PUDSEY Congs’ past, present and future was on show at the Amber Cars Britannia Ground on Sunday, with plenty of positivity around despite a heavy Priestley Cup first round defeat to Bradford & Bingley.

The future was, for example, teenage opening batsmen Jacob Slator and Bilal Butt, while the present was skipper Richard Jubb and his bid to get Congs into promotion contention in Division One of the Bradford League.

However, it was the past that lingered strongest on a chilly afternoon in the shape of former Congs cricket chairman Derrick Reason, club chairman Ralph Middlebrook (still playing a very hands-on role as groundsman) and former captain Matthew Doidge.

The latter, there to watch his son Lachlan play for Bradford & Bingley, was at the helm when Congs were the top side in Yorkshire.

They won the Bradford League title five years in a row (2000-04), the Priestley Cup five times in seven seasons (2002-08) and the Black Sheep Yorkshire Champions’ Trophy in 2002, 2004 and 2005.

Then Congs went on a gradual decline that culminated in relegation from the elite in 2017.

However, the green shoots of recovery are being seen under the captaincy of the affable Jubb, as they won the Division One League Cup final in the truncated 2020 campaign, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Group A T20 Cup.

Middlebrook said of flinty, talented leader Doidge: “He was like Joan of Arc, Margo Fonteyn and Ben Stokes all rolled into one.”

As for their descent from the summit of Yorkshire cricket - and it is no exaggeration to say that they had 11 potential match-winners in their ranks - Middlebrook said: “It was a combination of a great team growing old together and the money running out.

“Chiefly it was Matthew Doidge’s drive, energy and enthusiasm for the game that helped to get us up there.

“I don’t know many people who are more keen on cricket than me, but Matthew would be one of them, and we went out to win at every opportunity.

“And with Naveed Rana-ul-Hassan, we had, in the opinion of Roland Parker at Pudsey St Lawrence, the greatest all-rounder he had ever seen in the Bradford League.

“Meanwhile, Neil Gill bowled quietly and efficiently and I am sure he could have played one-day cricket for Yorkshire.

“And he could bat too. We would have taken some beating by anybody in Yorkshire in those days.”

Middlebrook, still smarting about how Congs were relegated, said: “We lost the last match of the season when we wanted two to win off the last ball and we could have run three but only ran one.

“But there were other factors like East Bierley not getting deducted any points for not getting a pitch ready, and two games that didn’t adhere to Duckworth Lewis, which were overlooked by the league

“Relegation has hit us so hard you wouldn’t believe, but now a dose of realism has come along because money is so tight now.

“Sponsorship is more of a donation but we are lucky that we have some good members and an efficient committee.

“We aren’t paying players other than an overseas, who we pay a small amount to but he also coaches for three nights a week. We are having a beer festival in the autumn to help fund that.

“We are okay financially, but we are a cricket club rather than a cricket team and our ambition is to have as many people playing cricket for us as we can.

“We would like to go up from Division One, and we should be pushing at the top, but we have been careless and lost two of our first three.

“However, we have some good cricketers, such as Shabbir Mahmood, Bilal Butt, Joshua Bennett and Slator and Sam Wisniewski, who is on the Yorkshire staff and played in the Abu Dhabi T10 League.”

As for the cup tie, Bradford & Bingley were in T20 mode from the off, via Will Luxton, Ed Brown (84 off 92 balls, including 11 fours and a six) and Riecko Parker-Cole, whose 91 off 54 balls contained 11 fours and five sixes.

At one stage it looked as if Congs would be chasing over 300 but the dogged Ryan Heptinstall (6-45) ensured that the target was actually an adjusted 279 off 45 overs after a heavy shower.

Congs never looked like getting that, but Slator and Butt gained experience against a Premier Division attack of Jack Hartley and Yasir Abbas, and runs came later from Jubb (50) and Pramud Hettiwatte (33), as they finished on 166, with spinner Doidge Jnr taking 4-51.

Elsewhere, Ossett pulled off the only real surprise in the first round by knocking Premier Division side Cleckheaton out of the competition.

The Division One outfit won a rain-affected contest by 29 runs and they have their big-hitting batsman Sajith Warnakulasuriya to thank after he bludgeoned 76 from just 30 balls.

Warnakulasuriya hit eight sixes and five fours and capitalised on the work of Joe Finnigan (64) as Ossett posted 214 from 30 overs.

Amir Hussain (3-38) and Harvey Booth (3-44) were the most successful bowlers for Cleck, while Iain Wardlaw was the most economical, with just 20 runs coming from his 10 overs.

Cleckheaton were set a Duckworth Lewis Stern target of 216 from 34 overs, but despite the efforts of Booth (63) and Nick Lindley (58) they were restricted to 186-8.

Max Chappell took 3-25 as Cleckheaton lost wickets in search of quick runs.

Tom Clee proved to be the star turn as holders Woodlands cruised into the second round with an emphatic 10-wicket win over Batley.

Clee, who spent last year on loan to Northowram Fields and helped them win the Gordon Rigg Group B T20 Cup, produced an incisive spell of 5-28 as Batley were dismissed for 101.

Adnan Mahmood (41) was the only batsman to look at ease.

The Woodlands openers Tim Jackson (54no) and Sam Frankland (42no) powered their side to victory in 15.3 overs.

Morley secured their place in the second round with a 32-run win over Baildon at Scatcherd Lane.

Their Sri Lankan all-rounder Kavinda Kulasekara followed up his match-winning 8-34 against Hanging Heaton on Saturday with a decisive performance with the bat.

He hit a six and seven fours while making an unbeaten 87, which helped Morley to make 179-7 in 45 overs.

Henry Rush (31) was the next highest scorer, while Joel Fothergill (2-12) and Simon Bailey (2-20) both bowled economically for Baildon, who were dismissed for 146 after being set a DLS target of 179 from 46 overs.

Skipper Dwayne Heke made 51 while Rush took 3-35 for Morley.

East Bierley’s openers Matthew West (70no) and Sam Gatenby (55) shared a stand of 113 as they set their side on course for an eight-wicket win at Hartshead Moor.

They managed to overshadow Ben Walter who took 4-40 and Danny Cross (3-26) as Hartshead Moor were dismissed for 173.

Opener Martin Ellis top scored with 67, while the home side were boosted by 39 extras.

Finally, in the big clash between two Premier Division heavyweights, Townville impressively thumped Hanging Heaton by eight wickets.

PRIESTLEY CUP SECOND ROUND DRAW:

Birstall v Gomersal

Pudsey St Lawrence v Undercliffe

Morley v Bradford & Bingley

Keighley v East Bierley

Woodlands v Methley

Wrenthorpe v Ossett

Farsley v New Farnley

Townville v Bankfoot