Going into this week's matches, Littlemoor were 6 points clear of nearest rivals Bradford Deaf Centre. Yet, despite losing 4-1 at Princeville this week, that 6 point lead was maintained; as BDC were also defeated by the same score at third placed Pudsey Congs. That excellent win for Congs leaves them just one point below BDC and 7 points off top spot.

At Congs, with breaks of 39, 49 and 33, Richard Bowes had a 199-124 win over Jeremy Dixon. Dave and Phil Hirst both reached 200 in their wins over Brian Robinson and Ian Ford respectively, although Dave's win was by the narrowest margin of one point. The Deaf Centre's only winner was Ihjaz Hussain 185-157 against Mick Hirst. Richard's Facebook comment reads "A good result for us and close to the 5 but for a penultimate visit of 20+ by Ihjaz just as Mick had got to 3 behind."

James Butcher has sent me the following match report of Princeville's win over league leaders Littlemoor:- 

“Coming into tonight's game, Princeville were forced to ring in changes.  Including a late withdrawal from ever present Keith Tomlinson. With a number of unavailable players, a replacement was found in the final hour. Having a squad size that Surrey County Cricket Club would be proud of does help in such an emergency situation. Meanwhile, Littlemoor had two players in the Midlands. One on a course, the other attending a Billiards masterclass.

First up was Edward (Lawson) v Peter )Allan) and the two Grahams (Bentley and Tudor). Edward got off to a steady start, albeit with some veiled shots that might look legitimate, but were declared as unintentional. It took a while for Peter to get used to the slow and lifeless far table.  But when he did, he strung a 16 break and halved the deficit to 16 at the halfway stage. The game was played at a good pace. Edward scored a little run and kept the scoreboard ticking over to maintain his lead. However, Peter added another teen break to get within 10pts and had enough time to generate a comeback. But it was Edward who moved from 190 to 197, then clinched it with a pot red to win by 25pts.

Over on the other table, Graham T (Littlemoor) got off to a good start and at one point was 40pts ahead. But, Graham B gradually got into the game and chipped away at the deficit. A double figure was recorded, and then added an 18 break to get into an 8pt lead with less than a minute to go. Although Graham T registered two scoring shots, they were of long distance and the bell went before he could play the next shot.  

Next up was James (Butcher) v John (Allan) and Steve (Gatenby) v Dave (Howarth). James got off to a solid start, getting into a 15pt lead before John could get off the mark. John looked to be up and running when he got off the mark, but the top left hand pocket showed a lot of resistance to the balls. James continued to build momentum, navigating a tricky table with care and concentrated on getting individual shots. After a break was ended, John was left with little to go at. The table provided no assistance to get out of complex shots that required some pace. James had the better table time, continuing from last week’s performance and built a lead beyond 50pts with the clock ticking down. As the match concluded at 50 minutes, James secured a second successive league win in 2025.

On the other table, the MVP of the Pudsey Billiards League carried on with his rich vein of form.  Although Steve did string a couple of double figure breaks, he was unable to cope with Dave's scoring prowess, who often enjoyed a 'street' lead. Dave raced away at the final street and brought a point back to LS28. “

That very good win for Princeville lifted them up to fourth, but they are still a full 15 and a half points off the top. Is there enough of the league season left for them to make a serious challenge for the title?

At St Andrews in the derby, it was the A team who finished on top. They had wins from Gary Rogers and Nigel Brayshaw over John Oyston and Steve Clark respectively. Dave Smith and John Bedford were the B team's winners against Neil Lee and Graham Pearson. The A team won the aggregate by 31 points.

On Friday we drew the Individual Merit and Pairs first rounds after two preliminary rounds were concluded, with the last Individual Merit match played just in time on Friday morning in which Brian Robinson beat James Butcher. The draws can be found on the appropriate page.

This coming week, St Andrews B will be at the resurgent Princeville; Littlemoor will be visiting Bradford Deaf at (the apparently lively!) Windhill Cricket Club and Pudsey Congs will make the short trip to St Andrews A.

By Dave Howarth

League Secretary

Footnote : I have further updated the Players Table on Sunday evening at 7.10pm. Both Peter Allan and Graham Bentley are now in the main table as they have played 5 matches each (one less than half of the total matches played so far... i.e 12).

Following the weather enforced break last week, we returned to league action on Thursday. Before the break for Christmas and then last week's hiatus, St Andrews A and Princeville were in 5th and 6th respectively, with Princeville trailing by 3 points. However, the Great Horton Road outfit started the New Year with a bang, defeating their hosts by 4.5 to 0.5. There was a big win from James Butcher (by 200-127 over Graham Pearson), Graham Bentley's was closer 200-190 over Nigel Brayshaw and Keith Tomlinson won 195-166 against Gary Rogers. St Andrews A's skipper Neil Lee shared the point with Brian Haigh, as both were level on 180 at the bell. That comfy win for Princeville actually lifted them off the bottom at the expense of their opponents.

At Bradford Deaf Centre's temporary venue, Windhill Cricket Club, the hosts also had a handsome win. BDC's Jeremy Dixon had runs of 21 and 27 in his 169-136 win over Dave Smith. Ihjaz Hussain beat John Bedford 200-151 and Ian Ford had a good 200-178 win over St Andrews B's reserve John Oyston. Steve Clark saved the visitors blushes with a comfortable looking 200-163 win over Brian Robinson. That win for the Deaf Centre confirmed their second spot in the league table. John Bedford's comment on Facebook read "Great fun at the cricket club. The bingo caller was most inventive"... I'm looking forward to visiting there again at the end of this month... the last time I was there I was on the field in my whites!

At Littlemoor, the hosts got off to the best possible start against nearest rivals Pudsey Congs; with Graham Tudor finding some good form for the New Year, beating Phil Hirst 189-173. On the other table, my current (Pudsey League) good fortune continued against Congs John Hirst... I was on a run of 20 on a second visit to the table, then after 2 consecutive flukes I managed to keep the break going on to a decent 36. John certainly didn't give up though, as he hit back with a nicely worked 20. However, being left with a "start" at most visits, I managed to clock up the 200 with a good 7 minutes to spare. Following that, Pudsey Congs, fought back really well. Mick Hirst had a nip and tuck battle with John Allan and pipped him at the post by 148-146 and, on the other table, Dave Hirst got the better of Ralph Allan 166-160. So, that 3-2 win kept Littlemoor at the top, but with the Deaf Centre scoring 4 this week they reduced the gap to 6 points. 

This coming week there's a derby at St Andrews, Congs will host the Deaf Centre and Littlemoor will make the trek to Princeville.

The last Pairs Prelim Round match was also completed this week when Brian Robinson and Ihjaz Hussain beat St Andrews two John's (Rider and Oyston) 400-322.

Please also note that we have a League Meeting at St Andrews this coming Friday the 24th January at St Andrews with a 7:30 start. We will be drawing the next round of the Individual Merit and Pairs, to be played on the 20th and 27th February.

By David Howarth

League Secretary

A decision has been made today, that the best way forward to deal with the 3 league matches that should have been played last night, is to simply continue with the same fixtures as previously published, but to push all the dates forward by one week. Obviously, this will mean that the season is extended by one week to the 15th May 2025. 

The revised dates are now showing on the Fixtures and Results page.

David Howarth

League Secretary

Just a brief update to advise all players that all matches scheduled for tomorrow evening are now cancelled. The main roads are not a problem, but pavements, pathways, car parks, side roads & streets are still covered in snow and ice and are therefore unsafe.

We will discuss at the next league meeting to decide when these matches can be played in the future. Take care everyone and stay safe.

David Howarth

League Secretary

Sorry for this delayed round-up, I'm currently a bit under the weather with a heavy cold! ... And a happy New Year to everyone.

There were two Individual Merit and two Pairs matches played this week. At Princeville, the winners of this comp in 2022 and 2023, Stephen Kershaw and Edward Lawson beat the father and son combo of John & Phil Hirst.  The scores posted to Facebook by Stephen were EL 201, JH 198 (so a very close one) and then SK 400, PH 387 (not quite as close, but only 13 difference over the two games suggest it was very competitive).

At St Andrews, I attended and refereed the Individual Merit match between the 2017 winner of this comp, Graham Pearson, and Sid "I'm happy travelling anywhere for a game of billiards" Ash. Graham, conceding 20 on the handicap, was soon into his stride and had caught up and passed Sid before he had even troubled the scorer. A strong and confident lead was soon established by Graham and although Sid battled gamely right to the bitter end, it was Graham who finished on top 200-172. The highlight for Graham was a very well crafted break of 30. Two runs in the teens got Sid a bit closer near the end, but the bird had already flown.

I then had to leave early (Grandad duties) and so didn't see the Pairs match in which Neil Lee and Nigel Brayshaw, beat the other pairing from St Andrews , John Bedford and Steve Clark. I don't have the scores but Neil tells me "the game was a bit nip and tuck for most of the way", but that him and Nigel just "got away at the end". 

At Pudsey Congs, in the Individual Merit, Ihjaz Hussain gave up his home advantage against Richard Bowes (more on the reason for that later in the piece). Richard (conceding 150) won that 200-178, making breaks of 43,51, 30 and 36 in the process. Richard's Facebook comment reads "A competitive game. I got within 40 or so at 140-100 when Ihjaz had consecutive 17's leaving me 80ish adrift and not minding if I lost as I'd dredged up some steady play to get where I had. The two 30's put us around level about 165 when it became a scramble for the line. Ihjaz fluked an in off white which I hoped would not be the deciding event but failed to capitalise. I then got in with a chance but broke down although a fluked double baulk meant I came back to the table needing only 12 but only made 9. A miss next shot by Ihjaz left me a difficult screw in off which won the game."

With regards the Deaf Centre venue, there is currently a lot of building repair work underway. Ian Ford sent me some photos and the whole place looks like a building site and so it's completely closed. I am advised it's out of action totally until February at the earliest. However, a temporary venue has been secured by Ian at Windhill Cricket Club, where (I am told) there is only the one table. But that should be okay for us in the Pudsey League. I have been working with Stephen Kershaw in the last 24 hours to see what can be put in place for their Bradford League matches (2 tables are required in the Bradford League). I have advised St Andrews B of their venue change from this coming Thursday the 9th Jan and will keep you all posted on here about any future home matches featuring the Deaf Centre going forward.

So, in addition to the aforementioned match at Windhill CC, league leaders Littlemoor are at home in what could be a crucial match against Pudsey Congs and St Andrews A will entertain Princeville.

Additional information - please note that as we are now in the third phase of the league programme, there is NO bonus point being played for. The bonus point will kick in again when we get into phase four (from the 27th February).

By David Howarth

League Secretary