This result shouldn't disguise the progress the side have made this year. With a very young side they established themselves in the First Division and are looking to further improve next year.

September 6^th - Woodlands away
The Second X1 returned to winning ways and secured their First Division status with a 6-wicket win at Woodlands.  In a low-scoring game, it was Richard Winn who came to the fore with 4-24 with the ball and scoring 66 to see Morley within sight of the winning post.

Morley bowled first and the opening spell from Matthew Dowse and Danny Wood set the tone for the match as Woodlands had reached just 9-1 after the first twelve overs.  Morley kept things tight throughout the innings and in support of Winn’s contribution there were 3 wickets for Ash Daly and one each for Dowse and Wood along with three victims for Jack Seddon.  Woodlands innings ended on 114 in 46.3 overs.

In response, Richard Winn opened the batting and batted through to 32^nd over by which time he had scored 66 to see Morley almost home.  The main support came from a patient innings by Danny Wood who came to the crease in the 10^th over and batted through for an unbeaten 30.

September 5^th - East Bierley away

In a game which typified their season, Morley 2nds failed to press home their advantage after getting themselves into a position to win the game.   The game was delayed due to rain and a wet track and eventually reduced to 35 overs per side.  Morley performed well in the field to bowl East Bierley out for 164 in 34 overs.  The wickets were shared amongst all five bowlers with Richard Winn taking 3-42, Graeme Roberts 2-26, Eddie Ream 2-39 and Danny Wood 1-23.  The star turn with the ball, however, was John Hyde whose 1-27 off ten overs put the brakes on the home side as they looked to push on for a big total.  The standard of fielding was also good with the top six all falling to catches plus a run out and a stumping to wrap up the innings.

Morley’s response started in solid fashion with the openers putting on 38 and then a partnership of 30 for the 2^nd wicket.  Opener Rob Smith went on to top-score with 33, opening partner Ryan Dowse 17 and James McNichol 16.  The change bowlers for East Bierley tightened the innings up with John Glover being a thorn in Morley’s side by running out Rob Smith and then taking 5-36 off his 11 overs.   There was a good knock from Danny Wood with 20 and a final hurrah from number 11 Eddie Ream with 18 not out including a six of the last ball.  However, from 80-3 to a final score of 135-9 and a defeat by 29 runs demonstrates another one that got away.

August 29th - Hanging Heaton at home

Tthe 2nd X1 continued their determined bid to preserve First Division status.  They went down by just 10 runs to high flying Hanging Heaton, but there was plenty of reason for continued confidence in this spirited display.  The visitors reached 192, but Richard Winn with 3 victims, supported by Rob Lintin-French (2) and James McNichol and Graeme Roberts (1 each) battled hard to keep them in check.

Ryan Dowse got the reply off to a fine start with an aggressive 36 and Rob Smith weighed in with 35, but only James McNichol (17) of the top order offered any real support.  Wicket Keeper Matti Bramley led the resistance from the tail with 15 and last pair Eddie Ream and Rob Lintin-French made a brave attempt at securing victory, but it was always just that bit too far for them to reach as Morley closed on 181-9.

With 3 games left, including next weekend’s double header, there is still work to do, but a 39 point cushion over 12th placed Undercliffe which should be enough to see Morley retain their current status.

August 22nd - no game

August 15^th – Bowling Old Lane at home

While the first were being rained off, the weather was slightly kinder at Scatcherd Lane for the Second X1’s game with their Bowling Old Lane counterparts.  Old Lane batted first in a game they desperately needed to win in order to keep the pressure on Pudsey St Lawrence at the top of the League.  Siddique scored 60 and Riaqat Ali added an excellent 70 as they compiled 202-9. Graeme Roberts was in great bowling form, picking up 5 wickets, supported by Richard Winn (2), Matthew Dowse (1) and a run out.

Rain shortened the Morley innings which meant Old Lane had to bowl them out to grab that vital win. Matthew Green again got the innings off to a solid start with 24, but wickets tumbled around him.  Once more, it was the young duo of James McNichol and Jack Seddon that took the fight back to the opposition.   McNichol played a typically stylish innings of 39, whilst Seddon patiently waited to mercilessly punish any bad balls in his impressive score of 59. With their departure, Morley soon found themselves with their last pair at the wicket, 6 overs to go, and the visitors sensing victory. Even the weather turned against Morley as evening sunshine bathed the ground.  None of this phased Matthew Dowse and Eddie Ream however, as they comfortably saw the game through to a draw, picking up 2 extra points for their team.  The tally of 8 points for the day will go a long way towards edging Morley to safety.

August 8^th - Cleckheaton at home

The Seconds did a great job dismissing Cleckheaton for 140. Richard Winn and Graeme Roberts took 3 wickets each, with 2 for Rob Lintin-French, 1 to Eddie Ream and a run out.

The reply stuttered from the start. Matthew Green battled towards 24 and Richard Winn scored 26.  A last wicket stand between Matthew Dowse and Eddie Ream enabled Morley to reach 3 figures, but their total of 109 all out wasn't enough to avoid defeat.

August 1^st - Keighley away

The Second X1 had a great chance to climb the table, when their game at bottom side Keighley became the only match to take place in their division.  However, having produced a number of upset results in the last couple of years it was Morley’s turn to be on the wrong side of a surprise as their hosts secured a deserved 36 run win.

With the match reduced to 35 overs, only Danny Wood (2), Richard Winn and Graeme Roberts were wicket takers as Keighley finished on 167-4. Opener Liam Dyson played a fine innings before being dismissed for 95.

The Morley reply struggled most of the way through.  Teenagers Matthew Green (17), Verundev Sambhi (26) and, in particular, James McNichol (31) all took the fight to Keighley, but there wasn't enough support to overcome the target. Only an entertaining last wicket stand from Rob Lintin-French and Eddie Ream earned the side a batting point as the innings closed on 131 all out.

July 26^th - Yeadon away

The Second X1 returned to winning ways with a 44 run victory at Yeadon.  Batting first, there were a couple of early wickets to put Morley in trouble again.  However, John Hyde, Ash Daly and Graeme Roberts spent time at the crease to provide a platform for Richard Winn to take the starring role with the bat.  “Winny” scored an unbeaten 78 in a total of 144-8.  In response, the Yeadon openers looked to have overcome tight bowling from the openers as the moved to 46 without loss.  Then an excellent spell of bowling from both Liam Fynn (4-36) and Danny Wood (3-19) turned the game Morley’s way.  Winn then came into the attack to take 3-8 off 4.2 overs to wrap the game up and secure 16 points for Morley.  The game was played in difficult conditions but in a great spirit with 12-year-old Ben Jenkinson, once again, performing excellently in the field.

July 25^th - Farsley at home
Morley 2nds’ recent run of defeats continued with a home loss against Farsley.  The side, captained for the first time by new skipper Graeme Roberts, again lost several key players due to injuries and Yorkshire call-ups.  Under 12s player Ben Jenkinson made his 2nd team debut and the ranks were boosted considerably by the inclusion of first-teamers Rob Smith and James Russell, both of whom were returning following injuries.  The visitors batted first and posted a daunting total of 220-7.  Farsley opener Matthew Green led the way with 77 and there were other good contributions right down the card.  James Russell pulled-up with a calf injury after 2.3 overs and was unable to take any further part in the game.  Wicket takers were Matthew Dowse (2), Liam Fynn (2) with one each for Rob Linton-French and Eddie Ream plus a run-out following good work in the field by Jenkinson.

Morley’s response was struggling from the start with two batsmen back in the pavilion before the end of the first over and before a run had been scored.  John Hyde’s recent return to form continued as he and skipper Graeme Roberts steadied the ship with a 6th wicket partnership of 78.  Hyde made an excellent half-century and was out for 56 while Roberts fell just short of the half- century mark when bowled on 44.  With Russell unable to bat, Morley could only reach 145 to lose the game by 75 runs.

July 18th - Baildon away
First Team call-ups, injuries, illness and County commitments all contributed to Morley fielding a much changed Second X1.  Batting first on a wet track, the Morley side struggled from the outset against the pace of opening bowler Brett Kinsey.  He finished the game with 5-25 including a hat-trick in his second spell to end the Morley innings.  There was some middle-order resistance from John Hyde with 27 and Matti Bramley with 23 but three wickets in an over from Tim Forster exposed the tail for Morley to be bowled out for just 78.  In response, Morley battled hard and openers Graeme Roberts and Matthew Dowse kept things tight.  There was an early breakthrough for Dowse and Andrew Cutt took a wicket later in the innings, but the home side had lots of overs in which to bat patiently and work their way towards an eight wicket win.

July 11^th – Undercliffe at home

The Second X1 lost a nail biting encounter to Undercliffe on the last ball of the game at Scatcherd Lane.  Morley batted first and only James McNichol, who top scored with 31, and Liam Fynn, who smashed a typically belligerent 24 late in the innings, really got going as they closed the innings on a disappointing 142-7.
 
Fynn then led the way with the ball as he grabbed 3 wickets, supported by Rob Lintin-French (2) and Matthew Dowse and Danny Wood with one each. At 100-7 with 10 overs left, Morley were scenting victory. The experienced Russ Heritage timed his innings to perfection, however, scoring the winning runs from the final ball of the game to complete a 3 wicket victory.

July 4^th - Pudsey St Lawrence at home

The Second X1 fell to a heavy defeat to league leaders Pudsey St Lawrence.  The visitors batted first and Morley could be quite pleased with their efforts in the field as they restricted PSL to 195-9 off the full 50 overs.  It could have been even better with several half-chances falling just short or just wide of fielders.  Graeme Roberts led the bowling figures with 5-57, while there were two wickets for James McNichol and one each for Danny Wood, Rob Lintin-French.  The batting response, however, was poor.  While it could be argued that Morley never had the luck that PSL experienced in their innings, the batting was well short of what is required.  Only Jack Seddon showed any prowess with the bat to score 27, but for the rest it was a single figure procession to and from the pavilion.  Morley were bowled out for just 55 in 26.2 overs to give St Lawrence a win by 140 runs.

June 27^th – Pudsey Congs away
The Second X1 fell to a three-wicket defeat at Pudsey Congs.  The home side were strengthened by a couple of First Teamers coming into the side but it was another mixed batting performance that lead to Morley’s downfall.  Richard Winn and Andy Hayward both scored 31 and Jack Seddon 24, but there was insufficient support from the rest of the side as Morley reached 130 all out in just 34.1 overs.  The total was never likely to be enough, but as always Morley gave it a go.  There were two wickets for Winn and Liam Fynn and one each for Matthew Dowse, Rob Lintin-French and Eddie Ream but the home side reached 134 for the loss of 7 wickets in 47.4 overs to record a 3 wicket win.

June 21^st - Hartshead Moor away (Priestley Shield)
The 2^nd X1 crashed out of the Priestley Shield at 2^nd Division Hartshead Moor.  The home were put into bat and progressed to 116 all out with Liam Fynn (3-16), Richard Winn (2-6), Matthew Dowse (2-15), Eddie Ream (2-21) and Graeme Roberts (1-28) all getting amongst the wickets.  A couple of young players brought into the side - Alex Houghton and Matthew Fox - made a great contribution in the field; both taking a couple of excellent catches.  In the Morley response, the same two players were the only ones to emerge with any credit during the batting as Houghton top-scored with 21 and Fox battled hard at the end of the innings.  Only Richard Winn (15) and Eddie Ream (10 not out) reached double figures as a poor batting performance saw Morley reach only 86 all out to lose by 30 runs.

June 20^th - East Bierley at home
A much depleted Second X1 side battled current Champions East Bierley all the way for the victory.  Tidy spells of bowling from openers Eddie Ream and Graeme Roberts saw wickets fall at regular intervals before a 6^th wicket partnership of 50 put the visitors on course for a total of 196-9.  Roberts led the way with 3 wickets, while there were 2 each for Ream and Ash Daly and 1 apiece for Matthew Dowse and Liam Fynn.  The Morley response got off to a quick start but then regular wickets saw them reduced to 97-6 with Andy Kirkwood (16) and Ash Daly (46) showing the main resistance.  At 130-8, it looked like start the car time, but Liam Fynn had other ideas and went to score 35 but being bowled to leave Morley on 179 all out, just 17 runs short of their target.

June 14^th – Woodlands at home

The Second X1 ground out a victory in the second match of the weekend’s double-header.  Captain Andy Cutt dropped out of the side with Richard Winn taking over as skipper and Eddie Ream coming back into the starting eleven. Both players would be pivotal to the victory with Ream producing an excellent spell of 3-21 of 8 overs.  There were also a couple of wickets for Ash Daly and one each for Graeme Roberts, Richard Winn and Liam Fynn as the visitors progressed to 168-8 off their 50 overs.  Morley’s response showed a similar pattern to recent games by getting a start then losing three wickets on 37.  This brought Ash Daly and Richard Winn together and their 5th wicket partnership moved Morley towards the winning post; Daly scored 40 and Winn ended the innings on 74 not out.  The victory was secured with Graeme Roberts at the crease unbeaten on 17 as Morley reached their target for the loss of 5 wickets and securing 16 points.

June 13^th - Hanging Heaton away
Captain Andy Cutt made a welcome return to the side following injury.  Morley batted first and the innings provided a real roller-coaster ride.  The first down slope of the ride was Ryan Dowse being bowled to the first ball he faced by a “real peach of a ball”.  Then, Rob Lintin-French and Andy Hayward constructed a second opening partnership of 131 with Linton-French scoring 56 and Hayward 61.   From 131-1, the innings slumped to 138-7 with a steady procession of batsman to and from the pavilion. Ash Daly was 8^th man to the crease and he showed the good form he is in with the bat by making 53 off just 35 balls.  He was ably supported by James McNichol who ended the innings on 34 not out and there was still time for a great little knock by Graeme Roberts who ended the game on 17 not out.  So, Morley ended their innings with maximum points on 242-7.

Job done?  Don’t even think about it.  Hanging Heaton set about the Morley bowling attack reaching 100 in 14 overs and their overall target with 4.1 overs to spare.  The wicket takers were Danny Wood, Andy Cutt and Richard Winn as the home side secured a comfortable win by 7 wickets.

May 30^th - Bowling Old Lane away
The Second X1 went down by just 8 runs at Bowling Old Lane. Some indifferent fielding late in the innings helped the home team to 189-7, with Ash Daly taking 3 wickets. Ryan Dowse, a late replacement for Matthew Green, took his chance well, scoring an excellent 55, but the innings ran out of steam after his dismissal and Morley fell 8 short.

May 25^th - Cleckheaton away
After their impressive win against Keighley, it was a case of after the Lord Mayor’s Show as the side batted poorly to reach a total of 83 all out in just 27.3 overs.  Danny Wood was promoted to opener and scored 17 while Ash Daly notched-up 13 but no-one else reached double figures.  Wood also impressed in a good opening spell with the ball to take 3-15 off 7 overs.  At one stage, Morley had the home side at 32-5 and an unlikely victory looked possible. The home side rallied though and eventually reached their low target for the loss of seven wickets.  The other wicket takers were Graeme Roberts with 2, Richard Winn and a run-out.

May 23^rd - Keighley at home
Morley 2nds had another impressive win against struggling Keighley at Scatcherd Lane to move up to 2nd in the table.   Batting first, there was a welcome return to form for Andy Hayward and Ryan Dowse.  Hayward held the innings together with an innings that stretched 43 overs before being bowled for 65.  Dowse, batting down the order, supported Hayward through a 7th wicket partnership of 57 and then stayed at the crease till the end to score an unbeaten 28.  In addition, four other players got into the teens to make useful contributions to a final score of 185-8.

In response, Keighley opener and Captain, Paul Wilkinson looked dangerous for a while, but once he had been bowled by Rob Lintin-French for 19, there was little resistance.  Lintin-French also removed the number 3 batsman to finish on 2-10, Richard Winn took 3-16 and there was a wicket for Liam Fynn before Ash Daly mopped-up the tail to take 4-5 off just 6.2 overs to deliver a Morley win by 117 runs.

May 17^th - Bradford and Bingley away (Priestley Shield)
Sunday was a miserable, wet day with play very much restricted all round. In the Priestley Shield the Seconds travelled to Bradford and Bingley. The home side scored 115-4 with wickets going to Matthew Dowse, Liam Fynn, Eddie Ream and a run out. Again the weather washed out any further hopes of play, but a 1-0 win in the bowl out, courtesy of Liam Fynn, saw Morley go through.

May 16^th - Pudsey St Lawrence away
The Second team travelled to the home of unbeaten league leaders Pudsey St Lawrence. PSL were fast out of the traps and quickly raced to 52-1. The Morley bowlers gradually dragged their team back into the contest and the innings closed at 200-9. Rob Lintin-French (3), Graeme Roberts (2), Richard Winn (2) were the wicket takers. There was a run out and another superb day for wicket keeper Jack Seddon who took 5 catches.
 
Opener Matthew Green again got the innings off to a good start as he made 59, but no one else was really getting going and at 159-9 it looked only a matter of time before the home side completed their win. However Richard Winn was in blistering form as he despatched the bowling to all parts of the ground.  Graeme Roberts battled hard and stayed with him leading to a dramatic climax when Winn scored two from the very last ball to win the match. Winn scored an unbeaten 78 and the Morley side, widely predicted to struggle in the top flight, have consolidated their third place with four wins out of five.

May 9^th - Farsley away
A rain reduced game at Red Lane saw Farsley’s Mathew Green contribute 82 of his side’s 225-8. Graeme Roberts produced another inspired bowling display, grabbing 4 wickets, supported by Liam Fynn (2) with Rob Lintin-French and Ash Daly took one each.
 
Again, there was a fall of early wickets which made Morley’s task look an uphill one but teenagers Jack Seddon (21), James McNichol (41), and, in particular, Ash Daly with a superb 72 not out kept the visitors in the hunt until they were finally all out for 190. Morley remain in third place.

May 2^nd - Baildon at home
Morley 2^nd team continued their remarkable start to their first season in the JCT600 Bradford League Second League Division One campaign with an emphatic win by 8 wickets over Baildon.  The win which takes the side to 3rd place in the League, was built on the teamwork with its mix of youth and experience.  With Baildon batting first, it was the performance of Graeme Roberts, opening the bowling from the scoreboard end, which set the tone with a remarkable spell that produced the figures of 4-18 including 4 maidens off ten overs.  With Matthew Dowse keeping things tight at the other end, the change bowlers were all able to come on pick-up vital wickets with Eddie Ream, Richard Winn and Ash Daly all picking up two wickets apiece.  Behind the stumps, Jack Seddon also put in another good performance taking four catches as Baildon closed on 126 all out from 42.2 overs.

Morley’s future was again highlighted by the top 5 in the batting line-up with ages of 17, 16, 14, 17 and 13.  After the loss of an early wicket, Matthew Green and James McNichol saw Morley to within site of the finishing line.  The pair put on a 2^nd wicket partnership of 114 with Green again battling towards another half-century, he then marked his intentions by reaching his 50 with a six into the car-park, followed by some fine shots to progress to 84 before his wicket fell.  He was ably supported by McNichol  who had been given out LBW the previous ball for 32.   But the work had been done and Verundev Sambhi and Jack Seddon were able to see Morley home without any further worries as Morley reached a total of 130-3 to secure 16 points.

April 26^th - Barnsley at home (Crowther Cup)
There was little time to recover from Saturday’s efforts before the 2nds were back at Scatcherd Lane on Sunday for a first round Crowther Cup tie with holders Barnsley.  Batting first, Morley struggled to 131 all out with 12 overs left, despite some more valiant efforts from their young batsmen. McNichol top scored with 33, but there other good contributions from Daly and Seddon.
 
Barnsley must have fancied their chances of a comfortable win, but the resurgent Eddie Ream lead the way with 4 wickets, supported by some fine catching from Graeme Roberts and Matthew Green. The visitors had slipped to 126-8 and McNichol was emphasising just what a prospect he is with a tight spell of bowling after coming on at the death.
 
There was to be no fairy tale finish this time however, as the experienced Barnsley side completed their win without further loss. Again though, Morley had plenty of positives to take away from what had been a very difficult looking fixture.

April 25^th - Pudsey Congs at home
At the home game with Pudsey Congs, with the visitors at 100-1, life in Division One was looking very tough. Captain Andrew Cutt then produced a fine spell of bowling to take 2-44, and supported by the ever reliable Richard Winn, the Congs innings closed on 213-6.
 
Morley again made an indifferent start and 53-3 looked like leading to a poor reply indeed. Thirteen-year olds Jack Seddon and James McNichol then came together and showed a level of skill and maturity that was nothing short of incredible as they both completed 50s to put Morley back on target. Ash Daly and Winn continued the good work to get within range when another flurry of wickets brought last man Matthew Dowse to the crease.
 
Displaying no nerves, Dowse continued the run chase, supported by Cutt and with one over left 8 runs were required for victory. A tense finish looked on the cards, but Dowse was having none of that as he promptly blasted two successive boundaries to record an amazing win that takes Morley to joint 3rd in the league.

April 18^th - Undercliffe away
Morley 2^nd X1 started with a win at Undercliffe as Richard Winn started the new season where he finished the last.   Sharing the opening of the bowling, he delivered a tight spell by conceding just 8 runs from 8 overs and then went on to score 61 not out as Morley moved towards victory by  5 wickets.  The star performance in the bowling department though fell to Ash Daly who, after a shaky start, grew in confidence after his first wicket to turn in a remarkable 6-39.  Captain, Andy Cutt took 2-29 and with a run-out and a wicket for Winn at the start of his second spell, the home side reached 137 all out.   If Winn was the star of the Morley response, debutant Matty Green was the lynchpin of the batting with a battling 50.  There were also good support from Andy Hayward and Jack Seddon, Morley reached 140-5 with 19 overs to spare.

April 12^th - Methley away (friendly)
The First X1 game at Mirfield Parish Cavaliers was called-off due to a wet outfield after the Good Friday rain.  Much improved weather allowed the Second X1 friendly at Methley to go ahead on Sunday afternoon.   The session provided a good first work-out for the squad.  The home batted first and posted 179-9 from the alloted 40 overs.  Matthew Dowse led the bowling figures with 3-40 from two spells while there were wickets apiece for Spenser Horsfall, Graeme Roberts, Ash Daly and Eddie Ream and two run-outs.  Morley's batting response took too long to get going with most of the top order returning to the pavilion for only single figures.  The middle-order did provide some resistance with Ash Daly top-scoring with 38, Graeme Roberts 24 and Richard Winn 14.  However, the visitors were bowled out for 120 to give Methley a comfortable win.  Methley put on a great welcome to Morley CC and we offer our thanks to them for staging the game and best wishes for a successful 2009.