Lots to be decided in Division 2

Winter League

Preview of the Division 2 fixture programme for Tuesday 27 January

Clayton West are the 2025-26 Division 2 Champions and they will be presented with the Founder's Plate prior to the start of bowling on Tuesday. With a 26-points lead and three matches still to be played that shows their dominance this season. The Founder's Plate is one of four Year 1 trophies funded by a Founder's Fund which drew in over £500 in donations to pay for the four new trophies we needed to mark the end of the League's first full year in existence.

As I got the trophy out in preparation for Tuesday's presentation I noted the first winners' name on the reverse of the Plate from 2022 - Meltham BC. Well they haven't won it this season and maybe won't next year either unless they can escape from the lure of the relegation trapdoor over the next three Tuesdays. The 2022 Champions are pitched against the 2026 winners as Meltham take on Clayton West in their latest attempt to produce a Great Escape by avoiding the drop.

With a win record of five victories from 11 matches this season, no team has won more Division 2 matches than Meltham apart from the top two. That kind of record shouldn't see them featuring in a relegation fight at all. Those five wins have come in their last six fixtures but now comes the ultimate test by the league leaders. That test is followed by matches against two mid-table teams in Milnsbridge A and Lowerhouses A as they search for the form to avoid a second successive relegation.

We fully expect Marsh United to pick up some points as well to add to their points total and improve their chances of avoiding the drop but their last three fixtures are all against top four teams so they will have to be on top of their game if they are to survive the fight to stay up.

Meanwhile the fight for the second promotion place continues with New Mill B and Lindley Lib A the two prime candidates with New Mill B having the more difficult run-in to the end of the season. They have to play Lowerhouses A this week whilst Lindley Lib A have to play bottom-of-the-table Lowerhouses B. That is followed by the two challengers meeting each other and then New Mill B have to play the Division 2 Champions to sign off their season whilst the Lindley team end their season by meeting relegation-threatened Marsh United.