Veterans League
A bad week for Slaithwaite as they continue to have team-raising problems which resulted in them only fielding 4 bowlers in their 6-man team on Monday and having to scratch from the Quarter-Finals of the Bistro KO last Thursday. The root of their problems is the League's 50% rule which prevents bowlers from teams in Divisions 1 and 2 of the 10-Man League playing in the 6-Man League or lower division 10-Man League teams. Their withdrawal provided a passage to the semi-finals for their opponents, Cowcliffe, who were last year's beaten finalists.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the rule the outcome is that a prime knock-out competition has been devalued with team withdrawals now totalling 7 for this year's competition. They may not all be related to the 50% rule but it is clear that this situation needs reviewing as this level of support is an affront to the competition sponsors.
Two teams locked together in the bottom three of Division 1 produced a 93-93 aggregate draw needing to resort to the game count which went Lindley Lib 'A's way by 3-2 leaving their opponents Longwood frustrated and eliminated. Lindley Lib 'A' may be struggling in the lower regions of the Division 1 table but they will be heartened by their KO form as they have now reached their second KO semi-final of the season. They will meet Division 3 leaders Linthwaite Hall in the semi-final on Thursday 25 August after they saw off Division 4 team Primrose Hall Lib 124-103. With a 16-point handicap advantage you can be sure that the Lindley team will not be under-estimating their opponents in this competition renowned for it's shock results.
Another close encounter as Clayton West took on Lockwood Con 'A' which went the Con's way 87-81 with a 21-0 game count among their 3 wins being the deciding factor. Lockwood Cons will meet Cowcliffe in the other all-Division 1 semi-final with both teams playing off scratch.
The Bistro team knock-out competition format of five pairs, aggregate score to determine the winner and a handicap system all contribute to the repetitive shock results that continue to crop up in each round.
The results, draw and neutral greens for the semi-finals are below which will be held on Thursday 25 August.
QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS
Clayton West (scr) 81-87 Lockwood Con. 'A' (scr) at Almondbury Bowling Club Slaithwaite (+12) SCRATCHED - Cowcliffe (scr) BYE at Holmfirth Bowling Club Lindley Lib. 'A' (+4) 93-93 Longwood (scr) at Netherton Con. (Lindley Lib win game count 3-2) Linthwaite Hall (+20) 124-103 Primrose Hill Lib (+28) at Golcar Lib.
SEMI-FINALS Thursday 25th August 1.30pm start Lockwood Con 'A' (scr) v Cowcliffe (scr) at Broad Oak BC Lindley Lib 'A' (+4) v Linthwaite Hall (+20) at New Mill