Keighley Cup2000 League

for Under 17s

Monday evenings 6:30pm

There's also strength in numbers at Embsay, who took fifth place in 2008. Joshua Robinson and Lloyd Davies will supplement John Golson, Alex Conroy and Luke Stockton in their quest. Wicket-taking might be an Achilles heel and Davies will need to show the top form of last year in the run-getting stakes. 2010 might be a better bet for honours. Despite the massive runs input from Joseph Ousey in 2008 Oxenhope just avoided the drop. The 2009 unit looks altogether a tougher bunch with surely a more productive year for Jimmy Marshall. George Nixon, who was one of last year's surprise all-round packages, will be back and if the bowling deficiencies can be rectified by Matt Moore, Josh Crowther Phil Gill and Ben Wine, a challenge could be mounted.

Division Two Champions Sutton reached the Spencer Cup semi-final last season and with over 20 players eligible should adjust without problem. Chris Williams, Luke Newton, Mohammed Shanawaz and Simon Todd will be competitive but their challenge may have to wait till 2010 in the tougher top drawer. It took 2 years for Upper Wharfedale to escape Division Two but they did so on the back of some high run scoring feats in 2008. Much of that squad is now too old but Jack Schindler and Harry Eccleshall will head a combo that has been steadily developing. Tom Carlisle, Adam Stockdale and Ben Howlett will need to step up a level if the Dales boys are to make the top four.

Skipton owe their First Division status to the loss of the Silsden team but it seems likely that Chris Lambert, Matt Raw and Peter Herbert will do their utmost to justify the rescinded relegation. 2008 Cup Finalists Haworth West End also have a stroke of luck, thanks to Bolton Abbey not running in 2009.  They do look to have the makings now that they have experienced a few pressure games. Joe Bottomley, Tinashe Gomwe, Danny Riley, Joe Alvey, Sam Chipman and Callum Jones will form a classy spearhead and if former Oakworth all-rounder Ben Lamb joins in, the Penistone Hill boys will be very serious challengers.

The two-division structure will continue in 2009 with 8 in the top Division which looks much changed from 2008. Division Two will embrace 6 teams including two new teams, Cononley and Ingrow. Steeton's chances of that three-in-a-row KC2000 Championship now seem remote and the major Championship tussles will likely come from the trio of Worth Valley rivals Oxenhope, Oakworth and Haworth West End.

Division Two

A very young inexperienced Haworth team will boast Matthew Halliday and Joseph Thorpe as older hands but will look to continuation of the healthy progress from Luke Fletcher, Stephen Bell and Aaron Putko with 2010 looking a stronger season for promotion. For Glusburn 2008 was a step into the unknown with fifth place an excellent debut. Andrew Cairns, Ben O'Hara and Damien Allen all made strides and 2009 should see yet more improvement. Another squad to take the plunge in 2008 were blossoming Gargrave. John Beckwith, Peter Messenger and Alex McIntyre were prominent and with excellent under-15 players pushing for places the North Craven team should be amongst the promotion seekers.

Bingley Congs embark on their third UAJCL season still seeking signs of substantial upward mobility. At the time of writing the club has little in the way of a squad and 2009 might again be another year of struggle. 2008 saw the debut in UAJCL of Ingrow and they are going for growth in only their second season. It seems likely their under-17s will rely heavily on the under-15 squad built around the quality from Joe Hoyle and 2008 top keeper Jason Roberts alongside 2008 rookie Jack Bilney. History shows Champions tend to have high numbers of 15 and 16 year olds. Cononley did not operate in 2008 and the new squad has been built around the five former Steeton players and other itinerant former players. Their squad list provides a very strong team who will be the strongest of promotion candidates.

The Second Division title favourites would seem to be Cononley with Glusburn and Gargarve providing most challenge.

Pro Coach Academy League

for Under 15s

Wednesday evenings 6:30pm

Embsay's superb Pro Coach Academy League & Cup double in 2008 has set the bar high for the Shires Lane club and the club will look to Jonathan Triffit, Chris Wademan, Paul Robinson and Daniel Ridehalgh to follow suit. The loss of top order prolific run-scoring from Lloyd Davies produces a tall order in seeking to defend their titles. 2008 runners-up Haworth West End will be looking to Jack Shimmin, Owen Palmer, Jack Middleton and Carlton Beanland to try and take them up a slot. With Liam Chipman and Harry Sherlock as promising under-13s their season should on balance be positive.

Ben Davey, Max Bell, Dan Ellison-Bates, Henry Anson, Sam Shepherd and Sam Smith have all represented UAJCL at u-12 level and with Joe Daggett and Joe Slater in the mix 2009 should see a strong title tilt from the Upper Wharfedale u-15 boys. Skipton will be drawing on players who took consecutive under-13 titles in 2006-07 and a strong effort can be expected from Lewis McCabe, the prolific Sam Baldwin, Harry McEneaney and wicket-taker Patrick Martin.

Jack Jones, Jack Cokell, Elliott Firth, Peter Cook and Robbie Davidson and a large back up squad look to be one of the 2009 teams to beat. Fifth place last season should be beaten this time around for the Settle club. 2007 Champions Steeton just missed relegation last season and will be looking to climb the 2009 table. They will look to Joseph McGuinness, Joe Stead, Jack Smith and Charlie Manthorp in that respect. Overall the batting prospects seem sound but the bowling department will require one of the well-documented major steps forward from the Summerhill boys.

Promoted Sutton have Ben Simons, Jonny Wilkinson and Amjid Hussain at the helm of their challenge and Chris Paulat-Brigg, Sohail Gulbar and Joe Moore provide the depth. They should not be out of place if they can recapture their 2008 enthusiasm. Finally Gargrave's assault on the league tables might reach some fulfilment this year. Sam Lund, Billy Pinder, Will Beckwith and Will Smith raise high hopes of yet another outstanding year.

2009 might just be the year when Haworth West End finally hit pay dirt but the Division has a number of well balanced sides so they along with Upper Wharfedale, Sutton and Skipton should be pace-setters with Gargrave quite probably upsetting many in the Pro Coach Academy League.

Division Two

The Division will have 11 teams in 2009 as three more new sides continue the expansion curve yet further.

Tom Marshall and Ellis Atha will look to lead their Oxenhope colleagues back to Division One after relegation in 2008. Joe Pullen and Jack Shuttleworth will give yet more credence to that premise. Near neighbours Oakworth also took the plunge last year and will also look to bounce back with a team strengthened by many of last season's u-13 Treble winners. Marshall Pedder and James Heslop will receive quality input from Jack Davison, Jackson Rouse, Matty Lee, Lewis Wrathall and Ben Fothergill. Substantial further progress will be required to gain promotion but they could be very interesting spoilers especially in the Cup.

Earby will look to set the disappointment of missed promotion aside. High class all round skills from Chris Bowker and Ryan Sumner, George Skocki and wicket machine Alex Yates will surely rectify that deficiency in 2009. With yet another strong batch of u-13s coming through last year's failure should be put to bed. The Denholme Dragons with the Gerrard brothers, Dale Feather and all-rounder Andy Wear will again look to be one of the promotion sides. A pretty good 2008 should be enhanced provided the batting can compensate for the loss of Joe Greenwood.

The 2009 campaign will feature developing strength in East Lancastrians Pendle Forest who almost grabbed the u-13 title last season and this year u-15s are queuing up to take the places on offer in two teams in this Division. The fixtures have been compiled such that the two teams will not meet in a 12-match campaign. It remains to be seen whether the strength will be dissipated by the structure but Pendle Forest will expect returns from Josh Duffy, Tom Anderson, Joel Duerden, the Wilkinsons and Buchanans. For Bradley u15s there are over 20 players to select from and Jack Beetham will look to galvanise his colleagues Chris Rudden, Alex Kirwin, Will Gains and Rob Beresford to better than their 6h place finish in 2008.

Second season club Ingrow will look to build on a promising start to their first UAJCL season. Joe Hoyle proved one of the league's top batsmen in 2008 and with a year under the belt progress seems certain. With the sad loss of Tom Barritt in 2008 the Haworth u15s will look to repay his faith with improved showings. Ryan Ives, Luke Fletcher, Aaron Putko and Jonathan Lilley have now gained experience and 2009 will surely see upward movement.

For Airedale and Bingley Congs there is no form line and they may be the wild cards of the League although it is difficult coming in at u-15 level.

The title battle should be fascinating to watch unfold and marginal favourites must be Earby and Denholme with Pendle Forest also very much in there and capable of upsetting any team.

Brook Taverner League

for Under 13s

Sunday mornings 10:00am

Oakworth grabbed all the u13 silverware on offer last season but the 2009 squad is shorn of many of those players. George Ingham and James Lee as UAJCL u-12s will look to stimulate the infusion from the u11s of 2008, who also had much success. The Championship is probably a step or two too far but an interesting season beckons. 2008 Runners-up Pendle Forest will provide huge numbers at u15 but Joseph Ryland, Jack Wood and others might at Brook Taverner League level find a repeat year difficult to engineer.

Stephenson cousins, Callum Lockett, Ed Dagget, Jack Shepherd and Charlie Slater along with many other Wharfedale Stags give the Dales club high hopes of a first u-13 Championship win since 2001. Their side, many as Wharfedale Rams in 2008 produced excellent results and with normal progress their day may yet be at hand. Earby will start 2009 as many people's favourites for the title. The exploits of Shane Taylforth, Macauley Cunningham, Jamaal Knowles and Jake Ellis in 2008 as u12s gives massive optimism that their drought since 2004 might be over.

The Oxenhope boys have yet to break their duck in u13 Championships but with Ben Addison, Liam Humphreys, Spencer Mawer and Josh Ferguson in their 2009 line up they should be in the shake down at season's end. Promoted Haworth West End also look to have strong credentials for 2009 with Josh Holt, Liam Chipman and Harry Sherlock as jewels in their crown. But add in Faye Palmer, Charlie Shimmin, Sam Hallas and Anthony Welsh and their challenge appears genuine.

Settle are a quality club, who took the 2005 title. Jack Walker, Ben Williams and Will Larmour will be spearheads for the 2009 brigade although overall it may not be until 2010 that their best emerges. Finally Embsay will have a very inexperienced side for 2009 and may struggle a little

The case for Wharfedale Stags and Earby being the ones to beat is indeed compelling but there is quality throughout the League with many teams capable of spoiling results. Watch and see!.

Division Two

The relegation for Skipton came after two winning seasons and 2009 may see a return to that form line. Thomas Blanchard, Izaak Beck, Josh Mullinder and George Sutcliffe will surely ensure that the promotion candidates include the Marketeers. The remarkable 2008 year for the Wharfedale Rams shows that quality under-10 players can compete well in the Division. The extensive Dales squad will once again be amongst the front runners but the Rams might struggle a little more than their predecessors. Denholme Devils will have Jack Harrison, Toby Priestley, Jibrael Malik and Brad Greenwood so there is an opportunity to show their 2008 u-11 form in the higher league and threaten for promotion.

There is much recruitment necessary for the Haworth u13 side and the small residual from 2008 will need a miraculous progress line to make the promotion places. Similarly but with a much larger squad the Steeton club might find reaching the top two places a struggle with Harpreet Chagger, Ben Wilson and Nicky Howley still relatively inexperienced.

For Silsden the pedigree is well established with Ben Shepherd, Callum Hey, Ryan Narey, Jack Roberts and Ben Appleyard all set to capitalise on their gathering experience. A top half finish seems certain as a minimum. Sutton were unfortunate in 2008 and the remaining players led by Ben Whitfield, Zaheer Abbass and Tomesk Murphy might struggle to emulate the results of that campaign.

An excellent 2008 u-11 programme from Gargrave gives much evidence for continued progress in the Brook Taverner League. The leap is significant but Carl Tetley, Ben Anderson, Matthew Beckwith and Jonah Smith have shown anything is possible. Promotion might just be beyond the squad but a top five placing is well within their grasp. The re-emergence at Cowling as u-11s in 2008 was a welcome addition. The newcomers performed well but will find the u-13 standard much tougher. One has to expect that another full season will be required before real table-climbing progress becomes possible for Sam Solley, David Bell, etc

The bulk of the highly successful Glusburn u11s will now find exposure to 'non-pairs' cricket a whole new ball game but their confidence and undoubted quality should see them a competitive unit in their new surroundings. Alex Horsfield, Pat Lee, Dominic Mortimer and Nick Firth will surprise many.

Title favourites must be Skipton and Denholme with Silsden and Gargrave in hot pursuit. Glusburn are dark horses.

CartaSport League

for Under 11s

Mainly Thursdays and Sundays but most days

For CartaSport League Champions Oxenhope apart from Lewis Hopkinson its an unknown squad that will follow last year's winning out-turn. History shows though that the Worth Valley club are generally on the ball in producing new line ups. 2008 runners-up Oakworth Sharks will benefit from their '2nd' XI the 2008 Oakworth Phoenix with a ready made squad primed for action. Will Rankin, Dan Scott, Ben Weatherall, Jordan Powell and Jack McGrogan have already shown competence at this level. They should be contenders.

Skipton will sport a comparatively inexperienced outfit with little form-line with which to gauge prospects. If numbers were the criterion Wharfedale would win most years but this year the under-11s team is largely unknown although their under-9 section has shown a good track record in development of u-11 sides. The 2009 Wharfedale Stags team should be no different. Kieran Mara, Jake Greenbank, Ewen McKane and Benji Cocker are all names with some resonance from 2008 so for 2007 Champions Earby their u11 campaign seems set for another combative performance.

Denholme will rebuild around Jibrael Malik and the exciting Matthew Wear. Their progress will depend on the back up these two receive. Malsis Festival and CoachingMat winners Silsden u-9s provide the nucleus of the 2009 under-11 combo. Watch out for William Pullen and Ben Sugden in a year of fascination for Silsden.

Earby, Wharfedale Stags and Denholme should be the major sides batting to prevent Oakworth's more experienced side from taking the CartaSport League title.

Division Two

Bradley's relegation might yet prove a blessing in disguise for Tyler Campbell, Harry McGowan, Tom Robinson and Daniel Hunt. The South Craven side should be amongst the upper echelons of the Division in 2009. Up in the Dales the Settle under-11s have a large squad, headed by John Davidson, Daniel Strickland, James Pickard and Simon Tarbox. They have significant experience levels and should be challengers for their first silverware since their 2002 Cup win. Dexter Riley will lead a vastly inexperienced Haworth West End team in the 2009 season. Their progress will depend on unearthing support for his efforts.

Steeton have Dominic Meehan, Bradley Akrigg and Matthew Klava providing top order quality. Their squad which includes a fair sprinkling of girl players should show major strides forward after settling nicely in 2008. New club Cullingworth have a team built around former Keighley player Billy Whitford and their competitiveness is largely unknown. The Wharfedale Rams showed in 2008 that if the quality is there, under-10s can compete. The under-9 Dales Xl will provide the basis for the Rams who will no doubt shock again. A surprise entry from Bingley Congs is most welcome but we have no formline to guage their potential

The Division is where new players emerge from the shadows and the 2009 season will be no different.  Promotion seems to rest between Bradley and Settle, with the latter most likely to succeed.