Todays visitors to Wakefield Road were old Bradford league rivals Keighley. A club with a proud history, Keighley joined the Bradford League in 1916 with Lightcliffe following in 1919.

Lightcliffe won the toss and elected to field – the fourth time on the bounce that they would bowl first in matches this season and they were hoping that they could again skittle the opposition and chase a low total. Mark Gilliver and Zahir Shah opened the batting and made Lightcliffe wait until the 8th over for a breakthrough. Andy Walker found the outside edge of Shah and a smart catch was taken by keeper Finn Brookes standing up to the stumps. Gilliver defended well and chanced his luck when the ball was within his range, and with South African overseas wicket keeper batsman Johandre Barnard the score ticked over without threatening to accelerate.

A useful platform was building until Jordan Pickles, again opening the bowling with his now indispensable off-spin, took a catch off his own bowling. Barnard claimed it was a bump-ball but the umpires conferred and agreed that he had struck the bat on the floor but had hit the ball cleanly on the full back to Pickles. Unfazed, league stalwart Mark Gilliver continued to go about his business and was within 5 of reaching a landmark milestone of 16,000 Bradford League runs when he also hit a return catch – this time to Andy Walker who clung on. Keighley were 63 for 3 in the 21st over.

Wickets hadn’t been easy to come by unlike in previous weekends, but neither were runs; Lightcliffe were beginning to take a grip on the Keighley innings. New batsman Hussain struck his 3rd ball for 6 and then launched his 5th high into the air. Neither Niall Lockley nor Waleed Raja could decide upon who was best placed for a possible attempt at a tough running catch and it landed safely between the two of them. Thankfully the very next ball was struck to Lockley who was still seething about his part in the confusion but this time it was the batting pair who couldn’t make up their minds about whether to stick or twist. He picked up the ball and swiftly returned a thunder rocket of a throw back to Brookes. The return throw was slightly off radar but Brookes dived to take the return before spinning back to throw down the stumps from close distance. Keighley were now 73 for 4 in the 23rd over and suddenly Lightcliffe were well on top. What was a good score now? At this stage Keighley would have probably taken something between 160 and 175 but maybe Lightcliffe could pick up the remaining 6 wickets and keep them to 150? The landscape of the game proved to be dependant upon who would win the next key 25 overs.

Keighley batsman Hussain began to throw caution to the wind and started to play a powerful counter attacking innings. Not always in full knowledge about where the ball was heading he took the well worn path of defending length balls whilst waiting for a delivery that was in his arc so he could send it upwards and skywards and hopefully somewhere towards or over the fence. He applied this method to Walkers 13th over – block, swing, block, swing, block, swing, block – 18 runs. He was beginning to push the innings away from LCC. Dropped twice in the deep, the Keighley pair saw their way to the end of both Pickles (15-1-44-1) and Walkers (15-3-67-2) tight spells. 30 overs gone, 116 for 4 and suddenly Keighley looked the side on top. The old adage of ‘take the score at 30 overs and double it’ would predict a total of around 230 – significantly more than what Lightcliffe have chased during the first 3 games of the summer. Lightcliffe needed the dangerman Hussain out.

Change bowlers Waleed Raja and Isaak Dikgale aimed to try and dry up the runs but the batsmen were starting to cut loose. Thankfully Hussains luck eventually ran out when he smashed a delivery to long on off Raja, the catch taken by Lockley. 136 for 5. Dikgale picked up the 6th before Keighley again rebuilt.

It was an innings that had ebbed and flowed whilst the two sides wrestled for control. Without the injured Whiteoak and Burton, plus the absent Dobson, bowling options were very limited for skipper Hendy. He decided to try his luck and test his knees to hopefully close the Keighley innings. Between Dikgale and Hendy the Keighley threat began to subside and eventually ended with a total of 196 in the 47th over. Dikgale picked up his LCC best of 4 for 35 with Hendy picking up his first wicket of the season, and Lockley picking up a trio of catches in the deep. Lightcliffe had been set 197 to win.

The tennis hut/temporary workshop dust shed has been beautifully transformed overnight into a cosy 1950s village tearoom by Liz Leach and Louise Barraclough (on her birthday). The array of Linda Steads cakes were absolutely magnificent as ever. And thankyou to other volunteers that haven’t been mentioned in name but you know who you are! None of the days cricket is possible without the people who may not pick up a bat and ball but undoubtedly contribute to the days play in equally important ways. Mention must also go to the hard-working Chris Drake who has battled the extreme elements for the last month to produce a wicket that played true and consistent throughout.

Hoping to avoid the start of the previous 3 weeks, Lightcliffe unfortunately and very quickly found themselves at 11 for 3 in the 6th over and up against it yet again. First Ammar, then Dikgale, and then Lockley all arrived and left the crease swiftly. 196 seemed a very very long way off. Pickles began to rebuild with seasoned opener Stead and the score began to lift gradually upwards. The cricket was cautious and risk free as the pair crafted a partnership. After last weeks match winning contribution, and finding runs hard to earn, Pickles ran out of patience in the 18th over trying to loft a delivery over the infield. Keighley were in charge and an early end looked very possible. Skipper Hendy was frustrated at both the situation and the hold of Keighley and he departed in the 23rd over – leaving Lightcliffe 60 for 5 and in serious trouble.

Will Leach, playing his first game of the season for the first team, joined Alex Stead and again the rebuilding process began under heavy Keighley pressure. Caution was again the key word. Runs began to accumulate with the odd boundary, whilst the pair ran well and steadied what was, at the time, a slowly sinking ship. The pair had added 36 before Leach was undone by former LCC junior Danny Ahmed bringing Brookes to the crease. Hoping that he could replicate his partnership with Stead at Wrenthorpe, he was out before troubling the scorers. 104 for 7, Stead running out of partners and the game looked all but over.

The old and wise head of Rob Burton joined his ally Zani Stead and the pair refused to give in. 93 to win off 15, but only 3 wickets left. Runs needed, wickets to be preserved. It was a tough ask. Overs were slowly milked, spiced with the occasional 4, and the game began to feel just within improbable reach. Knowing that they both realistically held the key to any opportunity of victory they carefully managed risks without wasting chances to build the total. The 8th wicket had added 51 before the dismissal of Burton – and Lightcliffe were still just about in the game.

Stead battled exhaustion as well as the Keighley pressure, breaking free before being restricted again. 4 overs left, Raja joined Zani with 45 needed. Not impossible but it was significantly more than the rate scored at any point in the game and was a massive task on a pitch that had played true all day but was still tough to score freely on, still suffering from the incessant early season rainfall. Unfortunately the steam was beginning to run out and overs 47 and 48 passed by without a boundary. A 6 and three 4s later and Stead reached a magnificent, well crafted, and determined hundred. Unfortunately time was up and Lightcliffe were just 16 short. Alex Steads contribution would have been match winning had he been given just a little support by one or more of his partners. Only Leach, Burton and Pickles reached double figures and offered assistance but ultimately it needed two innings of note to surpass what was a good - but not insurmountable ‘probably just above par’ - total by Keighley.

If chances were taken they may have set a total 20 or 30 less. If Lightcliffe hadn’t been 11 for 3, and then 100 for 7…..Ultimately the differences between the sides was not clear to see. Keighley hit over the short boundary taking more risks with the bat and that paid off today. On another day those same risks will not reap the same rewards. Lightcliffe hit the ball more correctly and along the ground but the ball did not run across a still soft and damp outfield on the far side of the ground – possibly reducing their total by 20 as 4s became 1s and 2s. Credit where credit is due – Keighley did not give Lightcliffe many gift deliveries to hit and bowled very tightly, applying more pressure. Their boundary fielding was a mix of elaborate boot stops and dives - but was, on this occasion, effective rather than precise and they too dropped key chances.

The positives from the day are that Lightcliffe picked up maximum bowling points for the 4th time in a row – even without 3 of their main bowling options on the field. They almost chased down a sizeable total with only 1 batsman scoring above 13. In league table terms it was a ‘good’ loss (if such a thing exists) that still enabled them to pick up 8 bonus points so they didn’t finish the game completely empty handed. Next week we visit 4th placed Liversedge to our 5th, the only unbeaten side in the league who have 2 wins, a tie and an abandoned fixture in their recent form guide. It will be another stern test of the Villagers steel.