Veterans League
My preview of the Veterans 6-Man League season Division-by-Division ends today with a look at Division 1 which has 12 teams this season. I select my top two teams and the two I feel most likely to see at the bottom of the table at the end of the season. However regular readers over the last 13 years will know that I am pretty rubbish at this forecasting game so hopefully, no one treats it very seriously. In fact being my selection for relegation usually provides the spur needed to push my selections to their best placings for a decade!
The reorganisation of the Divisions within the 6-Man League sees 4 teams relegated from Division 1 last season to Division 2 with only 2 teams promoted to replace them. The overall increase in team numbers is most welcome which has been enabled by a loosening of the qualifying rules for bowlers. A more relaxed regime which opens the way for more bowlers to actually play the game has to be a long overdue improvement. Inevitably as better bowlers become qualified to bowl in the League the standard in the League goes up and more teams move in.
Waterloo are an example of that as they joined the League last year and were immediately put into the top division. Even this League can read the list of bowlers registered with the team and drawn the conclusion that they were Division 1 material. A first season which saw them finish in second place was a good start for them and I am sure that they will count that as a settling-in season with a push for the title their obvious target this year.
However Marsh United will have a say in the destiny of the title once again no doubt. They have won it for the last two years having been the Division 2 Champions the year before so well proven as a top team in the 6-man world. Both teams had Won-21 Lost-5 records last season but importantly 2 of those 5 defeats for Waterloo came in the first 3 fixtures whilst they were still settling into the different world of 6-man bowling. I make them favourites and my choice for the title with Marsh United a very close second.#
Clayton West and New Mill are the two new teams promoted from Division 2 last year. This is a second straight promotion for the New Mill team and they also added a first-ever Julie Fuller Trophy win to their season as well. It is a big ask for another top-two finish but I do see them having a top-half finish this year along with Clayton West.
The three teams just above the drop zone last season are teams that have dropped to that level for a second time and I believe that the two teams to be relegated will come from that threesome. That three being the A teams from Thongsbridge, Brockholes and Milnsbridge. But which two will fear the drop the most? All three are longstanding members of the top division with none of them really flirting with relegation until now.
Milnsbridge have the worst record in recent seasons finishing 8/14 7/12 9/12 in the last three seasons. That is the only evidence I can find to split them so Milnsbridge go in as my first pick for the drop. It has to come down to gut-feel from here on as I cannot find any reason to pick one team above another so that probably means both are safe and the second relegation place will come from an unexpected source. But I am nothing but brave in picking Thongsbridge to go down with their Brockholes counterparts. They only avoided the 4th relegation place last season on a better Aggregate For total than Lindley Lib A despite the Lindley team winning 13 of their 26 fixtures against Thongsbridge only picking up 10 wins.
TOP TIPS: Waterloo and Marsh United DROP TIPS: Milnsbridge A and Thongsbridge A
That's it then, the 6-Man League all done and dusted, time to move on to the 5 Divisions in the 10-Man League and another venture into the wild world of forecasting from which there is no hiding for this correspondent.
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