Pudsey St Lawrence and Wakefield Thornes set for Abu Dhabi grand finale
Both won tense play-off semi-finals, Saints overcoming Great Ayton by seven runs at Headingley, while at Scarborough, Thornes pipped Harrogate by three wickets thanks to a gutsy innings from David Toft.
With Andy Hawkswell (53), George Ross (41) and David Foster (42) leading the way, Harrogate set a target of 201.
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Hide AdThornes lost their two openers with only 10 on the board and a third wicket went down at 43. Toft and Faisal Irfan were digging in when Toft had to retire hurt with a suspected broken bone in his hand with the score on 78.
When Irfan (27) and Akila Isanka (29) were dismissed with Thornes at 122-5, Tofts returned and, batting one-handed, saw his side to victory with an unbeaten 70.
Opener Mark Robertshaw (93) top-scored and shared useful stands with Barrie Frankland (41) and Tom Hudson (25), but Pudsey St Lawrence knew their 200-8 total would take some defending.
Tight bowling saw the asking run-rate rise but it was only after Hudson trapped Great Ayton opener Chris Batchelor lbw on 87, the sixth wicket to go down, that the game swung Saints’ way.
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Hide AdThere were still some nervous moments with the Teessiders going into the final over needing 13 to win but Saints held out.
Eugene Burzler top-scored with 99 in Beckwithshaw’s 260-8 to help seal a 111-run win over Collingham to lift the Aire Wharfe championship.
Relegated Kirkstall notched only their fourth win of the season in a high-scoring match against Bilton. Stephen Brown (82), Tom Webb (77) and Stephen Wilkinson (82) starred in Kirkstall’s 381-9, while Ryan Bradshaw was 81 no and Vic Craven scored 76 in Bilton’s 293-7 reply.
With the season over elsewhere, the introduction of the Yorkshire pyramid with promotion and relegation means a number of clubs need to revise plans for next season.
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Hide AdIn the Bradford Premier, Batley and Yeadon will replace Morley and Scholes; Clifton Alliance and Easingwold will do battle in Yorkshire Premier North instead of Castleford and Dunnington, while Hallam and Tickhill replace Doncaster and Rotherham in Yorkshire South Premier.