We can still win the title, insists Jones

HIGH HOPES . . . Delph skipper Grant Jones.

CRICKET: SKIPPER Grant Jones believes two wins this weekend will help to keep Delph’s Drakes Huddersfield League Premiership title hopes firmly alive.

Delph are currently in fifth place, 18 points behind leaders Shepley. But Delph play host to Golcar in a crunch clash on Sunday, 24 hours after Jones’ men travel to sixth-placed Honley.

Many punters believe Shepley are almost guaranteed title success already, but Jones disagrees.

He said: “If we get two wins this weekend then we’ll leapfrog Golcar and hopefully be that bit closer to Shepley. Let’s not get carried away though. Golcar are a good, strong side.

“We’re 18 points behind Shepley, but stranger things have happened.

“We’ve still got to play them at home and we’re pretty solid on our own territory, and with the league as it is, any team can beat anyone.

“All it needs is for them to go on a run of defeats and with a bit of luck we can keep our form going and catch them.”

Delph go into the weekend’s double-header (both start at 1.30pm) after a crushing win against Skelmanthorpe last Sunday and then an All Rounder Twenty20 success against Holmfirth on Tuesday night.

The former winners are looking good to make the last eight shoot-out, so can they go all the way and win that tournament too?

“We’ve already beaten Golcar. They would probably have been seen as the strongest in our group, so if we can get through then it’s a three-game competition. It’s really up for grabs when you get to that stage.”