UNDERCLIFFE'S decision to sign Khalid Usman as their overseas player is proving to be a shrewd investment.
His value to the All Rounder Cricket Bradford Premier League Championship Division One leaders was demonstrated as they secured weekend wins over Bankfoot and Baildon.
Usman returned 5-8 as he helped his side bowl out in-form Bankfoot for 94 to set up an eight-wicket win, with skipper James Lee (39) the only Bankfoot player to make an impression.
The off-spinning all-rounder followed up on Sunday by scoring 48 and taking 5-52 in the 39-run win over Baildon, which maintained his side's two-point lead over Wrenthorpe.
Jack Holland (47) and Zeeshan Qasim (40no) backed up Usman as Undercliffe made 233-8, despite the efforts of spinners Simon Bailey (4-49) and Jamie Abbott (3-39).
Bailey (45) and Stefan Mather (43) battled hard for Baildon but Usman and Craig Wiseman (3-31) ensured that their side took the win.
It proved to be a tough weekend for Baildon because they also lost to second-placed Wrenthorpe on Saturday.
Their hopes of chasing down as Wrenthorpe's 193-8, which included 93 from Luke Patel, were undone when James Glynn (6-33) reduced them to 31-6.
Skipper Jonny Reynolds, who has missed much of the season with injury, top-scored with 59 in a total of 130.
Fourth-placed Pudsey Congs made Wrenthorpe fight hard for their second win of the weekend.
They made 226 when they batted first, with Vikram Sharma (53) and Barney Gibson (40) leading the way as James Glynn took 3-44 and Mehran Ibrahim 3-51,
Ibrahim followed up with 68, while Patek continued his good form with 51 as Wrenthorpe got home with ten balls to spare.
Jamie Allen (3-61) was the best of the Congs bowlers.
Teenage opener Sharma had shown his undoubted promise by making 83 as Congs defeated bottom team Yeadon by three wickets 24 hours earlier.
Ryan Heptinstall (4-66) and Paul Machell (3-36) battled hard for Yeadon but were unable to prevent Congs from surpassing their side's 189-7.
Opener Sam Massheder (46) and Heptinstall (41) were the best of the Yeadon batsmen as young spinner Sam Wasniewski added to his growing wickets haul with 4-49.
Little is going right for Yeadon, and they suffered another setback on Sunday with a 151-run defeat at the hands of Batley.
Sufyan Patel ((78) and Faisal Javed (59) shared a third-wicket stand of 115 before Naveed Zamarad weighed in with 76 to swell Batley's 268-8.
Paul Machell (4-57) posted the best bowling figures for Yeadon.
Only overseas player Mohammad Naveed (53) looked at ease as Yeadon perished for 117 in their reply.
Zamurad had the misfortune to score a century and end up on the losing side when Batley went down by six wickets against relegation-threatened Ossett on Saturday.
He his six sixes and 10 fours while making 108, and was backed up by Javed (45) and Patel (42) in a total of 272-6.
Ossett weren't daunted by the target and eased to victory, with James Van Der Merwe (83no), opener Chris Hosley (79), and Ian Philliskirk (50) leading the way.
Ossett weren't able to muster another successful run chase in their second game of the weekend, falling 15 runs short of third-placed Morley's 216-9.
Philliskirk (72) and stand-in skipper Joe Finnigan (52) battled hard but Sanga Cooray (4-51) ensured that Morley pocketed their second win of the weekend.
Opener James McNichol (55), Henry Rush (42) and Michael Darby (40) were the key contributors to Morley's total, while Oliver Newton (5-37) and Finnigan (3-56) were Ossett's most successful bowlers.
Cooray also impressed for Morley in their six-wicket triumph over Hunslet Nelson, taking 4-22 as Morley dismissed their rivals for 129 and made 71 in the successful run chase.
Andrew McIntosh (33) top-scored for Nelson, while Danny Cross (3-44) was their best bowler.
Nelson boosted their hopes of staying clear of relegation by beating Hartshead Moor – the side promoted with them last season – by 35 runs.
Alex Rose blossomed for Nelson with 5-34 as Hartshead Moor were bowled out for 145 in reply to their opponents' 180-9.
Overseas player Ali Shan top scored for the losers, while Nelson's biggest contribution came from Joe Smith (47).
Rauf Qayyum (3-31) and Mohammad Khan (3-35) were the pick of the bowlers for Hartshead Moor, who had opened the weekend with a one-wicket win over Gomersal.
It all looked fairly straightforward when Iain Wardlaw (6-30) and Danny Squire (4-30) bowled out Gomersal for 77, but Hartshead Moor soon found out that run scoring was far from easy.
Joe Duffy (7-36) put in a huge effort to save the game for Gomersal, but Hartshead Moor just got home.
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