[After a long delay caused by a lack of time to work on the game, I can now get this save running again - hopefully much faster from now on.]
MONTHLY ROUND-UP: JUNE 1872
Having entered the month clear at the top of the Metropolitan League standings, The Regent’s Park have been overtaken after a hugely disappointing run in which they lost five of their seven games in June, several of them by heavy margins. They have been passed by the reigning champions, the Old Westminsters, who won seven out of eight and have now taken twelve of their last fourteen, after losing three of four to begin the campaign. Greenwich are a further game back after they shared two with the Westminsters on the final Saturday of June, their win in the first game making them the only team to defeat the champions all month. Kensington are fractionally further back in fourth, but their defeats to both the Westminsters and Greenwich prevented them from getting closer.
In the Manchester and District League, Salford lead by a game from Rochdale, those two sides splitting the games when they met for two in a day. Champions Irwell have faltered, winning just three and losing five in the month of June. They ended by sharing two with Oldham, whose form is moving in the other direction and with whom they now share third place. Newcomers Miles Platting are fading after a strong start to the year, their two defeats to Salford at the end of the month leaving them three games off the pace as the season moves into its second half.
Champions Bowling are back fractionally ahead in the Leeds and Bradford League, having fallen behind when challengers Wakefield defeated them 4-1 to begin the month. Bowling won all four of their remaining games in June, and returned to first place when their city neighbours Bradford Beck won 3-2 against Wakefield. Woodhouse are the only other team with a winning record, but their form has been poor of late and they could struggle to sustain a challenge. In the Liverpool and District League, Liverpool St Patrick’s won three of their four games in June. Most significant was the month-ending win over St Helens which extended their advantage at the top of the standings. Linacre, who are tied for second with St Helens, also ended June with a loss and Liverpool look to be in a strong position at the midway point in the year.
In Middlesex, Edmonton have a comfortable lead despite losing their first two games of the month, as they went on to win the next three. At the moment they are the only team with a winning record, as three teams sit tied on even marks, with Isleworth and Tottenham moving in the right direction while the Old Harrovians slide back. In the Sheffield and District League, Doncaster edged slightly further ahead as both they and Sanderson’s Weir lost just once in June, but Doncaster played and won one more game. They lead by two, and Weir’s chance to close the gap at the end of the month was lost when rain caused the postponement of their game in Doncaster. Lanark-Renfrew have opened up a two game lead in the Glasgow and District League, despite losing twice in June, as they recorded a 2-0 win over rivals Dundashill Distillery and then saw Distillery beaten twice by lowly Govan a week later.
The season is over in the universities, where for a third successive year one championship was won easily while the other needed a tiebreaker to decide it. Trinity College were easy winners in Oxford, taking an unprecedented third consecutive championship. Their final winning margin was seven games, the crucial win being a 2-1 success over Merton early in the month after which they did not lose another game. The drama came at Cambridge this year, where former champions Jesus College and newcomers King’s battled for the title, while reigning champions Queens’ tried to catch up with a strong late run. Queens’ actually won their last ten games but it was still not enough, they had left their run too late.
King’s entered the last two games of the season one game clear of Jesus College, with the two to meet in their penultimate fixture. King’s knew a win would make them champions, but in a dramatic battle, they lost a 3-1 lead and eventually went down 4-3 in ten innings to leave the two tied heading to the final game. Both recorded comfortable victories and so an additional game was needed. King’s had actually won all of the first three meetings with Jesus College, losing only that game where victory would have brought the title, so they were hosts for the tiebreaker. Home advantage was of little help as they fell 2-0 behind in the third inning, and could find no response until the eighth when the deficit was cut to 2-1. King’s recorded one hit in the ninth but could not advance the runner past first base, and having won the title in a tiebreaker two years ago Jesus College had done the same again.
With the league seasons over, the universities now turn to the Varsity Series, where Cambridge are looking for a third successive series win. Oxford, whose sole success came in the first series three years ago, will host the first game this year, with Cambridge hosting the second.
