Shepley and Delph and Dobcross boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation in the Huddersfield Cricket League’s Premiership division with a pulsating weekend tie.
Both sides are hovering just above the drop zone, currently occupied by Mirfield Parish Cavaliers and bottom side Slaithwaite.
The pair, both bowled out for 129 with Delph chasing on Saturday, claimed four points apiece.
The division is being decided on an average points per game basis, and Shepley’s 2.21 mark is compared to second-bottom Mirfield’s 1.84 after 19 games. Delph, just above Shepley, sit on 2.32 after 19. There are seven rounds remaining.
Nathan Jones claimed a fabulous career best 7-46 from 14.2 overs for Delph after the visitors had elected to field. Shepley lost wickets regularly throughout their innings, with Luke Patel and Numan Akbar both making 24.
In reply, Delph collapsed from 54-1 and 74-2 to be bowled out for 129 in 29 overs.
Patel claimed three wickets and Olivier Davidson 4-33 from six overs, but it took a run out from Akbar, of Archie Davis, to secure a tie.
The bottom two sides, Slaithwaite and Mirfield, played each other in a game won by the former as they defended their 172-5 in 30 overs, restricting the visitors to 162-9 in reply.
Former Yorkshire Academy seamer Harrison Quarmby hit an unbeaten middle order 76 before Sohail Butt claimed 4-35 in their defence.
It was only Slaithwaite’s second win of the season, and you would think they would need maybe four more to have any chance of avoiding the drop.
At the other end of the table, Hoylandswaine, champions in 2018 and 2019, moved a step closer to another title with their 12th win in 19 games – a 95-run success over Golcar.
Convincing it was in the end, but it was not always that way as Hoylandswaine slipped into trouble at 112-9 as Jack McNamara and Steven Whitwam claimed three wickets apiece.
However, last pair Max Morley and Adnan Ghani (22) added 62, with Morley hitting an unbeaten 52 off 47 balls with a quartet of sixes in his first half-century for the club.
In reply, the league leaders did not look further than new ball duo Ghani (4-36 from nine overs) and Muhammad Azharullah, the former Northamptonshire seamer who finished with 6-34 from 9.4.
They whittled Golcar out for just 79 to move 10 points clear of second-placed Moorlands – 4.47 to 3.95 in average points terms.
Moorlands actually swapped places with Honley, who were beaten by 15 runs at home to Armitage Bridge as they failed to chase 200 in 50 overs – bowled out for 184.
Saqib Matlub made a measured 81 for Armitage Bridge in their 199-4 before Honley slipped from comfort at 147-3, losing their last seven wickets for only 37 runs. Joshua Taylor and Musa Ahmed claimed three wickets apiece.
Moorlands took advantage of Honley’s slip with a narrow two-wicket win chasing 196 in 50 overs against Scholes.
A series of valuable contributions led visitors Scholes to 195-7, including opener Nico Georgiou-Nicola’s 36 – the top score of the match.
And there were similar valuable contributions for Moorlands, whose nerves were heightened by falling from 180-5 to 182-8. Unfortunately for Scholes, the game was lost with five wides bowled by new ball bowler Wasim Javed.
Moorlands still have Hoylandswaine to play at home in three rounds’ time, so the title race remains firmly alive. The duo also meet each other in the finals of both the Sykes Cup and the league’s T20 Trophy.
Elsewhere, there were wins for Broad Oak over Thongsbridge and Barkisland over Kirkburton.
Broad Oak beat Thongsbridge by three wickets chasing 201 at home. Alistair Snowdon returned 5-29 from 13 overs to bowl their visitors out for 200 inside 46 overs before opener Sean Mee (52) and Alex Slack with 74 unbeaten set a platform which just about held firm despite the loss of cheap middle order wickets.
Barkisland were bowled out for 144 inside 40 overs, including Seth Oddy’s 40.
Then, in a routine defence, four wickets apiece for miserly duo Cameron Van Rensburg and Luke Bridges bowled Kirkburton out for only 73. They finished with respective figures of 4-19 from 12.5 overs and 4-16 from 10.
