ALL OUR YESTERDAYS
June 2000
Sweltering temperatures and a dispute on the dress code at a Subscription Cup match hit the front page of The Huddersfield Examiner in June 2000. Matters came to a head when a bowler went on to the green wearing a pair of shorts in a match between Marsh United and Slaithwaite Cricket & Bowling Club staged at Cleckheaton Sports. His opponent promptly walked off considering him to be wrongly dressed for the sport.
Marsh United's Robert Taylor wore the blue shorts which made his opponent, David Blackburn, see red and he refused to play the match. In turn, Robert's father Denis Taylor also withdrew from the match in support of his son's actions. Denis was also wearing shorts but his opponent, Andy Croxall, had not said anything about them.
The dispute appears to have taken place in a dignified manner with no-one falling out with anyone else and apologies given and accepted about the stances taken.
Mr Blackburn commented that there had always been a bit of a disagreement about dress codes. "I asked Robert if he was going to change into trousers before the match started and he said that he wasn't so I declined to play the match." The fixture went ahead with two games short and was eventually referred to the Huddersfield Bowling Association (HBA) for a decision on the allocation of points.
The HBA has no rules about the dress code for league matches although they do follow the national code for their finals which does not allow the playing in shorts. Accordingly they awarded the defunct match a 21-0 win for Robert Taylor whilst his father, Denis, who had walked off in support of Robert, saw the decision given against him with a 21-1 defeat recorded. Slaithwaite took the match 9-7.