SPENSER Wilson Halifax League chairman Anthony Briggs has expressed sadness that their incorporation with the Huddersfield Central League has been scuppered.

In a statement to the Halifax League's rules revision meeting at Pellon Social Club, Briggs said: "The original plan was to propose the incorporation of the Huddersfield Central League into the Halifax League by creating a parallel Conference Division to our current Second Division, divided on a geographical basis to reduce travelling, with a quality bar with the option for the club winning the Conference to move up into the Halifax League's middle division.

"The Huddersfield Central League were in favour of accepting our proposal until a counter offer was made by the Huddersfield Drakes League.

"The Huddersfield Central League clubs narrowly voted in favour of the Halifax League's proposal, and the intention was to hold regionalised workshops with our clubs (like the pyramid vote) but five clubs based in Huddersfield got together and approached the Huddersfield Drakes League, who agreed to take them, showing a complete disregard for Yorkshire Cricket Board rules and procedures, as any club wishing to apply should have resigned from their own league and applied before June 30."

Briggs added: "I therefore contacted Trevor Atkinson, chairman of the Huddersfield Drakes, to try and work out a solution for the good of cricket, and we agreed on a proposal that would have safeguarded cricket for all Huddersfield Central League clubs playing in an Alliance Division, administered by the Huddersfield League with a steering group consisting of three Huddersfield Central League members, a representative of the Drakes and a representative of the Halifax League and issued a joint press release accordingly.

"The Huddersfield Drakes management board, however, rejected the proposal, informing me via e-mail that they had no interest in a joint approach with the Halifax League and that they had made a further separate offer the previous day by e-mail to Jack Carson, offering any Huddersfield Central League club a place in the Drakes League.

"I would like to put it on record that the Halifax League's offer was made in good faith in the interests of cricket and ensuring that these clubs could continue to play cricket when their league was in imminent danger of collapse."

He added: "Although we as a league executive were very disappointed indeed with the eventual outcome, we led the way as an amateur organisation on how to conduct cricket business professionally."

YCB executive officer Andrew Watson said that the pyramid board were saddened and disappointed that the negotiations had collapsed.