This could have been the season when Pudsey St Lawrence won their first SDS Bradford League title since 1991.

Certainly they looked as if they were in the shake-up at the start of the season along with Woodlands, East Bierley, Cleckheaton, Hanging Heaton, Baildon and, of course, defending champions Pudsey Congs.

And, with 16 games to go and plenty of points at stake, Saints still might be in with a shout come September.

St Lawrence's cricket secretary Tony Moore remembered: "The last time Bowling Old Lane won the title in 1978 they were third from bottom at the beginning of July and won ten of their last 13 matches to take the crown."

Nevertheless, Saints haven't made the best of starts to this campaign, chiefly because of injuries and unavailability.

Moore explained: "We have lost our

captain Andrew Doidge with a cruciate ligament injury - probably for the rest of the season.

"He has been missing since the match against Woodlands on May 8, and if he does come back it will only be at the 'death'.

"And we are also without pace bowler Paul Hutchison. He has broken his toe and will be missing for eight weeks.

"In addition, Nottinghamshire will not release Gareth Clough, and we cannot play our first-choice wicketkeeper David Syers with any regularity until the summer

holidays.

"He is a pupil at Leeds Grammar School and plays for them on Saturdays. He is a top-class keeper."

Moore added: "We were going to let young Tom Shaffner keep wicket for the first team this season, but his job means he would be unavailable for two or three weeks a month, and he decided that wouldn't be fair on the first-team."

Tomorrow it is the first Pudsey derby of the season, with mid-table Saints hosting the leaders at Tofts Road.

The sides met three times in 2004 and two of them were crackers, with St Lawrence feeling they are due the rub of the green in 2005.

Congs won the initial league match by two wickets off the next-to-last ball, then showed their grit in gaining a winning draw at Tofts Road.

Skipper Matthew Doidge (94 not out) and Neil Gill (36 not out) had earlier taken Congs to a two-wicket Priestley Cup semi-final victory at the Britannia Ground with an unbroken stand of 91.

Pudsey hasn't got the only derby action tomorrow, however. There is also the small matter of the Cleckheaton derby at Spen Victoria, with John Wood, Ian Wood and Kez Ahmed all returning to Spen Lane with their new club.

Vivek Mahajan and Mohammed Siddiq, who starred in Division Two last season for Esholt and Bowling Old Lane respectively, square up in the top flight at Jenny Lane.

Mahajan's batting is the main reason Morley have climbed to mid-table, while fifth-placed Baildon have been inspired by Siddiq's pace bowling.