The Sheldon and District Winter League had their Sheldon Shield and Punchbowl on the agenda and in the former results went pretty much as expected with wins by Sheldon Marlborough Flights, Willclare Sports and Social, The Pirates, The Pavillions, Yardley Ex Colts, Shirley RBL Misfits, The Lyndon and Maggies. It was not the same in the Punchbowl which produced three somewhat surprising results the biggest one being the 6-3 defeat of premier division leaders Crown at Shard End by Crown-Forget-Me-Not who are fifth in division one.
Another premier side Saltley Amateur Gardeners went out by the same 6-3 margin to Iron Horse who lead division one and providing the third upset was division two team Ridgemere Social who won 5-4 away to Solihull Moors from division one.
Other winners were Castle Vale Residents, Highwood KB’s, Crown at Olton, Langley Sports and Social Arrows and East Birmingham Allotment Holders Association.
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An 8-1 win at Family Tree has seen Mackadown Social take over the number one spot from Erdington Members Club in division one of the South Birmingham League, Mackadown with 12 points have a lead of two on their rivals. Erdington were ousted from the top of the table after suffering a 5-4 home defeat by St John’s who are in the bottom half of the table.
In division two The Dog moved to within two points of leaders Banbury Club with a 6-3 win away to Smithswood Social but they have played one game more than Banbury.
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Division one of the Forest of Arden Winter League produced a top of the table clash between leaders Olton Crown and second placed Journeys End, the result was a 5-4 win for Olton to open up a six points lead over Journeys and take their unbeaten run to eight games.
Sheldon Marlborough Flights moved to within two points of top team Highwood KB in the second division with a close 5-4 win against Chelmsley Town, Marlborough have played eight games compared to Highwood’s seven.
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Members Club have dropped from second to sixth in the Cradley Tuesday Night League after a 6-3 defeat away to Crown (Station Road) who are placed fourth. Wheatsheaf lost their third place and go down two following their 5-4 loss at Chop House who take over second place in the table. Chop House, White Swan and Crown (Station Road) are all two points behind leaders White Horse who with a 6-3 win at Bulls Head took their unbeaten run to five games.
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Mick Bown leader of the Shirley Red Lion Premier League had a setback to his title hopes when he lost 3-1 to Chris Thomas, however he did recover to win his next game against Trevor Carter 3-0. Adam Stuart is level on the same 25 points as Bown but missed the opportunity to go outright leader as he lost 3-2 to Andy Hoy, but like Bown he then went on to win his next game beating Jack Sidwell 3-1.
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There were 9-0 wins for the top two teams in the Shirley and District Monday Night League, Highwood who currently lead the field with the slightly superior average beat Sharmans Cross, Andy Foulkes notching a 180 for Highwood while second in the table Shirley Red Lion with maximums from Paul Higgins and Dave Hesketh won their home game against bottom of the table Shirley Spartac .
Other players to hit 180 were Sean Tootill, Matt McCallion (Cider House) and Wayne Clarke (Solihull Sports Club). Stuart Westley (Plume Misfits) had a 158 checkout.
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In division one of the Four Oaks and District League the local derby between Old Oscott WMC and Old Oscott Arrows was the most fiercely fought fixture of the week producing 39 tons and was won 5-4 by Old Oscott WMC in the very last leg of the final game. Plough and Arrows beat Boldmere Sports and Social by the same margin another close once more being decided in the final game.
Meanwhile leaders Boldmere St Mikes remain unbeaten winning 8-1 at Pint Pot Flights, second placed The Beehive keeping the pressure on the leaders with a 9-0 win over Red Lion.
In the second division Golden Hind Arrows kept their four point lead intact with a 5-4 win over The Fox, Bishop Vesey’s 6-3 win at The Boot maintaining their number two spot.
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Riley’s, Wolverhampton staged the second of their Riley’s UK Open Amateur Qualifiers and the two winners going through from a very strong starting line up are Andy Brown (Aylesbury) and Glen McGrandle (Featherstone).
In the last four games Brown had a 5-3 result against Anthony Hayman while McGrandle had a more convincing 5-0 win over Tim Baker.
Andy Brown (Left) and Glen McGrandle (Right)
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Cotterills Lane Club and Holy Souls took their winning run to four games in the Camp Hill League Cotterills winning 5-2 at home against Wagon and Horses while Holy Souls were 6-1 winners at Devil’s Club. The two teams are two points ahead of third placed Grange Social Club who were also 6-1 winners against bottom team Station Flights.
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The Widders lost their home game with Spring Meadow leaders of the Halesowen Monday Night Ladies League 5-2 and as a result drop from second to fifth in the table. The Bell and Round of Beef like Spring Meadow have also won their opening two games the latest win for The Bell being 6-1 against Townsend ‘B’ and Round of Beef a closer 4-3 at Townsend ‘A’.
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Congratulations to West Midlands County player Shaun Carroll on winning his first England International call up and also former West Midlands and current Warwickshire player Jamie Hughes on retaining his place.
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After the first two fixtures have been played in the Wednesbury and Darlaston League only three of the eight teams remain undefeated. Horse and Jockey lead the way on average after handing out a 9-0 whitewash to their visitors The Vine, second placed T & R Bar were 7-2 winners at Red Lion and third in the table St Mary’s ‘A’ had a narrow 5-4 verdict at home to Staffordshire Knot.
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After the first sixteen games in the Stourbridge and District Monday Night League only average separates the top three teams, Brickmakers Arms, Bird ‘A’ (Stourbridge) and Ten Arches ‘A’ are all on 30 points. Brickmakers 7-2 win at Queens keeps them in pole position Bird ‘A’ who are just one leg adrift of the leaders won 8-1 away to Church Tavern and third placed Ten Arches ‘A’ were also 8-1 winners at home to Garibaldi.
Britannia went down 5-4 at Ashwood who now replace them in fourth place, Britannia dropping to fifth.
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What a finish to the Winmau Centre Monday Night League with the title being decided in the very last fixture of the season.
Going into the final game Misfits had a six points lead at the top of the table with What Are Thooose second. The final game saw Misfits win 32-16 against Barney Army but What Are Thoose chalked up a massive 42-6 win over Keep It In The Family to give them the title by just four points.
Last season’s champions The Untouchables rounded off their campaign with a 28-20 win against Here For The Beer to finish third with 641 points 53 adrift of the new champions.
With the season now ended plans are already in place for the next campaign and anyone interested in entering a team, which consists of five players in the league for the new season or for any further information regarding the league contact the Wolverhampton Indoor Community Sports Stadium on 01902-420827 or e-mail [email protected]
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The top three teams in the Brierley Hill Monday Night League all had close 5-4 wins in week five, top side Dudley Sports ‘C’ beat High Acres to stay two points ahead of the chasing trio of The Bridge who won against Pensnett Liberal Club, Brickmakers Arms who beat Blue Brick and Bulls Head (Netherton) who moved up into fourth place with another 5-4 win over The Swan.
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The Brierley Hill Friday Night League were involved in their singles knockout winning through to finals night were A.Wakeman, W.Page, D.Bull, K.Attwood (Miners, Wollescote), D.Marshall, R.Wheeler, A.Nicholls (Pensnett Liberal Club), A.Mears, G.Underwood, A.Neale (The Bell), J.Powell, M.Flatman (Pensnett Welfare Club), J.Wood, D.Haywood (The Cross, Oldswinford), C.Davies (Netherton Cricket Club).
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With no result this week for Court Oak leaders of the Harborne and District League second placed Hillyfields ‘A’ moved to within two points of them with a 5-4 win away to Crazy Horses to leave Crazy Horse a further two points adrift on 18 points in third place.
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Mick Baker has caught up with his outstanding games in the Winmau Centre Thursday Night Champions League, his latest 7-0 and 5-2 wins over respective opponents Steve O’Neill and Ken West giving him a total of 98 points from 17 games and taking him into pole position with a lead of ten points over former leader Kevin Harris who didn’t play this week and now has a game in hand on Baker.
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Court Oak continue to impress in the Kings Norton League their latest 5-2 win at Cotteridge taking their unbeaten run to 25 games and giving them in the process a massive ten points lead over second placed Stirchley United who fell further behind Court Oak after losing 4-3 at home to fourth in the table Hillyfields.
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Week three in the Pensnett and Bromley Tuesday Night League and Dudley Sports Club not only lost for the first time but lost in a big way as they went down 7-0 away to league leaders The Bridge whose B.Carr hit a maximum. Samson and Lion are the only other undefeated team they move4d up from third to second with a 6-1 home success over Pensnett Welfare Club.
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The two top teams in the Hilltop Friendly Tuesday Night League The Vine and Dewdrop both won again this week to take their winning run to four games. Vine who are top on average did their cause no harm as they won 6-1 at Albion while Dewdrop were 4-3 home winners against Sportsman. The top duo are two points to the good on Island Inn, Jolly Collier and Merry-Go-Round.
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It’s as you were at the top of the Rowley Monday Night League with Springfield Social Club leading the way after adding their 8-1 win at Britannia to their tally giving them a perfect score of 10 points. On the same ten points as Springfield is The Bell who had a much closer 5-4 win at home against Haden Cross ‘Z’ who are fourth in the table with six points, Ex Serviceman’s ‘A’ are third a 7-2 win at Whiteheath Tavern leaving them two points behind the leading duo.
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Sheldon Marlborough Cricket Club will be the venue hosting the charity fixture between a Forest of Arden Select and the Sports Argus on Friday 18th March.
All proceeds will go to the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, for any further information contact Mrs Sue Kingdon on 07703-812332 or alternatively e-mail Sue on [email protected] or visit the league’s web site www.foadartsleague.co.uk
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The Wolverhampton Tuesday Night League played off their divisional average knockouts the division one final turned out to be an all Wednesfield FC affair with Wayne Jones beating team mate Stuart Pinches 3-0.
The division two final also finished with a 3-0 scoreline as Les Marson (Whitmore Reans WMC) accounted for John Evans from Woodfield Social.
A reminder that the league will be holding their AGM at the Emerald Club, Cross Street, on Tuesday 1st March at 8.00pm. Anyone interested in entering a team in the forthcoming season should take along their team list.
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The Pip Club League staged round one of their Belgrave Cup and winners from division one were Prince of Wales, Pip Club, Bulls Head ‘A’ (Polesworth) and Birchmoor Club.
Progressing in division two were Royal Oak, Progressive Club and Globe Trotters, Globe (Wilnecote) had a bye.
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With the majority of teams having played 13 games in the West Midlands Men’s Super League Crown ‘A’ have a ten points lead at the top of the table over nearest rivals Staffordshire Knot. In their most recent fixture Crown ‘A’ won their home game with Orange Tree 5-0 while Staffordshire Knot were not far behind with a 4-1 home success over Landywood ‘B’.
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A 4-3 defeat at Riley’s ‘A’ has seen Claregate lose top spot in the Tettenhall Wednesday Night League and drop to second two points behind new leaders Whitmore Reans WMC whose 4-3 home win over Riley’s ‘B’ has given them a perfect six points from the opening three games.
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Britannia Bulldogs and Blackheath Beechers could not be any closer at the top of the Black Country Premier League as both teams have played 19, won 17, drawn 1, lost 1 and are both on 35 points, the only difference is that Bulldogs have 196 for and Beechers 195 it’s that close. Third placed Springfield Rifles are only one point behind the leading pair but they have played 20 games.
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