Preview of games to be played on 4 & 5 June

 

Leaders Appleby Frodingham make the trip to play bottom club Whiston Parish Church at Church Fields, where they have won on their previous two visits. Joint second-placed Tickhill travel to Treeton, who did the double over them last year, but with the two clubs now occupying very different positions in the table to last year. Tickhill have won four of their last five games, whilst Treeton have won only one. Two clubs that enjoyed good wins last Saturday meet at Chichester Road, where Barnsley Woolley Miners are the visitors. Barnsley have won the only two games between the two teams at Cleethorpes since 2016. Whitley Hall, with three successive wins under their belts, will go to Cawthorne, who have not won since the second game of the season, but have lost only narrowly in the last three. Sheffield Collegiate seemed to have recovered their usual form before last week’s visit of Tickhill, and they visit Elsecar, where the home side beat them by a single run last season. Doncaster, who have won four of their last five games, visit Wakefield Thornes, who, despite losing their last two games, are level with Tickhill in second. 

 

 

Joint-leaders Hallam have a difficult game in which to return to winning ways, with Shiregreen their visitors to Crimicar. Shiregreen, in joint-fourth, have won five of their last six games and will want to keep up the pressure on the leaders. Level with Hallam at the top are Aston Hall, who have a home game against a dangerous, if inconsistent, Sprotbrough side – a game that the visitors won narrowly last season. Third-placed Wickersley, who have won their last four, go to Conisbrough, who have been in decent form themselves, with three wins from their last four. Joint-fourth Houghton Main make a short trip to Hoyland Common to play a Rockingham side over whom they did a double last season, and who are one of three clubs on 18 points at the bottom of the table. The other two of those three, Sheffield Collegiate and Green Moor, face each other at Abbeydale in an important game for both sides. Finally, Barnsley Woolley Miners 2nds are at home to a Wath side only one place above them after a rather disappointing start to the season – a game the home side won comfortably last season. 

 

 

Darfield and Doncaster Town are on top of Division 1, with both teams on 76 points. They meet on Saturday, each looking to open up a gap on the other. The leaders of the chasing pack are Coal Aston, but they have an away trip to fourth-placed Upper Haugh to contend with. At the opposite end of the table, bottom club Oughtibridge War Memorial will entertain mid-table Wakefield Thornes 2nds knowing that a win could take them above Sheffield Collegiate 3rds, who are eight points above them and are away to another mid-table side, Rotherham Town. Meanwhile, South Kirkby entertain Warmsworth, with two points separating the teams in the bottom half of the table; and the fifth- and sixth-placed sides meet, Sheffield United having a trip to Whitley Hall 2nds. 

 

 

It is top versus bottom in Division 2, where bottom side Caribbean Sports face a tough test with a trip to Wickersley Old Village 2nds. The race for second place is very tight at the moment with Ackworth currently occupying that spot, and they entertain mid-table Hatfield Town. Norton Woodseats and Hallam 2nds are hot on Ackworth’s heels however; Woodseats face fifth-placed Treeton 2nds, whilst Hallam 3rds play Norton Oakes in eighth. Elsewhere, Monk Bretton host Thorpe Hesley & High Green with the two teams level on points and vying to move away from the relegation zone. The other game tomorrow is a mid-table clash between Penistone and Aston Hall 2nds. 

 

 

The Elsecar and Tickhill second teams remain out in front in Division 3, and they meet at Alderson Drive tomorrow with the visitors looking to increase the ten-point gap between them at the top. 14 points behind second-placed Tickhill are Parkhead, who will be hoping that Elsecar keep up their winning start to the season, so they can cut the gap with a win against Oughtibridge War Memorial 2nds. At the bottom, Thorncliffe & Wentworth play eighth-placed Bradfield Village Fellowship; whilst Whiston Parish Church 2nds, two points above them, have a difficult trip to Wath 2nds, who are in fourth place and still looking to mount a promotion challenge. Level with Wath are Frecheville Community, who are away at Sprotbrough 2nds, who are just two points below them. Elsewhere, Kexborough in seventh host Worsbrough Bridge, who need the points to pull away from the bottom two. 

 

 

Cawthorne 2nds and Millhouses Works are level on points at the top of Division 4 and both teams face sides at the opposite end of the table; Cawthorne are away to bottom side Shiregreen 2nds and Millhouses host second-bottom Silkstone United. Barnsley Woolley Miners 3rds are ten points behind the promotion places and have to contend with a trip to Sheffield Collegiate 4ths, just eight points below them. At Guilthwaite Hill, Whiston Forge and Stocksbridge will be fighting for the points for different reasons – the home side to pull clear of the bottom two, and the visitors to keep in touch with the promotion race. The other two games see Higham welcome Handsworth JSC in a mid-table clash, and eighth-placed Maltby Miners Welfare host Rockingham Colliery 2nds four points below them. 

 

 

There is a tight race below league leaders Wombwell Main for the second promotion spot in Division 5. Doncaster Town 3rds currently occupy second place, and they host bottom side Norton Oakes 2nds. Third-placed Upper Haugh 2nds are just two points behind them, and they travel to Coal Aston 2nds in sixth; whilst the fourth and fifth-placed sides, Fishlake and Conisbrough 2nds, meet at Pinfold Lane. Leaders Wombwell have an away game against second-bottom Mexborough; whilst two mid-table clashes, Darfield 2nds against Rotherham Town 2nds, and Sheffield University Staff against Hallam 3rds, make up the rest of the fixtures. 

 

 

Sheffield United 2nds lead the way by twelve points in Division 6, with five clubs separated by four points in the race for second place. United’s latest fixture is at home to Sprotbrough 3rds who are one of those chasing clubs. Bradfield Village Fellowship 2nds are currently joint-second, and are away to winless Caribbean 2nds; level on points with Bradfield are Thorpe Hesley & High Green 2nds, who entertain Whitley Hall 3rds, in ninth place but only 14 points behind second. Green Moor 2nds are joint-fifth, and they welcome Wickersley Old Village 3rds in eighth; and, level with Green Moor in fifth are Penistone 2nds, who travel to Barnsley Woolley Miners 4ths in tenth place. 

 

 

It is shaping up to be a three-horse race for promotion in Division 7, with Higham 2nds just two points above Brookhouse and Ackworth 2nds, having played a game more. This weekend sees Brookhouse host Higham, whilst Ackworth play away to Eden Grove Parklands in joint seventh, knowing they must win to keep up the pressure on the winners at Rose Lane. At the bottom, Thorncliffe & Wentworth 2nds remain without a win, and they entertain mid-table Harley, while second-bottom Monk Bretton 2nds travel to Warmsworth 2nds in fourth. A mid-table clash between Frecheville Community and Mexborough 2nds is Saturday's other game. 

 

 

Hatfield Town 2nds remain the league leaders in Division 8, but the two teams below them do have games in hand. The teams in question are Doncaster Town 4ths and Stocksbridge 2nds, who are both twelve points adrift of the leaders. Both play mid-table sides, with Stocksbridge hosting Rockingham Colliery 3rds and Doncaster travelling to play Worsbrough Bridge 2nds. Leaders Hatfield welcome Dearne, looking to maintain their twelve-point cushion. The other game of the weekend sees Wath 3rds host Scholes, with both teams in the bottom three. 

 

 

Whiston Forge 2nds remain unbeaten at the top of Division 9 but face a tough test this weekend when they travel to third-placed Upper Haugh 3rds. Sandwiched between the two sides are free-scoring Adwick-le-Street, whose next fixture sees them entertain mid-table Brookhouse 2nds. Elsewhere, bottom club Sheffield United 3rds will host fourth-placed Hampole & Skelbrooke on Saturday, with mid-table Kexborough 2nds away to ninth side Rockingham Colliery 4ths on Sunday. 

 

 

On Sunday, there are eight ties in the second round of the Viking Cricket Cup. Perhaps the most interesting of these involves our champions Appleby Frodingham, who will play their first game at Clifton Park, York since 2015 – the fortunes of the two clubs having differed somewhat since then. Elsecar will look forward to their trip to Scarborough with some optimism after their convincing win over another seaside outfit, Cleethorpes, in the last round. There are four other inter-League games; Wakefield Thornes are at home to Driffield; Treeton go to York’s neighbours Clifton Alliance; Sheffield Collegiate are at home to Harrogate; and Cawthorne host Woodhouse Grange. The one game between two YCSPL sides is at Shaw Lane, where there will be a repeat of last week’s league game between Barnsley Woolley Miners and Whiston Parish Church. 

 

In the Billy Oates Memorial Cup, there are seven second round ties, at Doncaster, Harley, Penistone, Stocksbridge, Thorpe Hesley, Upper Haugh and Wickersley.