By Jamie Harrison 

Nayyar Abbas took four wickets as Delph & Dobcross beat Broad Oak to become surprise Premiership leaders on another topsy turvy day of top flight results.

Kirkburton swapped places with Honley to go second while Moorlands shook off a rocky few weeks by ruthlessly running through second-bottom Golcar and Hoylandswaine triumphed away at Scholes.

Pragam Sharma leads the Premiership run-scoring after his second century for Almondbury Wesleyan while Barkisland got off the mark with a win at Shepley but it wasn’t enough to move off the bottom of the table.

Broad Oak v Delph & Dobcross

Delph & Dobcross triumphed by 38 runs away at Broad Oak, climbing to the top of the Premiership table with their third win of the season to continue a four match unbeaten streak.

Delph recovered from losing two early wickets in the first over to post 191-9 in 50 overs, thanks to Arman Hussain (40) and Wasim Qasim (42) who both played bullishly to disrupt the home side’s bowlers.

Broad Oak’s Adam France was impressive with the ball, taking 6-40, although his father’s car windscreen became a casualty as a Delph batsman cleared the ropes!

In reply, Broad Oak fell short, all out for 153 in 39.3 overs. Daniel Rushworth’s 32 and Mike Fisher’s unbeaten 30 were not enough, as Nayyar Abbas (4-47) and Qasim (3-51) turned the screw to seal Delph’s victory.

Almondbury Wesleyan v Skelmanthorpe 

Almondbury Wesleyan secured a commanding 45-run victory over Skelmanthorpe, propelling them to seventh in the Premiership with their third win of the season.

Wesleyans set a formidable target of 278-4 in their 50 overs, with a flamboyant show from Pragam Sharma who scored an unbeaten 139 from 136 balls, featuring 16 fours and 6 sixes. His second century of the season fires him over the 500-run mark already.

Nathan Kenworthy set the ball rolling by contributing 50 and Will Binns added 64 around Sharma’s stunning display. The visiting bowlers were subdued but Skelmanthorpe’s Faisal Usman took 3-55 in a tough innings.

In response, the visitors could only manage 233 all out, despite spirited efforts from Muhammad Rizvi (41), Fin Brook (36), and Kian Schwartz (32). Sharma also excelled with the ball by taking 4-52, while Corey Marshall and Ben Shufflebotham each claimed three wickets to cap off an excellent win.

Kirkburton v Honley 

Kirkburton moved up to second in the table with a 4-wicket win over Honley, who they displaced in the table. Honley hobbled to 164-9, with Eddie Wilson (32) and Lewis Kenworthy (36) providing some resistance.

Kirkburton opener Aaron Moore (3-37) and off spin bowler John Keeling (4-29) were instrumental with the ball. Kirkburton then chased down the target, reaching 166-6 in 31 overs. Contributions came from Andrew Smith (31), Alex Clegg (29), Isaac Young (30) and Craig Fletcher (35 not out), despite Kenworthy’s 5-44 for Honley.

Scholes v Hoylandswaine

Hoylandswaine claimed a decisive 74-run victory over Scholes, who dropped from top to sixth in the competitive Premiership.

Hoylandswaine posted 190 all out in 47.4 overs, with key innings’ from Asif Iqbal (51) and Kamran Ghulam (74). Scholes’ Paul Nasser took 4-56 and Wasim Javed 3-40 as they battled to keep the score down.

In reply, Scholes were bundled out for 116 in 29.3 overs, with Yaasir Imtiaz top-scoring with just 19. Hoylandswaine’s Umer Yaqoob (4-53) and Mike Finan (3-34) ensured a comprehensive win.

Moorlands v Golcar 

Moorlands achieved their first win in three matches by defeating Golcar by 8 wickets at the Memorial Ground. Golcar were restricted to 145 all out in 47 overs, with Jacob Mulhall (30) and Yashoda Mendis (33) the main contributors.

Moorlands’ Daniel Moorhouse took 5-36. In response, Moorlands cruised to 146-2 in just 21 overs, with Shoukat Ali scoring a quickfire 77 and Marcus Walmsley adding 41. Golcar remained second bottom of the table after this defeat.

Shepley v Barkisland 

Barkisland earned their first victory of the season, beating Shepley by 34 runs. The visitors set a target of 210-8 in 50 overs, with Harry Finch scoring 70, Matty Weston 30 and Jake Finch 24.

Shepley’s experienced strike man Danny Glover was the standout bowler with 5-24, supported by Jack Mulhall’s 3-61. In response, Shepley crashed to 176 all out in 46 overs.

Despite good efforts from Connor Dale (44) and Wayne Hughes (42) to put them in a prime position, they then collapsed from 144-5 to 146-8 as Barkisland wrestled back the initiative. Cameron Van Rensburg (3-37) and Luke Bridges (3-32) sealed their win but they remained at the bottom of the table despite the victory.

Main image by: Huddersfield Hub photographer SEAN DOYLE