Silsden will have a brand new pavilion in the Aire-Wharfe League next season and are hoping the first match will be played in Division One after promotion.

The old changing rooms have been knocked down and for the rest of this season they will make do with temporary accommodation while work gets under way on the new building, which is being put up in conjunction with Silsden Football Club.

After the weekend’s wash-out, Silsden are currently second in DIVISION TWO going into this week’s halfway fixtures and veteran opener Tim Sugden reckons promotion is probably from the top four of Knaresborough, Steeton, Follifoot and his own side.

“They are all good teams and I think it will be close,” said Sugden.

“One of the most interesting factors will be the influence of the next two clubs Colton and Bardsey, who can beat any side on their day and might well upset the mix.”

Silsden have finished third for the last two years and are hoping to go at least one better this time round.

Last season they looked set to go up but had what looked like a certain six-point match against Hall Park rained off while Rawdon played and won, then the following week Rawdon beat Silsden and went on to join Guiseley in Division One.

Since then Silsden have strengthened their side with the arrival of Matthew Pinniger.

The Australian married a Silsden girl when he was playing for Steeton a few years ago and is back for the summer visiting her family, hitting form recently with centuries in his last two innings.

Yasser Ali has yet to hit last season’s heights with the ball but is a regular run-maker, while former Pakistan under-19 paceman Zeeshan Qasim – now an England resident – is heading for yet another season near the top of the averages.

Steeton, who began the season with a four-point draw at New Rover, went on to win four in a row and top the division.

But they have only taken five points from the last three games played and, after slipping to third, need their star men to start firing again.

In DIVISION ONE, Guiseley are on course for their first championship since 2000 having suffered only one defeat so far, going down to fellow title hopefuls Beckwithshaw.

They rely to a large extent on the consistent bowling of skipper Dave Pennett, who topped the averages last season and is again regularly picking up three or four wickets each match.

Their batting is less convincing – they have only passed 200 once – and will probably need to see a marked improvement if they are to stay ahead of the challenging pack.

That is currently led by Rawdon but significantly their two defeats have come from Guiseley and Beckwithshaw, so they may be just off the pace.

The biggest threat to Guiseley on current form is Kirkstall, who are very strong in the field and put down a marker with a recent win over Beckwithshaw.

While Illingworth and Thackley are probably already odds on to fill the DIVISION THREE promotion spots, Menston and Skipton will still fancy their chances of catching at least one of the duo.

With Mahir Ali picking up 24 wickets in the last four games, Thackley have opened up a ten-point lead over the next two sides but still trail Illingworth by seven points.

With three defeats in their last four matches played, Skipton need to regain the form that saw them top of the heap in mid-May – but with Ajay Rajput always likely to come up with wickets, they cannot be ruled out.

In contrast, Menston are one of Aire-Wharfe’s form teams. After an indifferent start that saw them struggling in ninth place, they have strung together four wins and climbed to third.

This is mainly thanks to the all-round displays of Abe Smith and the bowling of Charlie Dracup.