Townville are edged out for title as hopes ended on final day of season
Townville took their title challenge right down to the last few hours of the season, but missed out on a first Bradford Cricket League championship by just two points.
Going into the final day they knew they had to win at Farsley and hope Woodlands slipped up against bottom of the table Pudsey Congs.
A cruel twist in the title race saw their game abandoned the previous week while their rivals were able to complete their match and win – and it left Townville three points behind.
They did their bit with an impressive final day victory and managed to close the gap on Woodlands, but only by one so were unlucky in having to settle for a runners-up finish.
After a season full of twists and turns in the race for the Premier Division crown there were to be no last day dramas with the new champions winning by four wickets and Townville beating Farsley by a seven-wicket margin.
Sri Lankan Sanoj Darshika produced an impressive all-round performance as Townville brushed aside their already relegated opponents.
He took 6-15 as Farsley were dismissed for 121 after choosing to bat first.
After skipper Jonny Booth was dismissed off the first ball of the Townville reply, Darshika took centre stage again as he struck an unbeaten 75 to help his team cruise home in 15.1 overs.
Methley have had a mixed campaign with 10 wins and 10 losses to finish in sixth and they ended with a defeat as third-placed opponents New Farnley chased down their 246-9 score to record a six-wicket win.
Skipper Aidan Langley led the way with a fine knock of 90 and was joined in an opening stand of 119 by Steve Bullen (64). Spinner Taylor Cornall took 2-61 to take his tally of wickets for the season to 50 – to add to his impressive run tally, having already topped 1,000 runs.
The highlight of the Methley innings was an unbeaten 77 from Jared Warner while Kris Ward chipped in with 38.
Great Preston’s promotion challenge in Division Two is over, but they produced a commanding display to crush Buttershaw St Paul’s after piling up a big 332-8 total.
Their innings included four batsmen reaching half centuries with Muhammad Shah hitting 88 from 77 balls, Jack McGahan 82 from 69, Moosa Azad 54 and Sohail Ahmed 52.
What followed was extraordinary. Buttershaw were bowled out for just 21 in 15.4 overs, with no-one reaching double figures.
Chris Aplin tore through the batting with 6-15 from eight overs, while Imran Patel took 3-2 from seven overs.
Streethouse lost by five wickets to Hunslet Nelson in a match dominated by the bowlers.
They could only muster 72 runs, with Jacob Tucker and Ismail Patel both making 16.
Streethouse then fought hard in the field, but despite slipping to 60-5 Hunslet reached their target in 19.5 overs.