BOTH local hopes in the quarter-finals of the Yorkshire ABA’s County Cup events came to an end in different circumstances last week.

In the Henry Taylor Cup, Cononley made a great start against Crosland Moor at Rufford Park as Steve Wood gave them the lead with a 21-6 win but Keith Moore and Tony Finn were the only other victors as the team went down by over 50 points.

Oxenhope met Hove Edge WMC at Ossett and ended up in a bit of a mess as some players were held up on the motorway after a large pile-up. Those who arrived in time made only a fair start and by the time the rest made it, almost all hope was lost as they went down by over 30 points in the aftermath.

On a slightly brighter note, the Worth Valley’s Over-60 team in the Federation’s Vets League made their second visit to East End Park and defeated Doncaster B comfortably despite having two losers.

Their opponents proved tough but a good win by Mick Higson set the locals in the right direction. Their next match is on Friday, August 1 when Halifax might prove the hardest test so far.

Tomorrow, the Skipton Vets are back in action in the Yorkshire Inter-District when they try and resurrect their disappointing season. They play Castleford, with the home leg at Silsden PF at 1.30pm, while the away team travel to Pontefract BC.

The Valley/Skipton Juniors returned to form with a good win at home against the Heavy Woollen League. The locals tried the top green for a change and it paid off with five winners from Bradley Picken, Ben Hewitt, Thomas Lowe, Thomas Johnson and the reliable Andrew Peel. Huddersfield are the next opponents in a rearranged match.

Richard Hargreaves, of Cross Roads, lifted his third Valley title of the season when he won the Keighley Merit at Cross Hills for the second time, easily defeating old rival Mick Bastow, of Craven, 21-7. Hargreaves just squeaked home in the semi, defeating John Hamer 21-20, while Bastow beat Graeme Perry, of Devon, in the other last-four tie.

Hargreaves was among eight qualifiers in the Skipton-based JACS Merit, along with his father Trevor.

Others progressing to the final on Sunday, August 10 at Sutton Park were Mattie Simpson, Alan Thornber, David Scott, Ian Bernard, Barry Turnbull and Graham Reay.

Also on the victory trail was Rob Scarr, of Cononley, who teamed up with host player John Whittaker to win the Phillip Wright Memorial Pairs at Colne. They comfortably beat Glynn Shuttleworth of Barrowford and Peter Stott of Todmorden 21-14.

The Yorkshire Parks Vets had a good win recently against top-of-the-table North Derbyshire, with locals Cliff Taylor, Barry Turnbull and David Hemsley victorious in the away leg at Dronfield.

The main event of the weekend is the BCGBA finals at Cleckheaton Sports on Saturday, starting at 10.30am. President Chris Hasselby, of Keighley, is the man in charge on the day.

Normality is restored on Sunday when the Worth Valley hopes to clinch the Federation District League Division Six title. In their last game, they meet second-placed Leeds B in a must-win game.

The home leg is at Craven (2pm), while the away team travel to the famous ‘rat-trap’ at Rothwell BC. Hopefully, the team can gain promotion after they were denied last year. It could be a close call.