The champions of the Hundred Competition, representing Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, and Kirklees, are gearing up for the Yorkshire Hundred Finals at Scarborough Cricket Club.
After hard fought local city Hundred competitions over the last couple of months, Yorkshire Cricket has invited the champions from each area to battle it out to be crowned Yorkshire Hundred champions through the ECB Core Cities project.
Let’s look at some notable highlights from these cities’ competitions:
Leeds: The UFCC maintained an unbeaten streak throughout the tournament, securing their second consecutive Leeds Premier League (Hundred) Championship title. With a well-balanced side of seasoned veterans and young talents, they are poised to offer a formidable challenge to their competitors in the Yorkshire Hundred Finals.
Madan Basavarajaiah (UFCC) has been a crucial asset to his team throughout the LPL, making significant contributions with both his batting and bowling skills. He scored 318 runs at an average of 63.60 and picked up 6 wickets as well. His capacity to deliver powerful hits and bowl with pace makes him a standout player to watch during the Yorkshire Hundred Finals.
The UFCC captain, Arvindshetty Nijampure, is eagerly anticipating the upcoming event at Scarborough. He expressed, “Our trophy win in the LPL Hundred competition is not just a symbol of our skill, but a testament to our unity, dedication, and unwavering belief. Hopefully, this victory will be a stepping-stone for more success for our team. We again look forward to the Yorkshire Finals at Scarborough with even more determination and hunger for success. We’ll continue to train hard and give it our all on the field. Hopefully, we can win the title.”
Bradford: White Rose CC, the Bradford Hundred champions, embarked on a challenging path to the finals, encountering formidable opponents such as Kashmir Dewsbury and Great Horton Sports along the way. In a gripping semi-final match against Great Horton Sports, White Rose secured a hard-fought victory, chasing down a target of 129 with just 2 wickets to spare in 97 deliveries.
The final showdown proved equally demanding, as White Rose faced Heaton Park. Despite being restricted to a total of 133 runs, White Rose showcased their resilience. Heaton Park made a strong start, led by key player Shoukat Ali, who contributed 51 runs from 31 balls. However, White Rose’s strategic shift to spin bowling tactics proved pivotal. They managed to dismiss Heaton Park for 125 runs, clinching victory by a tight margin of 8 runs and securing the championship title.
Being reliable with both the bat and ball, Yasir Abbas has proven himself to be a match-winner for White Rose. His 26 not out off 16 balls, including a six to win the match, helped White Rose secure a place in the final. He then followed this by scoring 45 not out off 23 balls in the final to get his team to a defendable total. Yasir is renowned for his bowling with the new ball, swinging it both ways at will and consistently bowling accurate lines and lengths.
The strong Bradford side will be looking to go all the way this year in the Yorkshire Hundred Finals as they have some exciting talent in their squad. Their talismanic captain, Cosmond Walters, said: “We have a decent squad, anybody can turn up on the day, but the one person who teams can look out for is Yasir Abbas, with both bat and ball he is a match-winner and someone you wish to have in your team. We had a great tournament in Bradford and are looking forward to some good competition on finals day at Scarborough!”
Kirklees: Lahore Qalanders experienced a remarkable transformation in their journey to becoming champions of the Kirklees Hundred, a journey that required a crucial turn of fortune during the group stages. In a semi-final match against the formidable Halifax Lions, they pursued a target of 146 with remarkable ease, securing their spot in the final. A standout performance by Amir Afzal, who played an explosive inning of 41 not out from just 17 balls, lit up the field.
However, their path to victory in the final was far from straightforward. Facing Bahir Stars, Lahore Qalanders were tasked with chasing down a challenging total of 154 runs. Despite a promising start, they faced setbacks in the form of wickets, with their ninth wicket falling at 142 off 92 balls. With 12 runs required off the last 8 balls and only one wicket remaining, Junaid Tanwir displayed remarkable composure and delivered crucial boundaries, ultimately leading Lahore Qalanders to triumph as the Kirklees Adult Hundred champions.
Muhammad Rizwan Malik, the skipper of Qalanders, is excited before the big Scarborough day, and this is what he said: “We have had an amazing experience playing in the Kirklees Hundred so far. It’s been really nice to see all the teams and players getting involved and enjoying some fun but competitive cricket. We, as a team, are really looking forward to representing Kirklees in the finals; it will be a great experience and hopefully, we can win it. The team is very excited to play on a ground like Scarborough.”
Lahore Qalanders have all areas covered with their squad, but someone to watch out for would be the left-handed all-rounder Surender Singh. His left-arm spin is second to none, and he can bowl in all stages of the match for his team. His hard-hitting batting style proved pivotal for his team as he scored a century in a crucial match to help Lahore Qalanders qualify for the semi-final.
Sheffield: The champions of the Sheffield Hundred competition, Sharrow Stars, dominated their way to win the tournament.
The team looks well-balanced with some really good power hitters in their batting lineup. Teams from Sheffield always punch above their weight, and even this year it will be a mistake to discount the Sharrow Stars for the Yorkshire Hundred Finals. Hamzah Younis will be the player to watch out for from his team as the explosive southpaw is an experienced campaigner who has experience playing at the Scarborough Cricket Club Ground. This is what the captain of Sharrow Stars, Naseer Naheem, had to say before the big day: “We are so looking forward to this. A great opportunity for us to play at a county ground which has lots of history. We are grateful to Yorkshire Cricket for providing us with this once in a lifetime opportunity. Some of our players have never been to Scarborough so are really looking forward to this day. We think we have the right balance to win the cup!”
All the games will be played with coloured clothing, a white ball and games will be lived streamed on the CricHeroes App. To see live scores on the day, follow the link here
The Yorkshire Hundred Finals will be played on Sunday, 17th September at Scarborough Cricket Club. The fixtures are as follows:
- Semi-Final 1: Leeds vs. Kirklees at 10:00 am
- Semi-Final 2: Bradford vs. Sheffield at 1:00 pm
- Final: Winner of SF 1 vs. Winner of SF 2 at 4:00 pm
