BRADFORD & Bingley will face Hanging Heaton in the final of the Gordon Rigg T20 Group A Cup at Pudsey St Lawrence on Monday, August 31.

Hanging Heaton defeated Townville by 23 runs at Ossett while Bradford & Bingley overcame Pudsey Congs by 10 runs at Wagon Lane.

B& B opener Patrick Dixon held the key to their victory over the youthful Pudsey Congs side that has made such a bright start to the season.

Dixon dominated his side’s innings with 61 of their 109 runs.

He hit two sixes and six fours and was the only batsman to get on top of a Congs bowling attack which has captured 39 wickets in four T20 encounters this season – more than anybody else.

Opening bowler Vinit Patel impressed with 4-21 while Ryan Heptinstall was most economical with 2-7 in his four overs.

With rain shaving one over off each side’s innings, Congs had 19 overs in which to score 110, but their batsmen were kept in check by the Bradford & Bingley bowlers.

Opener Subhaan Ammar made 29 but his colleagues were unable to pick up the tempo. Ed Brown (2-15) and spinner Bradley Reeve (2-21) saw their side through to their fifth final.

Townville looked poised to join them when their fifth wicket pair of Conor Harvey and Ishmail Dawood reduced the target to 36 from 31 balls.

However, the match took a dramatic turn when Harvey was bowled by Hanging Heaton spinner Callum Bethel for 51, his knock featuring two sixes and five fours.

When former Hanging Heaton batsman Dawood (27) was bowled by James Byrne in the following over, it triggered a collapse which saw the last six Townville wickets go down for just 12 runs as they were dismissed for 134.

The dependable Byrne took three of the late wickets to finish with 4-20.

Hanging Heaton, who were asked to bat first, made steady progress as they posted a challenging score of 157-5.

New boy Sam Drury again made an important contribution of 39 not out, while Gary Fellows (26) and Callum Geldart (24) ensured there was good momentum against the six-man Townville attack.

But Townville had better luck the previous day, as they boosted their challenge for a place in the Gordon Rigg Premier Division League Cup final with a 57-run win over West Section leaders Pudsey St Lawrence.

They recovered from 37-6 to post 188, before rolling the previously unbeaten Saints for just 131.

But Hanging Heaton still lead Townville in the East section, as they thumped struggling Wrenthorpe by 93 runs.

That defeat put Wrenthorpe bottom, as Methley got their first win by beating Batley by 84 runs.

In the West section, Bradford & Bingley’s game at New Farnley and Cleckheaton’s at Morley were both abandoned without a ball being bowled.

But Division Two West Section leaders Jer Lane did get to play, and they crushed Hopton Mills by 156 runs.