Micklehurst on a sticky wicket

MICKLEHURST missed a golden opportunity to stay alongside the top teams in the Huddersfield League Premiership when they were beaten by four runs at Meltham.

Mel Whittle and Qasir Rashid delivered 15 maidens in the first 30 overs as Micklehurst elected to bowl first on a damp wicket.

Both ended with three wickets apiece, but a late spurt took Meltham to a respectable 116 all out.

The confidence of the Micklehurst batsmen was dented by a downpour during the tea interval and, after losing Anchor (10) and Hesford (20), disaster struck.

Rashid called for a suicidal run and left Gleave stranded in mid-wicket.

Rashid was so distracted by his error that three balls later he hit a simple catch straight to the fielder stood on the square leg boundary.

Skipper Tom Whittle put his team in sight of victory with a determined 35, but the last three batsmen failed to trouble the scorers as Micklehurst were bowled out for 112.