Nichols display up there with league's best
AS individual performances go the one last weekend by Lightcliffe first team captain Richard Nichols must be up there with the best in Bradford League history.
Nichols scored an incredible 157 not out and then took four for 29 as his side crushed Great Horton by 130 runs at Wakefield Road .
Such was Nichols' feat that it had club historian Bob Horne delving into the archives to ascertain if this was a club record score for the 1st XI. He returned the fact that only one person had scored a higher individual score for Lightcliffe 1st XI and that was Indian Test player Mohammed Kaif during his season with Lightcliffe in 1999.
Batting first on a true pitch and under glorious sunshine, Lightcliffe amassed 272 for the loss of just a single wicket, with the first wicket stand between Nichols and Umar Salim (75) being worth a huge 185. Nichols then accelerated to dominate the unbeaten second wicket stand with Jonathan Wilson (20), and record his highest ever score.
The only success for Great Horton was for Altaf Hussain but this came at the expense of conceding nearly six runs an over.
Not content with scoring a vast amount of runs, Nichols then set about dismantling the Great Horton reply with his accurate seam bowling as the visitors slumped to 77 for 8.
Nichols took four of these first eight wickets and he might have had the next as well had Wilson been able to hold onto a chance at gully.
The solitary bright period then followed for the Bradford side as the last two wickets took the score to 142, gaining a single batting point on the way, but this still left them 130 runs short of Lightcliffe's total. Aussie Simon Black, suffering from the mumps, also bowled tidily for Lightcliffe to take three for 42 with Danny Keighley also doing well taking two for 36.
Lightcliffe face a sterner task this weekend as they welcome leaders Bankfoot to Wakefield Road, a side that have lost only one game in league and cup this season.
LIGHTCLIFFE Seconds proved too good for Great Horton in the JCT600 Bradford League Second Teams' Division Two and registered their seventh win from eight games by a comfortable eight wickets. They now lead the division by 13 points from Windhill in second.
Great Horton batted first on a firm but low track and struggled to get away the accurate seam bowling of Roger Stead and Mark Whiley who took one and two wickets respectively in their opening spells.
Seam gave way to spin as Steve Hartley and Michael Brooke bowled in tandem for the next 16 overs. Hartley picked up three victims and with Great Horton reeling on 116 for 6 an early finish looked possible.
However the home side fought back with some powerful hitting to the short straight boundaries and a stand of 65 for the seventh wicket put them back in the game. Stead and Whiley returned to halt the flow and Horton were dismissed with the last ball of the 50 overs for 209. Whiley finished with an excellent five for 45 while Stead picked up two for 40.
Rob Crookes and Brooke started the Lightcliffe response and batted with skill and good sense to take the score to 92 before Crookes was adjudged leg before for 30. Hartley then put bat to ball from the off for a breezy run-a- ball 31 before Richard Powe joined Brooke to finish the job with a powerful unbeaten 41. Brooke finished on 83 not out, his fourth consecutive half century, to take his aggregate seasonal score to above three hundred for just one dismissal.
“This match was a potential banana skin,” said skipper Gareth Stevens, “and I was delighted with the application of the lads.
“We’ve now established a good base to move forward for the rest of the season and press for an instant return to the top flight.”
Away at Bankfoot on Saturday the side will be looking for another good win to extend their lead at the top.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Halifax
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Light snow
Temperature: 0 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 28 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 1 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: West
