Debutant Bradley Kruger wasted no time in making his mark on the JCT600 Bradford League First Division as he produced a match-winning performance for Farsley yesterday.

Kruger, an all-rounder recruited earlier this month from Northamptonshire County League side Finedon Dolben, inspired his new club to a seven-wicket win over Saltaire at Roberts Park.

Kruger hit three sixes and 14 fours as he blazed his way to an unbeaten 88 off just 75 balls as Farsley passed Saltaire's total of 197 all out in just 29.3 overs.

Equally belligerent was opener James Lee. The Yorkshire paceman hit ten fours as he made 55 off 45 balls to set the tone for Farsley's successful run chase in what was their opening game of the season.

Kruger also chipped in with the ball with two for 42 but the bowling honours for Farsley went to Joe Greaves (3-33) and left-arm spinner Lorenzo Inghram (3-56). They brought about a collapse which saw Saltaire decline from a promising 155 for three to 197 all out. The loss of the last seven wickets for 42 runs undid the good work of hard-hitting Waleed Akhtar (57) and Tinashe Gromwe (46), who put on 77 for the fourth wicket.

Pudsey St Lawrence are the early pacesetters. They made it two wins out of two with a convincing 69-run victory over newly-promoted Undercliffe.

Another Bradford League newcomer making a big impression is Pudsey St Lawrence off-spinner Steve Watts.

The winter signing from Dunstable Town took four for 39 as Saints dismissed Undercliffe for 144 at Tofts Road to secure a 69-run win and 19 precious points. Farakh Hussain (34) top-scored for the visitors.

St Lawrence made 213 all out batting first - a smaller total than seemed likely when Alex Stead (50) and Mark Robertshaw (36) appeared to lay a solid foundation but seamer Harry Painter (4-58) and skipper Chris Greenwood (3-30) plugged away and the steady tumble of wickets quelled the run rate.

Woodlands also have a 100 per cent record. They defeated East Bierley by four wickets with two balls to spare, and their hero was teenage batsman Adam Wood.

The 17-year-old underlined his potential by making an unbeaten 65, which contained a six and eight fours, as Woodland passed the East Bierley score of 221 for nine. Wood helped opener Sam Frankland (77) to up the tempo in a third-wicket stand of 82.

East Bierley were made to pay for failing to make a bigger score. Greg Wood (54), Gharib Razak (50) and Gavin Hamilton (37) all attacked strongly in the early stages but the innings tailed off badly as Woodlands' acting skipper Chris Brice took six for 56 with his left-arm spin.

Champions Baildon went down to a 12-run defeat against last season's runners-up Bradford & Bingley. Skipper Phil Slater - a former Baildon player - took four for 30 as the Jenny Laners were dismissed for 176, despite the efforts of new recruits Shane Gadsdon (40) and Adil Islam (39).

Bradford & Bingley's 188 all out owed much to the efforts of hard-hitting Chris Thompson (69) and new Sri Lankan recruit Naveed Gharni (37).

Two more teams to bounce back after opening-day defeats were Yeadon and Cleckheaton.

Yeadon dismissed newly-promoted Bankfoot for the day's lowest score of 67, with Oliver Halliday taking four for four and Andrew Robertson four for 33. Yeadon raced to a ten-wicket win in just 13 overs, and 21 of their runs came from extras.

Two more new signings, batsmen Greg Pickles and Phil Carter, steered Gomersal to their seven-wicket success at Cleckheaton.

Pickles made an unbeaten 73 and Carter (50no) in an undefeated fourth-wicket stand of 127.

Cleckheaton, who have been notoriously slow starters in recent years, struggled to 168 for nine when they batted first. Left-arm spinner Ben Platt picked up three for 51.

Seventeen-year-old opening bowler Robert Warriner won't forget Spen Victoria's Second Division game at Hanging Heaton in a hurry.

He took a hat-trick, recorded his best-ever Bradford League figures of seven for 38 - which included a burst of six wickets in 14 balls - yet his side still ended up being beaten by 109 runs.

His hat-trick saw him remove Alan Mynett, Ryan Senior and skipper John Carruthers. His haul also included those of top scorers Harvey Anderson (79) and James Stansfield (48). When Spen batted, only Tosh Baker (40) looked at ease. Spen also suffered a dramatic collapse losing five wickets for one run to slide from 87 for four to 88 for nine.

The man who sparked the slump was Mark Inwood, with four for one in five overs.

The win puts Hanging Heaton three points clear of Keighley, while Windhill, Brighouse and Manningham Mills all have two wins and are close on their heels.

Brighouse had their new signing Ben Moody to thank for their ten-wicket win over Great Horton.

The former New Farnley player made 97 not out as he and skipper Paul Cummins (49no) steered their side past Great Horton's score of 149 all out. Khalid Mahmood top-scored with 60.

On a good day for the new boys, Keighley had recent signing Imran Patel (57) to thank for helping them snatch a four-wicket win over Morley with two balls to spare.

Simon Bailey (39) and Matthew Bottomley (36) also made crucial runs as they judged their run chase to perfection in pursuit of Morley's 198 for five - a score built around 71 from Danny Lloyd.

There were also thrilling finishes at Hartshead Moor and Manningham Mills, where, in each instance, the home side triumphed by one wicket.

Jonathan Gould made an unbeaten 50 to steer Hartshead Moor home after a mid-innings collapse had threatened to scupper their hopes of beating Bowling Old Lane. Wickets tumbled against the bowling of Old Lane skipper Amjad Khan (6-44) but Gould stood firm, hitting eight fours.

Earlier Khan had hit 41 as Old Lane were dismissed for 102 in the face of some good slow bowling from Craig Woodhead (4-25).

Manningham Mills looked to be set for a comfortable win when the ever-consistent Zeeshan Qasim (5-46) helped them dismiss Lightcliffe for 169 - a total that was bolstered by a solid 43 from James Horne. However, Mills experienced batting problems of their own, with the experienced Amjid Hussain (38) being the only player to bat with assurance as spinner Umar Salim (4-46) threatened to turn the game Lightcliffe's way.

There's just no stopping new-look Windhill. Umar Abbas took five for 19 as they skittled Idle out for 102. Ayuz Akran hit an unbeaten 45 as they reached their victory target in 18.1 overs.