THE arrowselfdrive Huddersfield Central Cricket League stage their annual showpiece, the Allsop Cup final, at Almondbury Wesleyans’ Kaye Lane ground on Sunday – with an unusual twist!
This year’s final, sponsored by CG Autos, will feature two sides from outside the Premiership!
Birkby Rose Hill and Woodfield Park are both in Section A and were surprise winners over top-flight opponents in the semi-finals, and both will be bidding to emulate Clayton West, who were the last side outside the top section to lift the trophy in 1958.
Central League officials believe it is the first time in the 82-year history of the competition that the final will be contested between two teams who are both outside the top flight.
Both sides have put out some big clubs en route to this year’s final and there may be very little to choose between them.
Mushtaq Hussain skippers the Rose Hill Club (formerly Nuffield Hospital) and has plenty of run-scoring potential in the side, particularly in players such as wicketkeeper Mohammed Kamran, who last weekend hit the quickest 50 of the season, and recently scored 110 not out in a total of 145-1 in the League’s Twenty/20 competition.
Faisal Javed is another of the team’s consistent performers with the bat and Woodfield Park’s bowling attack are likely to be tested to the full as they bid to keep Birkby’s batsmen in check.
Richard Parr captain’s the former police team and one of his up and coming ‘stars’ is Mark Askham, who also plays with Armitage Bridge’s Under 17s and has featured in each round, along with bowler John Stanger.
In the semi-finals, Woodfield Park beat Azaad, who had lifted the Cup in both 2006 and 2008, while Birkby Rose Hill defeated Cawthorne in a thriller by just eight runs.
The final starts at 1.30pm and the umpires are I Livesey (Mirfield) and T Riley (Crigglestone).
Route to the final: Birkby Rose Hill: 1st round: Birkby Rose Hill 271-4 Higham 154. 2nd round: Birkby Rose Hill 134 Denby 84; 3rd round: Birkby Rose Hill 258-9 Almondbury Wes 226-8; Semi-final: Birkby Rose Hill 231-8 Cawthorne 223-8.
Woodfield Park: 1st round Woodfield Park 246-7 Holmbridge 201; 2nd round: Thurstonland 148 Woodfield Park 152-4; 3rd round: Woodfield Park 213 Bradley & Colne 159; Semi-final: Woodfield Park 184 Azaad 149.
Teams: Birkby Rose Hill: Mushtaq Hussain (capt), Tahir Iqbal, Aslam Khan, Thilina Ambepitiya, Rashid Nazar, Faisal Javed, Mohammed Kamran (wkt), Imran Sharif, Mohammed Adnan, Rasul Awan, Wasim Javed. 12th man: Sarfraz Hussain.
Woodfield Park: (from) Richard Parr (capt), Mark Askham, Shabir Ahmed, Mark Heywood, Nasir Ali, Gareth Myers, Tokir Sura, Andrew Stokes (wkt), Faisal Nasir, Matthew Broadbent, Peter Western, John Stanger, Luke Bolton.
