Record fourth-wicket stand sets up top of the table victory

The win over second-placed Sowerby Bridge puts the 1st XI nine points clear at the top

The top two, Illingworth and Sowerby Bridge, had a battle royal at Walton Street before the North Halifax side came out on top and stretch their lead at the top to 9 points over Great Horton, as Sowerby Bridge slipped to third place by a single point.

Electing to bat first, Illingworth struggled early on under the pressure of some tight bowling and when Calum Cook fell for a quick 25 at 42-3 the visitors looked in trouble. Their depth of batting came to the rescue with Veryan Brooksby 89 with 5-6s and 11-4s and Dan Murfett 6-6s and 9-4s striking an undefeated century for the second time this season putting on a club record stand of 188 for the 4th wicket, and in the process creating a strong position as they struck 109 in the last ten overs to set up a challenging target of 264-5.

Bridge were up to the challenge and with Tim Helliwell striking a well crafted 40 were in front of the clock at 85-2 before the introduction of spin with Stuart Thomson putting a brake on to remove Helliwell. James Wood continued to be a thorn in the visitors side with 87 containing 14 boundaries but when he was removed by skipper Ben Robertshaw the pressure of sustaining an asking rate of ten an over proved too much and the home side fell 30 runs short.

Illingworth and Bridge play again this week with the venue reversed.