ANN Coe has quit as league secretary of the Mewies Solicitors Craven League.

The straw that broke the camel’s back, after 19 years in the post, came under any other business at what was otherwise a quiet July league meeting at Cross Hills Social Club on Monday night.

Oakworth representative Michael Davison accused the league’s executive committee of not following league rules over the expulsion of Oakworth’s second team from the Cowling Cup.

Clubs have three successive Sundays in which to play their tie – in this case a quarter-final against Ingrow Seconds.

He explained that Oakworth were unable to raise a side on the first two Sundays due to junior commitments but that Ingrow were unable to play in the third Sunday, when league rules state that the match must be played if it hadn’t before, due to a function and that therefore Oakworth should have been put through.

He said: “The league has to start following their own rules regarding the Cowling Cup. Checks and balances have not been done.

“We had some junior cup finals on the first Sunday and a Joe Lumb match on the second Sunday.

“League rules state that the match should therefore be played on the third Sunday but Ingrow were not available then.

“The league executive committee were not following their own league rules.”

Davison also said that the executive committee had made other errors in the past but the executive committee replied that Oakworth were dictating when the match should be played rather than negotiating.

Coe said: “League rules state that there should be negotiations, and to my mind Oakworth were not negotiating but were dictating.

“A christening is more important than a cricket match but anyway league rules state that the umpires must be informed seven days beforehand if a club cannot play a cup match.”

Oakworth were criticised for not notifying the league earlier than the Thursday before the initial Sunday that they could not raise a team when they had known two days earlier that there were problems.

Coe then announced: “I quit.”

The following morning she backed up her decision to step down, saying: “Trevor (her husband and the league’s fixture secretary) is going to do his best until the end of the season fulfilling league secretarial duties.”