31 Jul HUDDERSFIELD LOSE BUT STILL TOP THE TABLE

Round 5 of the Yorkshire Inter-District Veterans League resumed on Friday 28 July after a five week break for the Hickson Trophy. The Huddersfield home team played Leeds at Marsh United whilst Leeds entertained the away team at Rothwell.

Huddersfield lost both legs of the match, the home team losing 13-15 whilst the away team lost 12-16, Huddersfield suffering their first loss of the season. This may have come as a shock to many but the Leeds home team had caused shock waves earlier by defeating the current champions.

The home team seemed to be coasting to victory with three wins from the first four with Peter Kain the only loser but Leeds turned the tables in the second half winning three of the four bouts and only Ray Whitwam posting a win for Huddersfield. Leeds shaded the aggregate scores 137-145.

The Huddersfield away team almost pulled off an incredible win with only two winners to the Leeds six yet tying the aggregate score thanks to Tony Butterfield establishing and early lead with a 21-5 victory. That result effectively kept Huddersfield in the hunt for the title.

With two rounds to complete on Fridays 11 August and 1 September Huddersfield lead the table with 180 points and defending champions West Riding and this years surprise package Leeds both tied in second place on 174 points. With 56 points at steak in each round this is the slimmest of margins. Any slip ups in the next round will certainly herald one team dropping out of the title race.

Fixtures and results can be found on Bowlsnet by following this link https://bowlsnet.uk/YorkshireVets.