Scholes Cricket Club: Delph and Dobcross:252 - Scholes C.C.:256

  Delph and Dobcross:252 - Scholes C.C.:256 Back to Games & Reports
  Teams: Score:      
  Delph and Dobcross vs 252      
  Scholes C.C. 256      
Game Played 5/31/2009 1:30PM  

WHAT A GAME!!
Delph (252 all out) lost to Scholes (256 for 8) by 4 runs
Hello to Mrs Barbara Mott, one of our few Aussie webwatchers, who i know is following the fortunes of her son Shane via the website reports. Your boy done good Barbara - enjoy the read..
Scholes II’s also faced a tough weekend, playing title rivals in both home fixtures. They successfully saw off Skelmanthorpe on Saturday, posting a daunting 249 for 8 as Sykes (56) and Steers (82) continued their impressive starts to the season, and Coldwell added a quick 41. Despite Barber’s fine 69 the visitors fell well short on 197 all out, with Bryson and Brook excelling again with three wickets apiece. Kirkburton were the visitors on Sunday, and Scholes came so close to securing yet another win with a side missing at last five regulars. The Chapelgater’s made 175 for 6, as Matthew Boorman made a half century and Wakefield a bellicose 65* towards the end. Kirkburton stumbled to 1 for 2 and 80 for 7, but somehow hung in there thanks to 34 from Jepson and Smith (38), and the visitors secured a well merited one wicket victory with three overs to spare that leaves them one point ahead of Scholes at the top of the table, as Josh Brook collected another three wickets.
Sunday’s second successive trip o’er tops to Saddleworth to take on the might of the pugnacious Delph and Dobcross was a true test of Scholes’ backbone in their surprise early season challenge for the Premiership. A famous Sykes Cup win had been secured a week earlier, but the home side were fortified by the return of formidable off spinning all rounder Mirza, and the usual big partisan home crowd lusting for revenge. When Scholes slipped away to 78 for 4 batting first, big questions were being asked of James Noble’s side, not the least out in the middle by a verbose Delph. But Iqbal Khan was steadfast and determined, and happy to play second fiddle to the blazing blade of Shane Mott, who had said to me late the previous night that he felt in great shape with the bat. Mott destroyed the home attack, with a crisp display of power hitting that reduced the likes of Mirza, Lilley and especially Smethurst to despair. The brilliant Aussie all rounder made 97 of the sixth wicket stand of 139 from a mere 62 balls, blasting twelve boundaries and six sixe’s as he changed the face of this game. Khan’s composed 82 was the perfect foil as Scholes rattled up a highly encouraging 256 for 8, and only the admirable Khiljee stood up to the onslaught with 3 for 57 from 21 overs.
Delph were always slightly behind the clock as they replied, pegged back mainly by the inspired Mott who had 3 for 25 from his excellent first 15 overs. Wickets fell steadily, but Khiljee remained defiant, the consummate professional, and on such a small ground with some big hitters left Delph remained in the hunt. Tom Brook bowled an excellent six over spell in which he took three important wickets, Shahnawaz returned to castle Khiljee for a fine 81, and when he also ran out Jump off his own bowling Scholes looked home and dry. But Delph legend Grant Jones was still in and very much in the zone, and when he launched Mott for 18 including two massive sixes in the penultimate over, Scholes suddenly looked like losing a match they had been bossing for the last four hours, as Delph only needed 7 to win with two wickets left. Jones missed Shahnawaz’s first ball of the final over, and was bowled for a brilliant 56 off the second attempting to launch another 6 into the bottom field. Two leg byes followed, and Warren Jones missed the fifth ball, leaving Delph needing 6 to win, 4 to tie, or not lose a wicket to secure a point. Jones went for glory, came down the track, and launched the ball high into the stratosphere. The home crowd’s roars as a certain six to the longest boundary underneath the Delph nets sadly withered away, as the wind got hold of the ball and it dropped into the rock steady hands of Iqbal Khan five yards in from the long off boundary, and a jubilant Scholes had won by four runs in a spectacular game of cricket, to return to the top of the Premiership.