Veterans 10-Man League
Review of matches played on Tuesday 28 September
A 7-2 home win over Golcar Lib clinched a record breaking 7th consecutive Section 1 Champions title for Lockwood Con 'A' this week. That 7th straight win breaks their own 6-year record and who would bet against them extending that to 8 next year? Those 7 points put them 5 points ahead of Elland C&BC 'A' who were runners-up for a third consecutive season after they won their final match 5-4 away at Meltham 'A'. That defeat for Golcar Lib enabled Longwood to edge past them and claim third-place in only their second season in the top section, a team on the up. The 4 points that Crosland Moor collected in their home defeat to Clayton West kept them 4 points ahead of Netherton Con and safe for another year. Netherton Con finished in the bottom four for a 4th consecutive season but the 81 points collected this year was finally not enough to save them from relegation. Despite being relegated Thongsbridge 'A' won two on the trot for the first time this season after a last day 5-4 away win at Rastrick but that wasn't to save them from an immediate return to Section 2.
Kirkheaton Con 'A' made it 23 wins in 26 Section 2 matches with a last day 6-3 away win at Brockholes 'A' and a massive 27 point lead over runners-up Lindley BC 'A'. A 7-2 home win for Lindley BC 'A' over Lockwood Con 'B' was more than enough to give them the second promotion place as New Mill 'A' faltered when going down 3-6 at home to Thorpe Green. That gave the Lindley outfit a flattering 9 point lead over New Mill who had really threatened to push for the promotion place before losing 3 of their last 4 matches after an 11 match winning run during July and August. Paddock I&C and Kirkheaton C&BC 'A' both bowed out of life in Section 2 with final day defeats to Hemplow 'A' and Almondbury BC 'A' respectively. For Paddock that constituted a one-season step up after winning the Section 3 title the last season.
Lowerhouses lifted a Section title for the third consecutive season adding this year's Section 3 title to the 2019 win in Section 4 and the 2018 title win in Section 5. A last day 7-2 away win was enough for them to draw level with Slaithwaite on points at the top of Section 3 and with a better 'Aggregate For' total (2798 to 2736) took the title as both teams were also promoted. Golcar Lib won 8 of their final 10 fixtures but that run was bettered by both the promoted teams such has been the standard of competition in that Section this year. One win in the last 9 matches for Meltham 'B' finally sent them down as Outlane registered a last match 7-2 home win over Springwood to get them past Meltham and 4 points clear of danger. Meltham 'B' are relegated for a second consecutive season and are accompanied by Brockholes 'B' who had expected a better season after finishing 4th in the previous campaign.
After finishing last season (2019) 3rd and 4th in Section 4, Huddersfield Recreation Club (formerly Canalside) and Denby Dale moved up to 1st and 2nd this year in the same order with the Recreation Club taking the title by 2-points. Both teams recorded 7-2 final day scorelines and were well out of sight of the chasing pack. The running order of that pack changed this week as 4th placed Elland C&BC 'B' logged the only 9-0 win of the day over Lindley BC 'B' to swap places with their opponents but still 28 points off a promotion place. The 'B' teams of Netherton Con and Kirkheaton Con have been plagued with team shortages all season and both duly paid the price by falling through the relegation trapdoor after losing their final day matches. For the Kirkheaton team it was a immediate return to Section 5 after one season at the higher level.
The top two teams in Section 5 met on the final day to sort out the bragging rights when the destination of the title was decided. New Mill 'B' started the day 4 points ahead of Huddersfield RUBC but finished it 1-point behind them after losing 2-7. Both teams got promoted and will continue their rivalry next season but one level higher. The League has generally escaped bad weather this season but the final day went out with a real downpour that had one casualty. The Kirkheaton C&BC 'B' v Marsh Lib fixture was abandoned after the pairs matches as the green became flooded. Marsh Lib held a 2-1 lead at that point. The singles were not played so resulting in no points for either team, so Marsh Lib take the aggregate as well to run out 4-1 winners. That is a score you don't see very often but with the green being closed for the winter immediately after the match there was no opportunity to complete the fixture. It didn't make any difference to league standings as even if Marsh Lib had won all 4 singles matches they would have fallen one point behind second-placed New Mill 'B' which is the best that could have happened. They still finished third but if the four singles bowlers for the Kirkheaton team had all won their games then they would have avoided collecting the Wooden Spoon. The weather having the final say in the 2021 bowling season.
VETERANS 10-MAN LEAGUE BOWLSNET PAGES