Full preview of all Division 1&2 teams

Veterans League

Preview of the Veterans 10-Man League Divisions 1&2 Tuesday fixtures

DIVISION ONE

Clayton West v Lockwood Con A

Clayton West will be confident of doing the double over a Lockwood side that they defeated 7-2 in June. That confidence will be built on the back of three consecutive wins, two of which have been away from home. Lockwood figure in the battle to avoid relegation, sitting just two league points outside the drop zone. They have won just once against a top four side this season. 

In-form: Russell Clarkson has won seven of his last eight pairs matches; Cons last two aggregate defeats have been by eight points or less

Elland C&BC v Kirkheaton Con A

Elland’s prompt return to Division 2 is far from sealed so a victory against an inconsistent Kirkheaton outfit is not out of the question. To do so they need to turn around a run of form that has seen the home side lose seven consecutive league encounters. Kirkheaton, with two wins from their last three sit in mid-table, are far from free from relegation worries. Just six points separate them from second bottom Cowcliffe.  

In-form: Peter Webb’s 21-20 victory in the pairs last week was his seventh win of the season; .Andy Lumb heads Kirkheaton’s averages and has nine wins to his name. 

Golcar Lib A v Lindley Lib A

Visitors Lindley Lib A need to continue their good form from recent home wins against Elland WMC and Lockwood Con A if they are to pull away from the nervy relegation zone. Golcar’s four-match winning run came to a halt at Elland WMC a week ago but they only lost that encounter narrowly. A meeting earlier in the season at Lindley saw Golcar leave with a 6-3 success. 

In-form: Robert Morgan has won his last three singles matches for Golcar; Martin Holt has won seven of his nine league games.

Longwood v Cowcliffe 

Cowcliffe have just five league wins to their names this season but one of those was a 6-3 success over Longwood when four points separated the aggregate score. They will find achieving a repeat of that difficult based on Longwood’s excellent home record; they have not been beaten on their green since losing to Lowerhouses in May 2025 and ended that season with six successive wins to finish second in the table. With only two away games remaining a repeat of that finish is still a possibility. 

In-form: Andrew Wike recorded a 21-0 success a week ago; Trevor Heley inflicted a first league singles defeat on Lowerhouses Les Holmes last week.

Lowerhouses v Marsh United A

The question this week is can sixth placed Marsh United repeat their success over champions-elect Lowerhouses when they meet at Lowerhouses Lane. United’s victory in June was based on three outstanding result from their pairs, a repeat of which will be needed if they are to do the double. Although not yet mathematically certain of finishing as champions it would be a brave man who would offer any odds on Lowerhouses doing otherwise.

In-form: Four Lowerhouses bowlers head the singles averages – Ashley Daykin is currently top of the Division 1 list; Douglas Hamilton and David Culpan have won four games away from home playing together in the pairs.

Rastrick v Elland WMC 

Elland WMC will make the near three-mile journey to Toothill Bank to face established local rivals Rastrick hopeful of continuing the form that sees them sitting second in the league table. And they will probably travel in confidence knowing that they hosts have only won once in their last seven league outings. This will be all about local bragging rights just as it was in July when Rastrick’s most recent win came against Elland C&BC. 

In-form: David Wood has won on Rastrick’s last two outings; Ian Archibald’s defeat at Golcar Lib A last week was his first in eight matches.

DIVISION TWO

Broad Oak A v Shepley

BROAD OAK A are looking for consecutive home wins and a third win in two weeks against a Shepley outfit who sit one place below them on the league ladder. The visitors have still to win away this season, in stark contrast to last season when their four away wins took them to a third-place finish in the league table. The hosts had a 7-2 home victory last week, the visitors have not picked up more than two points on their travels this season.

In-form: Antony Schofield has won eight in a row, though his latest victory was by the narrowest of margins; John Hodgson returned to winning ways a week ago though his defeats the two previous weeks were by the narrowest of margins.

Hemplow A v Almondbury Lib

The bottom two clubs in Division Two meet with both appearing to be too far adrift of the rest to be able to have anything other than a future in Division 3 next year. The Almondbury side have a delayed encounter against Lindley BC later this week so if successful in both they can make a dent in the current 14-point gap between them and Milnsbridge A and Shepley. Hemplow A are 27 points adrift of safety and for them it’s all about gaining a second win of the season. 

In-form: John Lunn has won eight of his 12 singles matches for Hemplow; Peter McWilliam and Graham Shaw have won their last three pairs matches.

Meltham A v Lindley BC A

Meltham’s march back to Division 1 will continue against Lindley BC A if they can continue their home form which is a major factor in their success. They have not lost at home since consecutive home defeats to Lowerhouses and Longwood in July last year. The Lindley side have three away wins to their credit this season but the most recent was at Netherton in June, they will need an upturn in their fortunes to turn over their hosts.

In-form: Meltham’s Steve Haigh is second in the Division 2 averages while Lindley’s Stephen Haigh is just outside the top ten.

Milnsbridge A v Denby Dale

Milnsbridge A may sit just outside the relegation zone but their last home outing saw them record a comfortable 6-3 home success over Thongsbridge A. However, they face a Denby Dale side who can match league leaders Meltham for number of wins recorded so far this season (12). They are on a six-match winning run but if they have an Achilles heel when they lose they lose heavily. They need to be on their A game to keep their challenge intact.

In-form: David Deighton has won each of his last three games; Stuart Simmons has six consecutive wins to his name.

Netherton Con A v Almondbury BC A 

Is Netherton Con A’s promotion challenge over? They are on a three-match losing run during which they have secured just six league points. They face an Almondbury BC A side who are in fine form – they have accumulated 20 league points in their three-match winning run. Both sides have 79 points, the question is will recent form continue or will there be a change in fortune?

In-form: Robert Hirst has won 11 of his 15 games for Netherton; John Madden has an equal number of wins for the Almondbury side.

Thongsbridge A v Waterloo 

Fourth-placed Thongsbridge A will be pleased to be back at Miry Lane after back-to-back away defeats at Milnsbridge A and most recently at Broad Oak A. Those defeats may have cost them dearly in their promotion challenge, they are now eight points adrift of second place. They certainly need points from their next three games ahead of a visit to second-placed Dale. Waterloo’s form this season has seen batches of wins followed by batches of defeats; they lost to league leaders Meltham a week ago and face the sides immediately below Meltham in the next four weeks. It could be a tough time for Waterloo but they should remain well clear of the drop zone.

In-form: Adrian Fish returned to winning ways last week after a four-match losing streak; Ian Lunn and Alan Stephenson have identical records of 12 wins from 16 games. 

All games start at 1.30pm