Jaco Castle produced a stunning innings to power Whitley Hall to a thrilling five-wicket win over Wrenthorpe in a memorable final at Hanging Heaton.

The hard-hitting South African smashed 89 not out off just 45 balls, hitting four sixes and nine fours as his side overhauled a Wrenthorpe total of 296-6 with seven balls to spare.
The power of his stroke-play thrilled the bumper crowd and he produced an amazing finish to the match by taking 20 runs from the first five balls of the 49th over from the experienced Neil Gill.

Castle took two from the first ball and then hit three fours before sparking delirious celebrations among the Whitley Hall supporters with a huge six.

It was no surprise that Andrew Hunt selected Castle as the man-of the match, but he was provided with the platform for his blistering assault by Jim Tasker and Chris Siddall.
Opener Siddall's 73 off 125 balls with eight fours and Tasker's 88 off 77 balls with three sixes and eight fours may have been overshadowed by Castle's innings but they were equally valuable to their team's first Black Sheep Yorkshire Champions Trophy win.

Opener Siddall played patiently as he gave his side a solid base, before the experienced Tasker picked up the tempo.

Siddall and Tasker added 96 for the third wicket before the opener was trapped lbw by off spinner David Paynter.

Castle arrived at the wicket with his side 166-3 and still needing 131 runs from 14,1 overs. The odds appeared to be inn Wrenthorpe's favour but Castle had other ideas. He soon made his intentions clear and he added 60 runs with Tasker off 42 balls.

When Tasker was caught by skipper Gary Fellows off Joe Ellis, Wrenthorpe's reaction was one of a team who though they had taken the key wicket, but that certainly wasn't the case.

Wrenthorpe skipper Fellows recalled Gill to bowl the 46th over in a bid to stop the flow of runs but his first over went for 10 runs Ellis briefly raised Wrenthorpe hopes again when he bowled Adam Wilson after he had helped add 51 in 24 balls with Castle.

Just three runs came from the 48th, but Castle made up for that in the 49th as he finished the game off in style and wrecked Gill's figures.

Gill wasn't the only bowler to suffer and when Wrenthorpe reflect on their defeat they will be in no doubt that it was their bowling that let them down.

Their batting, as ever, was impressive. After seeing Eric Austin caught by wicketkeeper Gary Tidy off Tom Fletcher with just two runs on the board, Fellows and Paynter added 118 for the second wicket.

Paynter looked impressive from the moment he arrived at the crease and clearly enjoyed taking advantage of an excellent batting wicket.

Fellows was his usual unruffled self as he made 52 off 69 balls. He struck one six and seven fours before he casually chipped a ball from spinner Tasker to Wilson at midwicket.
Paynter continued to maintain a good tempo and struck five sixes and eight fours in a superb 107 before he was bowled by Alex Welsh.

Ellis (37no) and Bradley Parker (33) provided quick runs at the end of the innings as Wrenthorpe finished on 296-6.

Left-arm spinner Alex Welsh (2-49) was the pick of the bowlers for Whitley Hall, but it looked as if Wrenthorpe's total was a match-winning score and it did until that man Castle launched his match-winning assault.

It brought a truly memorable end to a magnificent match that will long in the memories of all those who witnessed it.

Source: Bradford Cricket League
Photograph: Copyright (c) David Wilson Photography