BRADLEY & Colnebridge’s secretary Shahid Khan admitted that he couldn’t sleep on Saturday night, having been part of a record low score of FIVE for their first XI in the ENCO Halifax League.

“It is ridiculous,” admitted Khan as his side lasted only five overs after tea in their Second Division match against Upper Hopton, with seven players, including himself, making ducks, and Matthew Broadbent taking 8-1 in his three overs, including two hat-tricks.

The previous lowest total in the league and its predecessors is reckoned to be 12 by Ryburn on August 23, 1884, while there is no record of a double hat-trick.

Khan confessed: “I couldn’t sleep on Saturday night, but we had two of our players in Pakistan, and they are good players, and we had to bring in three players from our second XI.

“It was bad. The wicket was wet and the ball was wet, and hopefully that (score) is something that only happens once in a life. Hopefully we will be stronger this weekend.”

Upper Hopton’s league representative Jack Carson, who almost gave the match a wider berth because of rain, said of Broadbent: “He was a bit too quick for the batters, and the umpire thought the same.”

Four of the batters were bowled, two were caught and two were lbw.

Carson added: “Both he and Jack Stephenson (who wasn’t playing on Saturday) have reached 50 wickets this season, and Matthew is usually up there in the averages.

“I nearly didn’t go down to the match, and we were off for rain three times before tea, so we declared.

“I thought that I would watch for a bit after tea, and it was done in five overs. It was amazing.

“Now our aim is to secure promotion. We are in second place, 10 points behind Augustinians, who I don’t think that we will catch, but 10 points ahead of Cullingworth with three matches left.”

Now Broadbent has to decide what to do with the match ball.

The favoured option seems to be getting it mounted and having it presented to him at the league’s annual prize presentation this winter.