By Jamie Harrison

Indian overseas player Sahaj Chadha’s unbeaten 125 was the cornerstone of Shepley’s victory over Skelmanthorpe in the Huddersfield Cricket League Premiership.

Matthew Crookes also hit a ton for Kirkburton while champions Moorlands cruised to an eight-wicket win over Almondbury Wesleyan. Paul Nasser’s three wickets helped Scholes beat Broad Oak while Hoylandswaine won a high-scoring encounter with Barkisland.

Shepley v Skelmanthorpe

Shepley claimed local bragging rights with a convincing 26-run victory over Skelmanthorpe in a thrilling derby clash between two neighbouring village teams.

Their new Indian overseas player, Sahaj Chadha, was the star of the show, crafting a classy century (125 not out) with 13 boundaries and three sixes. Prayesh Kumar Singh provided support with 3-41.

Skelmanthorpe fought back admirably, with Jack Newby, the league’s top run scorer from the past two seasons, contributing a valuable 39 runs.

Faisal Usman also provided late impetus with a quickfire 39 batting at number 10. However, it wasn’t enough as Skelmanthorpe fell short, dismissed for 208 runs.

Tom Sanders led the Shepley bowling attack with a five-wicket haul, while experienced bowler Danny Glover and spinner Musa Ahmed chipped in with two wickets each.

Moorlands v Almondbury Wesleyan

Reigning champions Moorlands put down their title credentials with a dominant 8-wicket win against Almondbury Wesleyan. Chasing a total of 182, Moorlands made light work of the target, reaching it with 17 overs to spare.

Pragam Sharma followed up his century from last week with a solid 52 for Wes, while Jon Rudge led the bowling attack with 4-77.

Moorlands’ spin duo of Zin Ul Abdin and former Wesleyan player Dan Moorhouse shared six wickets between them. Marcus Walmsley anchored the chase with an unbeaten 87, guiding his team to a comfortable victory.

Scholes v Broad Oak

Scholes secured a routine 6-wicket victory in a low-scoring encounter at home to Broad Oak. Paul Nasser was the hero for Scholes, taking 3-46 while Louis Brook and Yaasir Imtiaz chipped in with two wickets each.

Broad Oak captain Dan Rushworth top-scored with a valiant 33, but their batting line-up faltered throughout, collapsing for 144 runs.

In reply, Bradley Birkhead led the Scholes chase with a well-made 47. Valuable contributions from Benji Birkhead (31) and Zawandi White (31) ensured their team crossed the finish line with half the innings remaining.

Barkisland v Hoylandswaine

Barkisland put a competitive total of 212 on the board, with contributions from Jasper Male (47) and a well-compiled 71 not out from Cameran Van Rensburg. Umer Yaqoob was the pick of the Hoylandswaine bowlers, claiming 3-66.

However, Hoylandswaine chased down the target comfortably thanks to a solid third-wicket partnership of 103 runs between Furqan Shafiq (61) and Kamran Ghulam (65 not out), securing a comfortable 7-wicket victory.

Honley v Delph & Dobcross

Delph & Dobcross batted first and found themselves in early trouble at 13-3. Montserrat import Stevel Rodney steadied the ship with a well-made 53, helping them reach a respectable total of 122 all out.

However, a disciplined bowling performance from Honley saw them collapse from a promising position of 106-5. Melbourne’s Darcy Munro was the wrecker-in-chief with a five-wicket haul for just 32 runs, while spinner Lewis Kenworthy chipped in with 4-31. Honley chased down the target with 4 wickets remaining, with Timmy Taylor contributing 31.

Kirkburton v Golcar

The first of two back-to-back matches between these sides, ahead of their Heavy Woollen Cup clash, saw Kirkburton secure a resounding 63-run victory at home to newly-promoted Golcar.

Matthew Crookes dominated his team’s innings with a brilliant century (106 off 98 balls), peppering boundaries with 5 fours and 9 sixes.

Despite a promising start of 56-0 by Golcar, their new signing Yashoda Mendis (3-51) was the only bowler to find consistent success.

Opener James Howson’s 30 was a lone bright spot as Golcar crumbled to 152 all out, with ‘Burton’s spin specialist John Keeling (4-50) and Andy Smith (3-38) sharing the spoils for Kirkburton.