GARGRAVE are hoping to use their truncated Mewies Solicitors Craven League 2020 campaign as a springboard for a promotion bid next year - assuming cricket has returned to something like normality by then.

They won six of their 10 matches on the field in Group E of the Covid Regional Competition.

Skipper Will Smith said: "The plan is to win Division Two next season.

"Hopefully we have the same personnel then as we did this year."

Gargrave began the shortened season by posting scores of over 200 on each of the first three weekends.

271 against Thornton-in-Craven, 248-2 against Cononley and, after the two-week break, 218-6 against Bradley.

John Beckwith, who scored 479 runs in total, was at the heart of many of those totals, with scores of 79, 112 and 20 over those three weeks.

Smith can not speak highly enough of his opener but was disappointed in one of his scores.

He said: "It is a pity that he scored those 178 on the last day of the season on loan to Denholme rather than for us (Gargrave received a walkover that day against Bradley).

"But, he is just mad keen to play cricket."

As for the way the league was set-up this term, Smith gives huge credit to the organisers for providing players with some normality this summer and picks out another player who caught his eye.

He added: "I think they were brilliant, and to get some competitive cricket in was fantastic.

"Particularly the way that they set up the groups because at one stage it looked like we were not going to get anything going.

"It was really pleasing that we scored over 200 in those first three games, but then we lost a few players to injuries.

"Apart from John, Tom Goodwin deserves a mention.

"He scored 93 not out against Bradley on his first game for the first team, having come up from the second team."

Gargrave, who were six points ahead of Skipton CI, weren't the only winners from South Craven.

Cowling's second team finished top of Group G by three points from Embsay seconds.

The latter's opener Caspar Bean hit an amazing 439 runs in total to top the charts as the most scored by a Craven League player for one club in 2020.

Cowling second-teamer Ben Davy said that their success, which also saw them record six 'proper' victories in their 10 matches of this unique season, was down to "a good balance of age and youth".

He said: "The league did the best that they could in what was a first for everybody.

"We had a good skipper in Yasser Chatta, a good opening bat in Steve Dalby and a good seam bowler in Aqib Chatta, who was very accurate.

"We also had first-team captain Martyn Dalby. He helped us out in one game.

"Now we hope that we can build on this success next season."