The Sykes Cup brings two old friends into direct combat on Sunday.
Rastrick are flying the flag for the Cedar Court Conference in the last eight as they play host to Premiership new boys Moorlands.
And that means Rastrick’s overseas signing Mitchell McCoach will come up against Moorlands skipper Michael Rounding – a former teammate at the Marshall Bears club in Geelong, Victoria.
“We know Rastrick have got some good players and, when I played a season out in Australia, I was at the same club as Mitchell McCoach,” said Rounding.
“I know Mitch quite well and while we haven’t had chance to catch up as yet, it will be nice to play against him.”
So what of the quarter-final tie in the arrowselfdrive-sponsored competition?
“I think from what we’ve seen, Rastrick will be quite strong,” added Rounding, whose side are buzzing from successive wins.
“They beat Denby Dale in the preliminaries and Skelmanthorpe from the top flight in the first round before Thurstonland, so they have obviously got some decent players.
“They’ve clearly recruited quite strongly and, from their league standing and cup results, they are going to be nobody’s pushover and will give us a really good game.
“From our point of view it would be great to go to a semi-final because the Sykes Cup is a really big competition.
“It’s a chance to get your name up there and I’m sure Rastrick will be looking at it in the same way.
“When you get to this stage, you quickly realise the big final is only two games away – so you want to try and produce your best and do it.”
Rastrick have Jacob Waterson blazing a trail with the bat, on 626 runs at an average of 104.33 ahead of Saturday’s clash with Denby Dale at Round Hill, while Jordan Ghani is among the league’s leading wicket-takers with 29 at just 10.03. Skipper Ollie Pearson has also been in fine form.
Moorlands have beaten Denby and Kirkheaton so far to reach the third-round stage and will be looking to opener Andrew Fortis to build on his 361 runs and 30-wicket Aussie all-rounder Chris Lloyd to do the business up front with the ball.
Kirkburton go into their tie against last year’s finalists Golcar at Swallow Lane buoyed by success in the Heavy Woollen, where they beat Central Yorkshire League leaders Methley last weekend by 83 runs.
Andy Smith’s Riley Lane side visit Delph on Saturday aiming to improve on seventh on the table and he feels opportunity knocks in the Cup.
“I honestly believe that if we turn up as a team we are capable of winning the Sykes Cup,” said Smith.
“A few of the fancied sides have already gone out so this is a good opportunity for everyone who is left in – including ourselves.
“It’s just a matter of sticking together as a team, because we have matchwinners in our side.”
Golcar also have matchwinners, nobody more so than skipper Steve Whitwam who, despite his side having a sticky start to the season, is only four short of 500 runs to add to his 14 wickets.
The only Jedi Sports Championship side left in are Meltham, and they will need to smother the most prolific batsman in Huddersfield cricket to get through to the semis – Scholes’ Joe Carter.
He took his tally to 650 for the season with a rapid 97 in a top-flight record team tally of 410 at Kirkburton last weekend and leads a powerful line-up.
If the Mean Lane side need any extra motivation, though, which is unlikely, Meltham did the double over Scholes last season even though they ended up going down
Experienced Darren Hinchliffe has 275 runs at 30-plus and knows what the Cup is all about, while former Dutch international Muhammad Kashif has 19 wickets to his name and is capable of skittling anyone on his day.
Young Alex Clegg also has 17 wickets for Meltham this term, the same as Ibrar Hussain, so Meltham do have an in-form attack.
The other quarter-final tie promises to be a cracker, too, with Shelley playing host to Barkisland.
South African all-rounder Sash Naidoo has set a target of winning a trophy for Shelley this term and his impressive personal form has brought him 397 runs so far to add to 23 wickets.
Jamie Summerscales fronts the Barkisland batting – he has 336 runs and gets them quickly – while Shelley will have to combat the best spinner in the league in Chris Williams if they are to progress, as he’s taken 30 wickets at just 16.23 ahead of their Saturday trip to Scholes.
Arrowselfdrive Sykes Cup: (Sunday, 1pm) Meltham v Scholes, Shelley v Barkisland, Rastrick v Moorlands, Golcar v Kirkburton.
Fired Up Corportation Paddock Shield: (Sunday, 1pm) Almondbury v Cawthorne, Birkby Rose Hill v Scholes, Thongsbridge v Honley, Barkisland v Skelmanthorpe.
