Baildon must be sick of the sight of Paul Marlow.

The all-rounder helped Hanging Heaton beat them in the final of the Heavy Woollen Cup in 2000, and then last Sunday, as skipper of Central Yorkshire League side Birstall he put in a sparkling performance to bundle them out of this year's competition

Baildon have appeared in the last four finals of the cup, winning it twice, so they can be excused for thinking the match against Birstall might have gone their way.

After a bright start to their Bradford League season, it was a big reality check.

"Of course we are disappointed to be knocked out of the cup, we want to win every game. But they played better than us on the day," said director of cricket, Geoff Kay.

"We had a strong side out although Paul Spragg was missing and our overseas player Azhir Abbas couldn't bowl because he injured his shoulder. But we don't want to make any excuses."

Baildon still top the table, but Pudsey Congs, after skittling out Yeadon for 33 last Monday, are looking ominously good in second place. The pair meet next week. Tomorrow Baildon face the difficult task of tackling Woodlands away.

Yeadon's batsmen were truly awful against the pace attack of Naveed Rana-ul-Hassan and Neil Gill last Monday.

Nobody reached double figures and they were dismissed in a little over 14 overs.

However, Yeadon are still waiting for their overseas player Laxmi Shukla to arrive on the scene from Calcutta.

"He plays first-class cricket in India and is an all-rounder but although he has a visa, his employers seem to be reluctant to let him travel over here," said Yeadon spokesman Les Wood.

"It is going to be difficult to bounce back but he could make a difference. We are hoping he may be here within the next ten days." Tomorrow, Yeadon travel to Spen Victoria who gave East Bierley a Bank Holiday hammering.

So Bierley will not exactly be over-confident about taking on the mighty Congs - away.

Cleckheaton, who entertain Gomersal, will claim a first when they wear coloured clothing for their Sovereign Healthcare Priestley Cup second-round tie at Bankfoot next week. The kit will be green with red trim, red names and numbers - sponsored by Thwaites.