Rob Laycock scored two unbeaten centuries in the day to fire Booth to glory at Sunday’s memorable Halifax Cricket League T20 Finals Day.
Laycock, opening the batting, hit 102 off 59 balls in the semi-final win over Thornton.
He underpinned a mammoth 239-4 before Thornton replied with a spirited 197-6.
In the final against Blackley, Laycock was at it again.
This time he walloped 102 off 50 in 225-4, with Blackley replying with 180-8. It ensured Booth retained the title they won in 2019.
It was clearly more than consolation for the Premier Division defeat, by 76 runs, they suffered at relegation threatened Sowerby Bridge Church Institute on Saturday, bowled out for just 121 in their pursuit of 198.
This was only Sowerby Bridge CI’s fourth win, and they remain in the bottom two relegation places despite having a higher points total (77 from 14 games) than third bottom Sowerby Bridge (68 from 12).
Their win over Booth owed much to opener Thomas Wood’s 74 and the seven wickets shared between Alexander Scholefield (3-37 from 14 overs) and Rishav Tandon, who finished with superb figures of 4-11 from 6.4.
Tandon claimed four of the last five wickets to fall as Booth suffered from the fact opener Hashim Wajid’s 77 was the only double-score in the innings.
Earlier, Wood underpinned his side’s 197 all out.
Leaders Triangle haven’t quite got second-placed Booth cornered yet, but they took a significant step towards becoming Premier Division champions on Saturday.
A trio of half-centuries, led by opener Nathan Madden’s measured 85 and a blistering 33-ball 56 with five sixes for Daniel Crosland led them to a commanding 304-6 in 45 overs against Bradshaw, the home club of former Yorkshire player Alex Lees.
In reply, the hosts were bowled out for 203 with 11 balls remaining as opening bowler Kurtis Whippey claimed 3-45 from 13 overs and Edward Denham nipped in at the end with 3-26 from 3.1.
???? Yorkshire Cricket Honours Board – Week 1?4?
Congratulations to everyone who has taken wickets over the last week ????
Here's a look at the best bowling performances ???? #OneRose pic.twitter.com/7gfgPPwSi7— Yorkshire CCC (@YorkshireCCC) July 23, 2021
????? Yorkshire Cricket Honours Board – Week 1?4?
Congratulations to everyone who has scored runs over the last week ????
Here's a look at the best batting performances ???? #OneRose pic.twitter.com/olnVRBMNue— Yorkshire CCC (@YorkshireCCC) July 23, 2021
Tom Watson, a name which stood out with it being Open Golf weekend, also made 57 for Triangle, while Jonathan Lister’s middle order 66 was the standout knock for Bradshaw in their 101-run defeat.
Due to earlier Coronavirus issues, the division is being decided on an average points per match basis, and Triangle’s 9.31 average from their 13 games stands significantly better than Booth’s 7.67 from 12 with eight rounds still remaining.
Should Booth overcome the deficit, they could secure the Halifax CL treble given they have also booked a place in the forthcoming Parish Cup final against Thornton.
Back to league action, and Warley in third place lost and Thornton in fourth won.
Warley lost by 16 runs at Sowerby Bridge, bowled out for 157 chasing 174.
John Brown claimed 4-42 from seven overs for Sowerby Bridge, but opening bowler Jake Dixon’s figures of 2-11 from 14 overs were outstanding.
Earlier, nobody bettered opener Lewis Mattock’s 32 as the home side were bowled out for 173.
Nikki Hutchinson’s 55 off 99 balls from number three underpinned Thornton’s 144 all out against Illingworth St Mary’s, who were later skittled for just 62 inside 25 overs.
Ross Parr claimed a stunning 7-22 from 12.3 overs with the new ball – the bowling performance of the round.
The match of the round saw bottom side Shelf Northowram Hedge Top tie with mid-table Mytholmroyd chasing 203 on the road.
Mytholmroyd were bowled out for 202 – three wickets each for Harry Talbot, Dominic Walsh and Razwan Saghir and 85 for Luke Sutcliffe.
In reply, Shelf Northowram were 185-5 and eyeing only their fourth win. However, they slipped to 202-9.
Dominic Prentice was run out going for the winning run off the last ball and his side remain rooted to the foot of the table.
In the other fixture, Sunday’s beaten T20 finalists Blackley were at least able to celebrate a league victory at Copley as they defended their 170-9, including opener Ibbi Mir’s 44.
Copley were bowled out for 134 inside 36 overs thanks to four wickets apiece for Liam Senior and Sam Hesmondhalgh. The latter finished with excellent figures of 4-15 from 7.4.
