The weather hasn’t been kind this season on Wednesdays and once again it decimated the programme of fixtures in the Bradford & District Evening Cricket League last week with all four Division 1 games abandoned without a ball being bowled, although there was play in two of the three Division 2 games at Great Horton Park Chapel & Muff Field.

The lack of play in Division 1 was enough to confirm Ciroc as champions for the 3rd consecutive season, on 20 points, with a game to spare.

Crossflatts & Greenfield both share 2nd spot on 17 points & this week’s final games of the season will determine who takes the runners-up spot.

This has more importance than first meets the eye, as it will affect who plays who on Finals Day at Great Horton Park Chapel’s Ewart Street ground on August Bank Holiday Monday, August 26. With champions Ciroc ineligible for Finals Day this year due to disciplinary reasons, whoever does clinch 2nd spot in Division 1 will play the runners up in Division 2, with the 3rd placed team playing the Division 2 champions.

The only issue to be resolved in Division 1 this season is who will be relegated to Division 2 with bottom club Raja’s (on 6 points). The contenders are Denholme (10 points), Undercliffe (11 points), John Breare 11 points) & even Buttershaw St Paul’s (on 12 points) aren’t safe after a string of unexpected recent defeats.

In Division 2, Great Horton Park Chapel & Thornton have already claimed promotion to the top flight & booked their places in Finals Day but who will be crowned as champions will go to this week’s final games of the season, carried over from 5th June when they were postponed to the end of the season due to Eid.

Park Chapel managed to steal a march on Thornton by playing last week while the Hill Top side’s home game was abandoned. Bradshaw were the visitors to Ewart Street & would have been disappointed with their final score of 84-5 in a 10 over a-side game, after an opening partnership of 47 between Matthew Crowther (35) & James Thompson (13), as Alex Kennedy took 3-29 for Park Chapel. In reply, the homesters passed their victory target by finishing on 87-1 in just 6.5 overs thanks to some power hitting from opener Hisan Ahmad who’s 46no included 4 fours & 3 sixes, assisted by a further 28no from Oliver Challis.

The victory enabled Park Chapel (on 21 points) to open up a one-point lead over Thornton & so the Ewart Street outfit now only need to match the result of fellow Halifax League rivals Thornton to be crowned Division 2 champions.

The only other game where play was possible was at aptly named Sunnybank, where a 9-man Muff Field entertained a 9-man Shelf. The visitors took full advantage of a depleted Muff Field by posting an impressive 166-7 in just 16 overs (Younis Bismillah 34, Mohammed Pandor 29, Bilal Hammed 27no, Umer Dawood 25) despite the best efforts of Tausef Ahmed (4-21) & Islam Khoker (3-39). In reply, the home side were bowled out for just 69 in 10.3 overs with James Fallon (29) the top scorer, as the wickets were shared between the Shelf bowlers.

Final fixtures: Division 1 – Crossflatts v Buttershaw St Paul’s, Denholme v Raja’s, Greenfield v John Breare & Undercliffe v Ciroc. Division 2 – Muff Field v Great Horton Park Chapel, Shelf v Cross Roads & Daisy Hill and Thornton v Bradshaw.