Bradford B are winners of division 3 in 2023-24

The outstanding match in division 3 between Bradford B and Wensleydale was played on 7th April, and Bradford were the winners by 14-6 victory points.    Congratulations to Bradford B, who finish on top of division 3 by one victory point from Shelley A.

At the other end of the table, Wensleydale and Brighouse Aces finished in equal sixth place on 63 victory points.    The tie is broken in favour of Wensleydale, as they were the winners of the match between the teams (Rule 17 of the Yorkshire League rules).   Thus Wensleydale are sixth and Brighouse seventh, which will be relevant for the purpose of relegation to division 4, assuming that the teams that played in divisions 1, 2 and 3 of the League in 2023-24 take part again next season

Anyone viewing the League tables as published on the website will have noted that, although the teams are listed as equal sixth, Brighouse’s name appears above that of Wensleydale on alphabetical order.    This is because of the programming of the EBULeague software which unfortunately the Yorkshire League Committee and the YCBA are not in a position to change,

End of season round up

Congratulations to all the teams who have won their respective divisions of the 2023-24 Yorkshire League or gained promotion to a higher division.

Here are some f the highlights of the final match day on 17th March.

Sheffield A had won division 1 with a match to spare, but victory in their final match meant they finished with a 100% record.     Sheffield B’s win over Harrogate A was the only instance in the division all season of a team beating a higher ranked opponent.    Hull A narrowly defeated Leeds B in the battle between the seventh and eighth placed teams.

In division 2, Malton had to overcome a deficit of 16 VPs to overtake Doncaster A, and a 16-4 win was not quite enough, so Doncaster won the division by 4 VPs.    This was a very competitive divison with only 5 VPs separating York B in third place and Thirsk in seventh.

In division 3 Shelley picked up 9 VPs from their final match against Wakefield A, to extend their lead over Bradford B to 13.     Bradford’s final match against Wensleydale was postponed and will be played on Sunday 7th April.

A close finish was expected in division 4 and so it proved.    All three leading teams had convincing wins in their last matches and so in the end the top of the table reads Harrogate B 98, Keighley B 95 and Huddersfield A 93.

In division 5, Ripon’s comprehensive victory over closest rivals Wakefield B meant they finished no fewer than 31 points clear of all comers.

Doncaster C started the day 6 points clear of Ilkley C in division 6, and they made no mistake, winning their last match 18-2.   Ilkley had the consolation of having won all seven of their matches.   Seventh-placed Brighouse Crusaders had only picked up 16 points in their first six matches but they finished on a high with a 20-0 win.

Both the top teams in division 7 won their final matches with Wakefield D extending their lead over York E to 14 VPs. Wakefield were the third team in the League this season to win all of their matches.

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A reminder to match secretaries and team captains that, if you know in advance that you won’t be able to raise a team to play a match on the scheduled day, then you may, by agreement with the opponents, play the match on an earlier date.     If you cannot fulfil a fixture because a player or players drop out on the day of the match or shortly before – then please make arrangements with your opponents to play the match on the earliest date practicable.    Please also keep the League Secretary informed.

The ‘play by’ date, for any matches in rounds 6 and 7 that for any reason cannot be played on the scheduled date, is Sunday 5th May 2024.

This page was last updated on 8th April 2024.