"Heckmondwike & Carlinghow became the first side to ever retain the Rigg Bash T20 Group B Cup after a stunning display of hitting powered them to victory over Lightcliffe in the final at Keighley.
The sides had met the previous day in the league at Lightcliffe with Heckmondwike & Carlinghow posting 229 all out. Home skipper Andy Walker and Pakistani paceman Waqas Ahmed both claimed 4 wickets for Lightcliffe.
In reply Lightcliffe's openers Mikey Brooke and Niall Lockley both made 32 whilst no 3 Jordan Laban hit eleven fours as he top scored with 72. Yusuf Malik with 24 and Jordan Pickles, 25, steered Lightcliffe towards victory which was achieved with four balls to spare, despite a mid innings wobble, with wicketkeeper Ben Speak finishing on 11 not out and off spinner Drew Russell 16 not out. Lightcliffe remain 5th in the table but with Pakistani professional Waqas Ahmed just arrived and still having the top four to play, promotion is still in their hands.
Back to the T20 final, Heckmondwike & Carlinghow skipper Muhammad Shahnawaz responded to his side slipping to 45-3 in reply to Lightcliffe’s 170-6 by promoting himself in the batting order and in partnership with the impressive Sajid Azeem he transformed his side’s fortunes.
Together they added 112 for the fourth wicket and treated the spectators to some explosive stroke play.
Shahnawaz made his intentions clear with a huge six which was the first of six maximums in his 34-ball innings of 61 not out.
Left hander Azeem also hit six sixes including one switch hit which soared over the boundary. Azeem’s 71 from 36 balls also featured five fours as he tore into the Lightcliffe bowling with a succession of stunning shots.
By the time he holed out of the bowling of Leo Flanagan, Heckmondwike & Carlinghow needed just 14 runs to win. Shahnawaz struck his sixth six before Qamar Shahzad sealed victory with a four. They passed what looked a decent Lightcliffe score with 4.1 overs to spare.
There was a big blow for Lightcliffe right at the start of the final when opener Niall Lockley, top scorer in their semi-final win over Hunslet Nelson, was dismissed for just one.
Teenage opener Yusuf Malik (pictured cutting) and Jordan Pickles had the job of building a foundation. Together they added 98 for the second wicket, Malik leading the way with 59 from 48 balls, an innings containing two sixes and four fours, whilst Pickles hit two fours and a six in his 43. Their partnership enabled the later batters to play with more freedom, Jamal striking two sixes in a quickfire 19.
Unfortunately for Lightcliffe, their total which seemed competitive, proved insufficient once Heckmondwike & Carlinghow unleashed their batting power despite skipper Andy Walker claiming another two wickets.
There had been indications of it in their six-wicket semi-final win over Great Preston. Opener Hamza Shahzad tore into the bowling as he made 62 from 32 balls with four sixes and five fours.
He was backed up by Wajid Hussain (64no) as they overhauled a score of 167-6. Great Preston did not help their cause with a slipshod fielding display which saw them spill six catches. That prevented them from putting Heckmondwike & Carlinghow under pressure.
There was an early indication that this was going to Shahnawaz’s day when he removed both Great Preston openers Hayden Mortimer and Oli Baron in the first over of the game.
From 2-2, Great Preston were revived by a fine innings of 58 from Shamsullah Dost which was backed up by wicketkeeper Sam Wright (41no).
The highlight of the first semi-final was 16-year-old left arm spinner Leo Flanagan taking 4-8 as Hunslet Nelson were restricted to 139-7 when they batted first.
Only former Lightcliffe player Alastair Finn (48no) and Sam Thewlis (29) challenged the control exerted by the Lightcliffe attack which was led by skipper Andy Walker (3-27).
Opener Niall Lockley led the way with an explosive 69 from 41 balls, an innings featuring five sixes and five fours - one of the sixes sailed straight into the neighbouring Keighley Cougars RL ground whilst another was an even bigger hit to the opposite end of the ground, clearing the boundary rope, the sizable car park and the perimeter wall!! Ben Speak and Jordan Pickles both made 25 to secure a five wicket win with 14 balls to spare. Tyler Woodhouse (3-20) was the pick of the Nelson bowlers.
The day was a triumph for Keighley whose organisation was first class. The ground looked immaculate, and the quality of the pitch provided by groundsman Allan Birkett was underlined by the fact that the day’s three matches produced 962 runs.