Storm Babet 0-8 Winter League

Winter League

A review of the Division 5 & 6 matches played on Thursday 19 October

The forecast was that Storm Babet would cause flooding, disruption to traffic and loss of power services and it would all start about 5 hours before the Thursday fixtures started in the Winter League programme. So come 11.30am and Netherton was bathed in warm sunshine was a welcome relief to the waterproof wearers gathering ready to bowl in their first matches of the season. It was the same as all 8 Thursday matches were completed without a hint of a storm in the vicinity.

It was like the build-up to a World Championship boxing match where the two boxers had been hyped up to a level that had the total air of an undeniable expectation and then when the bell rang for the first round the challenger stayed in his corner of the ring refusing to budge. Then 12 hours later when everyone has gone home he gets off his corner stool and starts warming up in the centre of the ring in an unwitnessed show of bravado. Winter League 8 Storm Babet nil.

So with no Storm Babet distractions, the bowlers could concentrate on the real reason they were there in the knowledge that Storm Babet was not on the agenda for today although all bowlers were keen to get on and off the green as soon as possible just in case the heavens decided to change their minds.

At Netherton, the home of Thursday Division 5 weather disasters, a gathering of 65+ welcomed the bowlers back into action and looking forward to another good season of bowling in a drier environment than has been their previous experience. Maybe the influence of the Division 6 venue of Huddersfield RUFC and matches being on the same day has become a good influence on the weather Gods.

Two 8-0 whitewash scorelines in the opening day programme and both involved new teams to the League. The more pleasant introduction was for Slaithwaite as they overwhelmed Springwood C whilst Mirfield A were on the wrong end of a 0-8 scoreline when taking on the improving Brockholes B team.

Huddersfield Recreation Club B were relegated from Division 4 at the end of last season but made an encouraging start to their Division 5 season by beating the homesters from Netherton Con B by 6-2. A close encounter between last season's unluckiest team, Almondbury BC B, against the new boys from Outlane resulted in a 4-4 draw with a 55-53 aggregate in favour of the Almondbury team saving their bacon.

The Rugby Club has become used to the sun shining on match days as for the third consecutive Thursday it was a warm welcome that greeted the Division 6 teams to Lockwood Park for their weekly fix of bowling action. The bowling community seemed to have gathered forces to repel the threat of a stormy day with over 70 people turning up to bowl or spectate and a Babet or not, was not going to deny them their cruise around the circumference of the resplendent RUFC green.

The day started with four teams level on 10 points each at the top of the table with two of those teams going head-to-head. Linthwaite Hall came out on top in that meeting seeing off Lockwood Con B 8-0 to go clear at the top of the table. The other two teams on 10 points before the start of play also both won and by the same 6-2 scoreline. New Mill C beat the Mirfield B side and the B team from the Recreation Club overcame Broad Oak. New Mill went 2nd in the table with the division's best aggregate score putting them above the Rugby Club.

Cowcliffe continued their encouraging start to the Winter League with a 2nd win in 3 opening matches and this time seeing off Golcar C&BC 6-2 to push themselves into the top half of the table.