Twenty20 joy

IT’S YOURS: surrounded by his team-mates, Saddleworth captain Brian Lord accepts the Twenty20 trophy from sponsor Mohammed Naveed, of Pro-Elite Sports.

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Cricket:

THE unstoppable juggernaut that is Saddleworth tasted Twenty20 Competition success at Greenfield’s Ladhill Lane ground.

Tanner Cup winners and Saddleworth and District Cricket League high-fliers, Brian Lord’s boys defeated Moorside by five wickets in yesterday’s final to move a step closer to winning the treble. With a 61 point lead at the top of the table, few would bet against them achieving that feat.

Saddleworth’s triumph in this year’s T20 again said much about their ability to get the job done.

With their backs against the wall in trying to defend 126 against Greenfield in the second semi-final, they found a way to limit the hosts to 112 thanks to professional Imran Aslam (four for 18) and Mohammed Shakir (three for 15).

In the final, Saddleworth required 124. At 51 for three, with half their overs gone, it was Moorside - conquerors of Shaw earlier in the day - who held the edge.

But again the men from Well-i-Hole worked themselves into a winning position. Aslam was again to the fore, this time alongside Pete Roberts, the pair adding 64 to carry their side to a point where they could only throw it away. Unfortunately for Moorside, that didn’t happen.

A total in the region of 140 would have been tough to get on a track offering movement and occasional indifferent bounce. At 91 for seven, Moorside would have taken their final sum. That was thanks to the eighth-wicket duo of Craig Taylor and Fiaz Khan, who finished unbeaten on 20 and 10 respectively.

Taylor grabbed the scalp of leading amateur batsman Darren Shadford for seven before Saddleworth had reached halfway in their pursuit of the target.

Roberts’ 44 and 41 from Aslam turned the course of the game, though. Even when the latter was held by James Baron off Lee Warburton, one felt the batting side had too much left in the locker.

Roberts responded by smashing Kyle Hodnett for two sixes in an over.

Stumped with victory in sight, it was left to his brother Dave to score the winning runs - albeit a streaky inside edge from the first ball of the last over.

So there it was, a third T20 success for Saddleworth, while for Moorside it was three finals and three defeats. Everything, it seems, does come in threes.



twitter: @kevrichardsonOC