No excuses over Delph’s defeat

DISAPPOINTED Delph skipper Grant Jones admitted his team were outplayed as they went down by 27 runs to Barkisland in the Romida Sykes Cup final yesterday.

Having lost the Drakes Huddersfield League’s showpiece final in 2005, Delph were determined to make amends in front of over 700 at Honley, but their hopes were scuppered by two superb individual performances.

Barkisland skipper Paul Winrow hit 138 – just three short of the Sykes Cup final record – as his team totalled 229 all out from 49.5 overs after winning the toss and batting in their first appearance in the final since joining from the Halifax League in 2001.

Then off-spinner Matt Steers weighed in with six for 46 from 14.1 excellent overs to keep Delph constantly under the cosh and leave opener Bruce Cruse running out of partners before he was run out for 92 by Jack Taylor in the 47th over after hitting eight fours and two sixes.

Steers took the last wicket at 8.36pm after 42 minutes had been lost to rain in the first hour of the match, but his effort was still not enough to deny Winrow the man-of-the-match award after his run-a-ball innings which took two hours 52 minutes and included four sixes and 15 fours.

Delph were without Kyle Hogg, who was on Pro40 duty with Lancashire, but skipper Jones offered no excuses for his side failing to add the League’s major knockout to their Twenty/20 success.

“We’re disappointed, but Barkisland were better than us in every department,” confessed Jones.

“They batted better than us, bowled better than us and fielded better than us - and that’s what wins you matches.

“We just didn’t turn up, and that’s the second time it’s happened to us in the Sykes Cup final.”

Despite Bilal Khiljee (1-29 from 14.5) sending down five maidens and six out of seven to open his spell, Barkisland’s tally was built around a stand of 128 in 28 overs for the second wicket between Winrow and Dave Weston, who had six boundaries in his 39.

Former Lancashire all-rounder Mike Smethurst took the bulk of the punishment, finishing with two for 77 from 10 overs and, just four overs after Weston departed, Winrow brought up his century off 116 balls in 141 minutes with 13 fours and two sixes.

Irfan Zahoor was the best of the Delph bowlers with four for 39 from 10 overs, preventing the late onslaught that many had predicted as five wickets went down for 12 runs, and Kamran Mirza finished with two for 75.

But 229 in damp, overcast conditions was always going to be a tough target to challenge and, despite Zahoor opening the innings with a whirlwind 25, no-one could provide Cruse with the support he needed as Delph closed on 202 from 49.1 overs.




DELPH’S premiership one fixture at Shelley on Saturday was abandoned because of rain.