Two games left to go - lots to be decided

Veterans League

Division 1

Cowcliffe v Kirkheaton Con A

ALTHOUGH Cowcliffe recorded a 5-4 victory at Lindley Lib a week ago they dropped to bottom in the league table. Their encounter this week against Kirkheaton Con A looks to be their best bet of picking up points as they visit high-flying Elland WMC for their final game of the season.

The Kirkheaton side have not won since a 5-4 success over Rastrick at the start of the month and after their trip to Cowcliffe they conclude their season by hosting Marsh United on their home green.

Teams are renowned for being at their most dangerous when fighting relegation – this could be a tense affair.

In-form: Derrick Hewitt has won his last two matches for the hosts; Garry Senior was the only Kirkheaton singles bowler to taste victory last week.

Elland C&BC v Lockwood Con A

HAVE Elland C&BC given themselves a chance of avoiding relegation and a quick return to Division 2? Three wins in their last four outings certainly suggest that they are one of the form teams in the division and their game against Lockwood Con A, and next week against Lindley Lib A, look to be encounters that they can collect points from.

Lockwood Con’s own battle against the drop was helped by a 7-2 win over Rastrick a week ago, that win ended a run of six straight defeats. They are only two points above bottom club Cowcliffe and with a final game at Longwood they look to have a difficult task on their hands.

In-form: Gordon Bradford has won on his last two outings; Despite their low league position Mick Cox is fifth in the league’s singles averages.

Longwood v Elland WMC

ELLAND WMC can no longer win the championship but they head four clubs aiming for the runners-up spot, including hosts Longwood.

The visitors will need an improvement on last week’s form that saw them lose 2-7 on home turf to Clayton West, their first defeat in five outings.

Longwood are also looking to bounce back from defeat following a 4-5 setback at Golcar Lib A last week. They also have the same form line as their visitors with just one defeat in their last five outings. But a 100% home record is likely to be crucial, especially as Longwood have picked up at least six league points in their home encounters in 2026.

In-form: Ian Briggs has not lost any of his last four matches for Longwood; Clive Harte  has won his last two outings for the visitors.

Lowerhouses v Lindley Lib A

LOWERHOUSES go into their penultimate game as champions for the third consecutive season as they seek to emulate the recent championship-winning runs of Lockwood Con (7 years) and Milnsbridge A (5 years).

They do so in good form on the back of wins against Lockwood Con A and Kirkheaton Con A. With 125 league points to their name they are in reach of their recent tallies of 137 points in 2024 and 138 a year ago.

In contrast Lindley Lib sit in ninth spot and firmly involved in the relegation dogfight. They only gained two league points when they entertained the league champions in mid-season, a similar return on Tuesday will leave them with a “must-win” encounter with Elland C&BC the following week.

In-form: Ashley Daykin has won his last six games; Peter Smith and Michael Ward have won pairs matches in Lindley’s past two games,

Marsh United A v Clayton West

MARSH UNITED A have not been able to put together a winning run of more than two games all season – for that matter they have not lost more than two consecutive games either!

Their only 9-0 defeat was at Clayton West so a reversal of that result would conclude their home season nicely!

However, Clayton West will have other ideas as they are one of those clubs who can still finish second in the table. Last week Clayton West had an inspired 7-2 win at Elland WMC, a result that did them no harm in their quest for that second-placed finish.

In-form: Tim Poulter leads the way with 12 wins to his name for Clayton West; Marsh United have a number of pairs bowlers who have a win return better than 50%.

Rastrick v Golcar Lib A

RASTRICK are still not out of the woods in terms of avoiding relegation, they are just six points ahead of bottom club Cowcliffe and facing two top-four clubs as the season draws to its conclusion. After welcoming Golcar Lib A to their green they face the trip to Clayton West.

Golcar have 12 wins to their name this season, Rastrick will not like to read that five of those wins have come on the road, and their form during the second half of the season shows an improvement over that from the first half.

Golcar are just two points in arrears of second-placed Elland WMC so have every incentive to chase victory.

In form: Roger Stopford was Rastrick’s best winner a week ago with a 21-7 success; Nick Oddy has won his last two games for Golcar.

Division 2

Broad Oak A v Almondbury BC A

BROAD OAK A will be looking to end their home campaign with a win after losing at home to Waterloo two games ago. Since then they have picked up a victory at Hemplow but sit in eight spot in the league table.

That’s slightly down on last season’s finish when they accumulated 95 league points, a tally they could equal with ten points from their last two games.

Almondbury BC A’s form has dipped in recent weeks with a run of defeats that included an 8-1 setback at home to Meltham A seven days ago.

They will look to bounce back against Broad Oak and Shepley next week.

In-form: Broad Oak won all four singles matches last week; Fifteen wins from 19 games shows the strength of brothers Dennis and Terry Machen in the pairs.

Denby Dale v Meltham A

DENBY DALE took a giant step towards promotion to Division 1 with an emphatic 8-1 victory over one-time promotion contenders Thongsbridge a week ago. That was an ideal response to a 6-3 home defeat at the hands of Shepley in their previous game.

The challenge this week is to replicate last week’s success against champions-elect Meltham A, at the same time they will be looking for revenge for a 9-0 defeat earlier in the season when the two teams met.

Meltham are in good form, winning their last three games including 9-0 and 8-1 wins. An emphatic win for the visitors will not only secure their championship but also leave the race for second spot wide open!

In-form: Denby Dale have lost just one pairs matches in their last four games; Meltham have only lost one singles games in their last three outings.

Milnsbridge A v Almondbury Lib

MILNSBRIDGE have just one win in their last five outings but have picked up league points in every game that they have played. They have not collected less than two league points in any game since the middle of June. If that form continues on Tuesday then all relegation fears could be unfounded.

Almondbury Lib’s fortunes partly rest in other club’s hands, namely opponents Milnsbridge and Shepley not picking up more points than Almondbury otherwise their relegation may well be confirmed.

In-form: Jim Baxter has eight wins from 15 games for the hosts; Graham Shaw has only lost in four of his 17 pairs games.

Netherton Con A v Hemplow A

NETHERTON CON A have rediscovered winning ways in recent weeks with successes against Almondbury Lib and at Lindley BC A in their past two encounters. Those wins ended a five-match run during which the hosts could only collect seven league points never mind a win!

Hemplow A have only had two wins all season, the second being a 5-4 success against Almondbury Lib at the end of August. Despite their poor season they have only once failed to pick up any points.

In-form: Netherton Con A only won one pairs match in their last game; Hemplow won all three pairs encounters in their last outing.

Shepley v Waterloo

SHEPLEY – nine points above the relegation zone – are still in need of points to make mathematically sure of their place in the division next season. Their home record has been more than reasonable this year so will be expected to gain revenge for an 8-1 setback at Waterloo in July. Thongsbridge’s win at Shepley at the beginning of September will give the visitors some hope.

Waterloo can also point to three successive wins so they will be in good heart for a competitive encounter.

In-form: Norman Raper has won his last two games for the hosts; Roger Lunn has won his last three matches.

Thongsbridge A v Lindley BC A

WHILST Thongsbridge’s chase for promotion lost its focus at Denby Dale a week ago their visitors are still in the hunt for a second-placed finish.

Lindley BC’s nine points gained in the past seven days from two games that were split 5-4 in both directions has seen them move into third spot, four points in arrears of second-placed Denby Dale.

Thongsbridge were on the wrong end of an 8-1 result at Denby Dale a week ago, a result that has seen them drop to fifth spot in the table.

If Lindley’s promotion challenge continues – and Almondbury BC A pick up points at Broad Oak - then Thongsbridge could drop to sixth, their finishing position 12 months ago.

In-form: Ian Ross was Thongsbridge’s only winner a week ago; Barry Tinker has won his last four matches.