Veterans League
Review of the Preliminary Round of the Bistro KO played on Thursday 25 May
I always build the Bistro up as the competition for shock results with the 5-Pairs format and handicapping contributing to a more level playing field (if that is allowed in crown green bowling) and usually the results back up that reputation. However the opening round of the 2023 competition is very much a damp squib with only one surprise result involving a Division 1 team along with a couple of more notable achievements by lower division teams,
Only four Division 1 teams faced a lower division opponent and there was only one surprise defeat. Waterloo went out of the competition after falling 102-98 to Division 2 outfit Almondbury BC 'A'. Elsewhere, the biggest turnaround of the round came at Primrose Hill Lib where Holmfirth 'B', second to bottom of Division 5 with only one win all season, were good enough to see off Division 2 top-half team Broad Oak 'A' by a 110-107 aggregate scoreline. Then Milnsbridge B is the only team in the League that hasn't lost a match this season and they extended that run into the Bistro with a 114-105 win over Lindley Lib 'A' who are four divisions higher than them.
One worrying aspect of the opening round was the withdrawal from the competition of 6 teams after the draw had been made and two other teams failed to field full teams which all contributes to devaluing the competition. If the League had started the season with 5 divisions of 12 teams in each, instead of this lop-sided concoction of fixtures, that would have released two more Tuesdays for all teams. They could then have been used to play the opening two rounds of the Bistro on those dates with the certainty of a more complete competition. No forethought, missed opportunity.
It doesn't matter a jot how the leagues are formulated there will still be the serial withdrawers. Some of the clubs play in the Halifax vets on Thursday afternoon.