Steeton bowl over champions to stay fourth (From Craven Herald)

Steeton bowl over champions to stay fourth

7:00am Thursday 23rd August 2012 in Sport

Steeton halted their recent slide with a comfortable 80-run win over defending champions Thackley.

Neil Spragg (36), Andy Luxton (34) and John Akrigg (32) helped Steeton to make 163 all out in the face of some good bowling from Nasser Jamal (4-22).

Thackley never looked like challenging the Steeton total as Jonathan Best (3-29) and Stephen Pearson (4-33) skittled them out for 83.

The top scorer for Thackley was Jamal who made 19 coming in at number nine.

With the top three, Beckwithshaw, Collingham and Burley all winning, Steeton remain fourth, level on points with Burley and seven adrft of table-topping Beckwithshaw with four games remaining.

Upper Wharfedale ’s Division Two survival hopes suffered another setback as they went down by 137 runs at Ilkley.

The home side piled up 264-4 with their young opener Alex Bailey making an unbeaten 119.

He was joined in a first-wicket stand of 137 by Rory Kroon (75) Upper Wharfedale crumbled to 127 all out in reply as former Yorkshire and Somerset spinner Jeremy Batty took 4-18 and Luke Bott (3-41).

The top scorer for Upper Wharfedale was opener Dave Whitfield (46) Skipton had another miserable afternoon. They were bowled out for 74 to lose by 177 runs to Division Three promotion-chasers Illingworth. Zarshad Khan top scored with 34.

Gary Owens (3-45) and Andrew Fergie (3-56) were the best of the Skipton bowlers as they were made to toil by the Illingworth batsmen.

Fifth-placed Silsden had to work hard for their 17-run win at Addingham .

They looked in trouble when Ricky Palacio (6-25) restricted them to 137, but Addingham’s batting faltered and they were dismissed for 120.