JCT600 Bradford League chief executive Bob Shackleton has summed up in his annual report the surprise created by Baildon’s championship win.

He writes: “Few people predicted Baildon’s title triumph, which brought an end to the domination of the championship by Pudsey Congs (2000-04) and Woodlands (2005-08), especially as they achieved it without an overseas player and after losing two of their most experienced players in Simon Davies and Matthew Duce to rivals Bradford & Bingley.

“They (Baildon) were well served by their bowlers, with spinner Mushtaq Ahmed (62 wickets) topping the league bowling averages, and left-arm opening bowler Andy Walker (59 wickets) earning the respect of colleagues and opponents in equal measure to be named JCT600 Players’ Player of the Year.”