Local cricket round-up: Triumphant Townville put East Brierley in a tailspin

The Championship side were 60-3 after being asked to bat on a lively wicket and collapsed from 60-3 to 70 all out, with spinners taking six of the victims.

The accurate left-armer Jack Hughes took 2-0 off 4.3 overs, while right-arm off-spinner Harry Clewett bagged 4-7 from his four overs.

Only opener Sam Gatenby (27), pictured inset, and Andrew Duckworth (14) detained Townville for long, and the home side then triumphed by nine wickets, knocking off the runs required in just 10.2 overs.

Townville opener Athelbert Brathwaite soon fell to a top-edged pull, but Harry Warwick (38no) and captain Hughes (24no) then saw the Gordon Rigg Bradford Premier League title-chasers home with the minimum of fuss.

They will now play New Farnley in the final at Undercliffe next Sunday, the day after meeting the Leeds club in the league.

While Townville were winning their semi-final, Woodlands went back to the top of the Premier Division by winning their match in hand at Farsley.

Muhammad Bilal completed a superb weekend by taking 4-24 as Farsley were dismissed for 111, and then by hitting 34 off just 18 deliveries opening the batting as Woodlands won by eight wickets, chasing down a revised target of 89.

Meanwhile on Saturday, all three contenders for the Premier Division title all won but Townville had their nerves tested the most.

Hosts Morley, whose openers Jack Rowett (29) and James McNichol (34) added 69, then lost eight wickets for 50 as they ended up on 132-8 off 44 overs, which was largely down to Jack Hughes taking 5-30 in his 15 overs.

Set a revised target of 137 from 41 overs, Townville went from 41-0 to 47-3 and 82-3 to 89-6 but found the right man for the job in Ritchie Bresnan, who saw them to a four-wicket victory in the 24th over with 37 not out.

Performance of the day, however, came from Woodlands’ Muhammad Bilal, who recovered quickly from the severely swollen left ankle suffered in last weekend’s Heavy Woollen Cup final to take 6-19 to help skittle under-strength Pudsey St Lawrence for 64.

The all-rounder then blasted 54 not out in 14 deliveries as the Bradford club won by 10 wickets, reaching their target in just 3.4 overs.

Half of the balls that Bilal faced disappeared for six, and he also hit two fours as Woodlands took the weather out of the equation. New Farnley won by six wickets at Batley after dismissing the home side for 82, with Alex Lilley taking 5-39 and Mark Lawson 3-22.

Lee Goddard (24) and Steve Bullen (33) completed a successful chase in the innings’ 19th over.

Only one other match in the four first-team divisions was completed.

A heavy storm in early afternoon meant that no matches were completed in the Aire-Wharfe League top flight on Saturday.

On Sunday, Rawdon cruised to an eight-wicket victory over North Leeds in Division One.

Joe Smith (4-28), Ross Jennings (3-14) and Jake Hodges (2-22) reduced North Leeds to 81 all out before Rawdon cruised to 83-2 in 10 overs.