All-Kirkheaton Sub-Team KO Final

Veterans League

The 2025 Sub-Team KO Final is an All-Kirkheaton affair with the B teams from the Conservative Club and the Cricket & Bowling Club meeting at Broad Oak tomorrow with a 1.30pm start time.

The venue for the Final has caused some concern as the Kirkheaton Con B ream played a league match there yesterday (and lost 4-5) and not unreasonably the C&BC voiced their concerns about the advantage this presented to their opponents. It has therefore been agreed that both teams will have 15 minutes practice time prior to the start of the match.

The format for play in this competition is the same as for league matches - 4 singles and 3 pairs. The only difference being that the Aggregate For totals will determine the winner. Only in the event of a draw in aggregate totals does the number of winners decide the destination of the title.

Of the two teams only the Kirkheaton Con B team has won this competition before and that was in 2019 when they beat Bradley & Colne on the Broad Oak green. The only two survivors from that team in Thursday's line-up are Stuart Goddard and Brian Parker who are the pair stood together on the extreme right of the back row of this latest photo of the full 13-man squad.

The Final is also an All-Division 5 confrontation which the Con Club will start as favourites as the Division 5 table below indicates. The Cons Club also won the league encounter 7-2 between the two teams on 3rd June on the C&BC green. Now on a neutral green with only a 4-points handicap difference between the teams. That was a time when the C&BC B team was a constant bottom-two team but their Sub-Team KO success has triggered an improvement in form and they have started to move up the table after winning their last two fixtures.

Playing the favourites will not bother the Cricket Club side as they have started under-dogs in all 4 ties they have faced on their way to the Final. The table below shows the paths to the Final of both teams and this shows that the C&BC are well used to facing key local derby matches after beating the Club's A team by one-point (137-136) in the semi-final of this competition.

In a final twist to this incestuous tale, the two teams are scheduled to meet again next Tuesday in a Division 5 league match at the Kirkheaton Con home green. Whatever the outcome of the Final I am sure that the C&BC team will be going all out to damage the promotion hopes of their closest neighbour despite, and because of, the good relationship that exists between the two clubs.