proved. Sultan and Amin tallied 35 runs as openers whilst the other batsmen managed 27 collectively and with 19 extras, we tumbled to 81 all out in 25.2 overs. What was happening to the batsmen? Three wickets each from Tahir Mahmood and Amit Mistry dominated proceedings. Keighley completed the rout with two down in 15.2 overs. 6-0-5 and hopes of catching Congs at the top were long gone. At Hepworth again we needed to get back on the horse. And we did. Top bowling from Asim Khan [4-19] and Taariq Khan [2-5] was the cornerstone as Hepworth tallied just 101 in their 40 overs. At 4-3 a continuation of the depressing batting outcomes seemed again on the cards but form-man Michael Thompson 64 no from just 36 balls and Taariq [20 no] completed the job in 13.1 overs.

We chose to bat first against Glusburn lls at Wide Lane, the following day. But at 34-5 and 61-6 it didn’t seem the best of decisions. But it was a day in the sun for Elis Jones, not always available due to work commitments, but his 119 runs from just 83 balls set the innings alight. He had help from Sultan [29] and young Oliver Thompson [16] as the gangly all-rounder led us to an impressive 216 all out wit over 7 overs remaining. But the renowned hard strip at Oakworth was also to the liking of Mark Johnston [52], his second half-century vs Oakworth. He had solid support all down their line up and a real contest ensued. The 3-32 from Taariq Khan including the lbw against Johnston was priceless alongside a brace from Asim. From 157-7 James Meehan and Maj Hussain kept their side in the drama but eventually fell short at 202-7 after a competitive match. 8-0-5 kept us in the top four. Sutton away were next and we sought another ’double’ to maintain our position. Only youngster Robert tedder [24] made any real impression for Sutton with the bat in their 125 all out [31.5 overs]. We used eight bowlers as wicket fell with regularity and only Asim missed out on an entry in the ‘W’ column. Michael Thompson again dominated, this time with 80 from 62 balls and it proved enough in our 129-3 in 26.2 overs. That’s better: 9-0-5 and six to play. In fact, it was 10-0-5 as next was the concession from Foulridge.

The third match vs Hepworth, this time at Oakworth, went the same way as the other two and another win was added to the tally. Without Michael, we still tallied 142 after 37 from Sultan Khan set us on the right path. Another 25 from Asim Khan was also very welcome. For Hepworth Phil Swires claimed 4-30 after taking stick in the previous match. For their batters there was little such progress with exception of Martin McCully whose 66 avoided a real drubbing. Their 105 all out was damaged seriously by the off spin from Elis Jones who returned a super 6-17 from 40 balls. Taariq Khan too played his part with 3-33. 11-0-5 much better! Our third meeting with Bingley Congs was an opportunity to lower their colours even if we couldn’t catch them in the table. They again batted first and 34 from Copping and 36 from Asghar ensured a decent tally. But Sultan Khan had other ideas and his 6-38 pressured their middle and lower orders. It was only the 18 from no 10 Andrew Greenwood that turned things back in their direction to close on 160 all out. But could our batters complete the job? Only two stood up and contributed well. Inevitably Michael Thompson with 52 and Steve Cox with 21 at no 9. Ali Asghar 3-28, Andrew Greenwood 2-11 and Andrew Copping 2-17 did enough to contain our scoring and our 112 all out was well adrift. 11-0-6.

Airedale at Home was next, and all eyes were on the pads after the experiences at East Riddlesden. This time there was only one lbw, but guess who? Yes Michael Thompson for an unlucky [?] 13. Sultan continued his very fine form of recent weeks, this time with the bat with 54. Elis Jones added 24 but from 96-5 our innings fell away to 119 all out, disappointingly in only just over 25 overs. James Haley 33 made it certain it would not be easy to defend our total, but it was wily old experienced, Jan Haider who chipped in 39 no and the 27 from Dawud Qurban proved crucial. The Airedale side reached their target with 7 down at 121-7. Junior Oliver Thompson again chipped in well with the ball grabbing 2-5 in just 2 overs. 11-0-7.  The final two matches were both against Ingrow lls, the first at Hainworth. And here we shone with the bat, led inevitably by 96 no from Michael Thompson, really stamping his quality on Division Four. There was also 53 from Sultan Khan at the top of the order, also proving a regular all-round contributor. The 196 final total was really pleasing for Captain Keith. Mo Chowdhory again led the Ingrow scoring, this time as opener with 64. Their progress was though hugely contained and strangled in 31 balls from Taariq  Khan who returned 5-11. Ingrow closed on 136 all out. The final at Wide Lane was yet another that confounded the pundits as Ingrow reversed the outcome, albeit by the narrow margin oof 2 runs. Chowdhory’s 57 underlined his supremacy over our bowlers and the 43 from Adam Marks also was a telling factor. Taariq Khan was the exception yet again as his 6-22 signalled his control of the Ingrow progress as the last five batters all copped ducks. Thommo couldn’t quite repeat his earlier input and fell for 20. Taariq Khan added 30 at no 9 and with 14 from junior debutant Zeeshan Hussain kept us in the hunt in a tense finish. It was that man Chowdhory who settled it with a C & B dismissal for young Zeeshan as we fell 3 runs short of the target. So a 12-0-8 finish was a great outcome for the year, a first ‘winning’ season since 2015, our seventh in 17 seasons.

Team Performance

HOME

·         The 10 home league matches brought 6 wins and 4 defeats; whilst on our travels we also picked up 6 wins and 4 defeats, 4th place the outcome.

• ·         At Wide Lane our batters scored 1,375 runs losing 74 wickets in the 9 matches actually played [concession by Foulridge]. Our average score per match was 153 and the team batting form was 18.6 an amazing 33% improvement from 2021.

• ·         Our visitors average score was 150 from 1,346 runs [73 wickets] but their form had fallen from 24.7 to 18.4, a massive 25% reduction.

• ·         The bowling squad had coped exceptionally well with the hard Wide Lane surfaces taking 73 wickets, 8.1 per match at a terrific 18.4 runs each, a 25% improvement from 2021.

• ·         The visiting bowlers also found the Wide Lane strips very hard, capturing 74 of our wickets, 8.2 per match, at 18.8 runs apiece.

AWAY

• ·         But Away from Oakworth the story was 1,303 runs in 9 innings [Foulridge concession] for the loss of 60 wickets. An average away score of 145 reflected our growing confidence on other surfaces, scoring at a terrific 21.7 per wicket, over 6 runs per wicket better than our hosts.

• ·         Our away bowling average of 15.2 per wicket brilliantly exceeded that at Wide Lane and it restricted the home side batters to an average score of just 127 from their 1,140 runs. Our bowlers took 75 wickets, 8.3 per match, an unbelievable 39% bowling improvement from 2021 on their grounds, in contrast to the hosts whose bowling deteriorated by 25%.

OVERALL

·         The picture was 12 wins [inc 2 concessions] and 8 defeats. 2,678 runs were scored for 134 wickets lost at 20 runs apiece. Our opponents totalled 2,486 runs losing 148 wickets at 16.7 runs each. Taking 10% more wickets than our opponents was terrific, and our bowling form outpaced the collective of opposition by a marvellous 20% when considering the overall experience levels within the 2022 squad.

·         In 2021 only 12 matches were actually played when all clubs were impacted by the effects of the pandemic, the weather, and a growing decline in commitment. In 2022 Oakworth llls had a larger squad for selection and when taking account that not a single match was lost to the weather, a satisfying season unfolded. It was the first ‘winning’ season since 2015.

APPEARANCES

The Third Xl traditionally provides a blend of experienced and up and coming young players and 2022 was no exception. Top of the commitment pile was Amin Khan who played in all 18 matches. Just missing the one match was Sultan Khan on 17 with juniors Asim Khan and Oliver Thompson appearing 16 times. 29 players turned out for Oakworth llls in 2022 including 7 for just one match.

BATTING

Michael Thompson was head and shoulders above everyone else, the 44 year-old clearly enjoying playing again particularly in the same team as his son Oliver. Michael tallied a fantastic 568 runs to smash the team record set in 2015 by Jordan Powell [502]. It was the highest individual tally in the 2023 Division Four campaign. His highest score was a brilliant 96 no against Ingrow lls. His average was 51.6. Next highest scorer with just over half Michael’s runs was Sultan Khan with 288 at 16.9 average. Junior Asim Khan rattled up 270 runs at the same average. Elis Jones fantastic season best of 119 vs Glusburn propelled him to a tally of 257 runs from just 7 appearances [average 51.4]. Another proud dad was Amin Khan whose season brought him 192 runs at 12.8. The quality all-round game from newcomer Wajid Hussain gained him 115 runs in just three brief appearances before his elevation to the 2^nd Xl. The youngsters coming through the system continued to learn the game and it is pleasing to see Oliver Thompson with 58 runs, Ayaan Basharat 34, Dawud Shahzad 27, Zeeshan Hussain 18, Muhammad Taha 16 and Logan Scarborough 11 all in the 2022 listings.

BOWLING

The hard-working bowlers were headed by highly promising Asim Khan who bowled 84.3 overs. Taariq Khan turned his arm over in 71.3 overs with Sultan chipping in 69.2. The top wicket taker was a rejuvenated Taariq with 32 victims at a stunning average of 5.9. He won the Division’s Bowling Prize. Asim took 21 wickets at 14.8 to underline his all-round talent. Sultan grabbed 18 at 16.8 apiece to also claim an all-rounder tag. Fourth highest wicket-taker was 13 years-old Oliver Thompson with 13 at 19.6, a terrific debut season for the chip off the block. Elis Jones again appeared with 11 wickets in his 7 appearances. Other debutants in the wickets were Dawud [6], Ayaan [6], Taha [4] and Logan [1].

2023

The new players have all blended in well with Wajid Hussain being the obvious ‘star’ find. Naseem Khan, Tim Harrington, and Usman Rafiq have yet to fully integrate but have shown promise. Ayaan Basharat has gained a second Xl place and looks to be the pick of the bunch of the new young players. Dawud, Taahaa, Oliver, Logan and Zeeshan will all most certainly find 2023 easier now they have made their bows. They should all do well. There are plenty of others also eligible such as Adnaan Mohammed, Adam Hussain with Regional junior players Joe Powell, Harry Robinson and Haroon Nazam also knocking on the door. Asim Khan may find the Second Xl his home in 2023 given the obvious overall improvement at Third Xl level this year. Thommo, Keith, Steve, Dave, Amin, Sultan and Taariq will no doubt all again provide the stability for all the young players coming through the Oakworth junior Academy.