Australian Rabnott blasts 143no in Moorland victory

Australian overseas player Nathan Rabnott was in superb form, hitting a brilliant 145 not out as Moorlands racked up an impressive total of 305-3.

Rabnott’s innings came off just 96 balls and included 15 fours and six sixes.

He was supported by opener Jared Maxwell (64) and Andrew Fortis (49) as the Cawthorne bowlers were made to suffer.

Cawthorne threatened to chase down the large total as they produced an impressive display in reply.

Ibrar Latif (75) and Liam Wiles (75) got Cawthorne to within 100 runs of their target with six wickets remaining before bowlers Nicky Smith (4-93) and Darrell Sykes (4-20) fought back for Moorlands.

Wiles was dismissed with 70 runs still required but from there, Cawthorne’s hopes fell away as the rest of their batsmen quickly collapsed leaving them 38 runs short.

Victory saw Moorlands climb to fifth place in the table, four points behind Broad Oak, who are third.

Cawthorne are bottom on 17 points, while Mirfield Parish Cavaliers (24) moved three clear of the bottom-two with victory over Shelley.

It was a crucial game in Parish’s battle against the drop but they edged home by three wickets.

Shelley were in a solid position batting first as they reached 110-3 with former Pakistan player Muhammad Ramzan leading the way with 69.

Aiden Hawksworth (4-43) and Jamie Hardcastle (3-20)fought back with impressive bowling spells for the visitors as the last seven wickets fell for just 39 runs and Shelley were bowled out for a disappointing 159.

Several Parish batsmen helped grind out the vital win as Hawksworth (31) and Dan Broadbent (41) both got starts before being dismissed with Martin Sykes (2-43), Ranjith Bandula-Don (2-20) and Imran Zafar (3-36) leading the way.

Parish went on to hold their nerve and a crucial 34 run partnership between Abdul Qader (23) and Terence James (31) took them over the line on 164-7.

Parish host seventh placed Thongsbridge on Saturday and then visit Scholes on Sunday as Premiership sides face a double league weekend, while Moorlands will look to build on their win with a trip to Kirkburton and then the visit of unbeaten league leaders Hoylandswaine.

Mirfield slipped to an 83-run defeat at home to Upperthong as they remain ninth in the Conference.

Upperthong batted first and posted 265-8 as Chris Swanson led the way with 91 after openers Gregory Marah (39) and Benjamin Earnshaw (49) had set a good platform.

Naseer Saudagar (3-70) was pick of the Mirfield bowlers, while Beau McGuinness and Emma Bolt claimed two wickets each.

Adam Goldthorpe struck 79 at the top of the Mirfield reply, while Philip Scouller (39) supported, but they were bowled out for 182 as Tim Charlesworth claimed 3-40.