It is now nearly two months since the night of the dreaded email from the Kall Kwik Harrogate League committee signifying that our Monday/Tuesday night fix for 2019/20 would have to come to a cruelly premature end. It seems like a lifetime ago since that evening when coronavirus first placed its vile claws around the neck of our great game.

Tragically, there is little sign of it returning soon, with two sweating, heavy-breathing players sharing the petri dish of a squash court making it almost impossible to observe social distancing with any element of competitiveness involved.

Switzerland and Australia are soon to allow specific squash practice drills, with players stationed in opposite parts of the court, but the days of full matches and lengthy post-match team debriefs in packed-out bars seem a long way off for the time being, barring a virus or stringent testing.

While we wait impatiently for a resumption, it is worth re-living the story of the season so far through a very, very long overdue (apologies!) round-up of the situation in the four leagues.

Division 1

With a win over Harrogate 2, Collingham completed their fixtures for the season to establish a 13-point lead over second-placed Chapel Allerton 1 – but the north Leeds boys have two games in hand so would have been likely to overhaul the leaders’ total of 160 points.

Otley 1 are just a further two points back in third, and guess who they were due to play on the night the virus called proceedings to a halt? Yep, Chapel A 1. A title decider was stopped cruelly in its tracks.

No such glory for Mark James’ Harrogate 1 and James Butterworth’s doughty Chapel Allerton 3. Both amassed 84 points with two games remaining and prospects of dragging themselves above the dotted line were mathematically possible - but realistically implausible.

Division 2

There was much pre-season acrimony over the swapping of names between Mark Taylor’s side, formerly known as Chapel Allerton 4 and Mike Dale/Robinson’s Chapel Allerton 5. The ‘discussion’ over swapping back will probably re-emerge before next season as Taylor’s newly-named 5ths wrapped up the title after an epic season-long battle.

Despite both sides having identical records (W13 L3) it was two defeats to the 6ths (who finished third to make it a Chapel A lockout) that cost the 4ths the title – as well as the 5ths drafting in Jermaine Manners (who won all his matches 3-0) and Robbie Studholme (14 wins from 15) to bolster their squad.

Richard Greenhalgh’s Adel 2 finished bottom, but second-bottom Collingham 2 needed only three points from their final fixture to leap above Otley 2 and secure safety.

Division 3

Congratulations to Ilkley 1 for securing the title with a game to spare. Six emphatic victories in a row from the second week of January onwards mean they are uncatchable and will be a second division side once the virus has kindly pissed off and squash can resume.

Only second-placed Harlow 2 had completed their fixtures before the bastard virus struck. They could still have been overtaken but only if Adel 4 had won both their remaining games with a maximum 12-point haul.

With only four wins in 15 games, Aireborough 3 are destined for the plop into Division 4, but above them, Chapel Allerton 8, Collingham 3 and 4 and Adel 5 are separated by just three points. A relegation dogfight was in the offing, which sadly we’ll have to wait to enjoy.

Division 4

Skipton 1 and Collingham 5 sealed the promotion spots with a game still to play. With just a single point between them, the title deciding last night of action will be a thriller, if and when it takes place.

Skipton – led by Stefan Wilkinson - lost just once in 15 games, and that was way back in early October. Despite Collingham 5 having lost four matches, a stunning 10 of their 11 victories saw them pick up the maximum 12 points.

There’s room for improvement, meanwhile, beside the ring road in Meanwood, with both David Lloyd teams propping up the Division Three table. The firsts would in theory have a chance of clawing their way above seventh-placed Harlow 3 if they get the chance to play their game in hand.

Overall it’s been another season of drama so far in Yorkshire’s finest squash pyramid. We all dearly hope that, in the words of Vera Lynn, we can meet again, do battle on court and raise a glass or two afterwards, to celebrate the return of our great sport and something approaching normal life.