Apologies for the late round-up... It's been another busy Sunday for me. The rest of the update has been done in instalments since Friday evening, so you may have picked up on that already. 

In the penultimate week of the run for the league title, Littlemoor's form has fallen completely off a cliff and what was looking good for them only a few weeks ago, is now looking more like a scramble. In their match at St Andrews A, they were only able to manage one point from the six that were available. St Andrews A's skipper, Neil Lee got them off to a good early start, beating Ralph Allan, who was never really able to make enough impression on their 25 point handicap difference (200-183). It was a similar story in the next two games, when Gary Rogers overcame Dave Howarth 196-187 and then reserve John Rider did the same to Graham Tudor (200-180). It was left to John Allan in the final game to rescue what could be a valuable point for Littlemoor, when he finished on top at the bell against Graham Pearson 188-157. Littlemoor will possibly claim that the good luck they've had, tied in with some very good performances for most of the season, has now deserted them. However, St Andrews A have proven again, that they are well capable of beating anyone and that they generally save all their best efforts for Littlemoor!

Pudsey Congs will have been unaware of what was going on at Robin Lane; but just up the road at School Street, they were focussed on "doing the job" on St Andrews B. I'm unaware of the playing order, but I suspect Congs Richard Bowes will have been up first against his old pal, Dave Smith. He obviously played some of his best billiards, breaking his own seasonal highest break, in recording a 94 and then a 46 in his 200-101 own personal demolition job. Phil Hirst also had a big win over St Andrews B's reserve John Oyston 200-148. However, Steve Clark was able to pull one back for St Andrews B (200-172) against John Hirst and John Bedford looks to have had a close one with Congs Mick Hirst in his 175-167 win. So, 4-2 to Congs with Richard commenting on Facebook "A satisfactory evening. 5 (points) was within reach, but just eluded us. John & Mick had a good back and forth game." 

James Butcher has sent me the following describing Princeville's 5-1 win over Bradford Deaf Centre:-

First up was James (Butcher) v Jeremy (Dixon) and Keith (Tomlinson) v Brian (Robinson). The top board game was played in an open fashion. Jeremy had first initiative but soon found the jaws of the pocket.  James played a firmer game, resulting in double figure breaks on almost every early stage visit.  Jeremy often rattled the jaws, even though he appeared to hit the ball cleanly. Meanwhile, Brian sportingly fielded the cue ball to Jeremy, only to lose grip and nearly hit the nearby red ball! Whilst James held a comfortable lead with time being ebbed away, his scoring slowed down and Jeremy began to build momentum towards the business end.  At one point, match referee Gareth thought he had to make a baulk line call.  But eagle-eyed James was satisfied the red ball was in play by approx 5/8ths. With less than two minutes to go, Jeremy finally got the balls to marry and looked promising to overturn a 25pt deficit with an unfinished break of 30pts. However, with 40 seconds to go, a pot red attempt at top of table found the jaw and not the onion bag.  On the other table, Keith extended his handicap start towards 60pts.  Although Brian had the run in late on, Keith needed less than a street to win and gradually converted. 

For the second half, it was Gareth (Kershaw) v Ihjaz (Hussain) and Graham (Bentley) v Ian (Ford). Graham overcame his handicap deficit and built a comfortable lead.  As Ian needed a full extension to play an awkward shot at top of table, match referee Keith called a foul as Ian cued up and was adamant in his decision making. Graham kept the scorecard ticking and held his own at the end. On the other table, Ihjaz started off better and gradually overturned his deficit to a 30pt lead with some solid individual shots. Towards the 2nd half, Gareth had more of an opening where early chances were few and far between. As Gareth got to within 10pts at the business end, Ijhaz restored that lead to 20+pts. Gareth launched a late comeback but had a lot of work to do.  A break was broken down to a line ball call (cue a crestfallen Ian David Stockley Smith in the commentary box).  Referee James delivered an in baulk verdict. Despite Gareth manufacturing a spirited comeback, Ijhaz got the final 5pts he needed.  Although the final shot was a very faint cannon.  The referee, being from a distance, heard contact and made the final call. A good night for the Horton Bank Toppers, where one member exclaimed "we are not bottom!" 

That 5-1 win to Princeville kept them in 4th spot above St Andrews A by half a point... These half points that occasionally occur can often prove to be crucial when the title is up for grabs and even when the places lower down are being scrambled for. The five points that Richard hoped for, would have put Pudsey Congs on top, but the four they managed this week now leaves them an agonising half a point behind Littlemoor. (Too close for comfort for the league leaders as well!). With just one week of league matches remaining. Littlemoor will be back at St Andrews, but this time against their B team, whereas Congs will be at Princeville. There's not much difference in the advantage both teams have for the double aggregate point either, as Littlemoor are on a 125 point lead on St Andrews B and Congs have a 108 point lead over Princeville. So, it's still all to play for. St Andrews A will be visiting Bradford Deaf at Windhill & Daisy Hill Cricket Club... where they will be trying to score enough points to pinch fourth spot from Princeville. 

At the league meeting on Friday we drew the next rounds of the Individual Merit and Pairs competitions. They can be found on the appropriate page. 

David Howarth

League Secretary

Pudsey Congs kept up the pressure on league leaders Littlemoor this week with a convincing 5-1 home win against St Andrews A. In fact they managed to reduce Littlemoor's lead to three and a half points - last week it was four and a half. Congs Richard Bowes very brief note on Facebook reads "All four games to 200 and 44 minutes of unused time". All sounds relatively straightforward that; and looking at the scorecard, there could have been an occasional jitter though. Richard recorded breaks of 36 and 56 in his big 200-143 win over Graham Pearson. However, Dave Hirst only beat Nigel Brayshaw by 12 and although John Hirst beat John Rider by 32; St Andrews A's Gary Rogers good season continued with a 12 point win over Phil Hirst.

At St Andrews, Princeville arrived with a massive 219 points advantage for the double aggregate ,after trouncing this evenings opponents 5-0 at the end of January. Last week I pointed out that St Andrews B hadn't won since the middle of November, and quite possibly that message got through and irked some of them, as three of the four of them won pretty convincingly... Dave Smith (with a 21 break) beat Brian Haigh 200-131. John Bedford registered a 31 break in his 158-131 win over James Butcher. Steve Clark also put his poor recent form to one side and defeated fellow struggler, Keith Tomlinson, 200-171. Princeville's Graham Bentley was able to secure a point for his team with a 200-182 win over Steve Boocock, despite a 21 break by his opponent. The double aggregate point was probably never in doubt. A very good return to form though by St Andrews B - 4-2.

At Littlemoor, Bradford Deaf arrived in good heart, but didn't get a great start as John Allan played well to get the better of Jeremy Dixon 168-124. I refereed the game between Graham Tudor and Brian Robinson. Graham started well but was soon overtaken by Brian who took the lead by a good 30 points. Graham fought back really well though to nick it at the end 200-190. So 2-0 to Littlemoor, things were going really well. However, Ralph Allan and myself somehow both snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, as both of us lost to Ihjaz Hussain and Ian Ford 170-183 and 193-199 respectively. Thanks to John and Graham's wins added to the double aggregate, we ended up "limping" to a 4-2 and are now glancing over our shoulders for the final two matches. 

Congs will be at home to a resurgent St Andrews B this week and Littlemoor will face St Andrews A on Robin Lane. Princeville will be at home to Bradford Deaf.

I have also now brought the Pairs Table up to date after Mick & Dave Hirst beat Brian Robinson and Ihjaz Hussain a couple of weeks ago. 

Please also note that we have a meeting this Friday - same place, usual time.

David Howarth

League Secretary

On Thursday this week, Pudsey Congs continued their quest to gain more ground on leaders Littlemoor, when they visited Bradford Deaf at their temporary venue of Windhill & Daisy Hill Cricket Club. They started off "brightly"... Richard Bowes Facebook comment on the match reads "We were flying after two relatively straightforward wins for Phil (Hirst) and I; and with John (Hirst) starting brightly, it all seemed cut and dried, but then he dried up... and then in Dave's (Hirst) game there were some jangling nerves until he just scraped the aggregate with Ihjaz (Hussain) 170+"

To save you looking at the scoresheet, Richard beat Jeremy Dixon 200-114 and in doing so registered two breaks in the 70's and a more modest 34. Ihjaz beat Dave by an equally massive 200-105. Phil beat Brian Robinson 200-150 and Fordy stormed to a 200-161 win over John Hirst. So, 2-2 in games, but Congs sneaked the aggregate point by just 2 and also claimed the double aggregate point to make it 4-2.

At St Andrews, the A team registered another win (the first time they have strung 2 wins together all season) against their B team stablemates (who haven't won since the middle of November!). Neil Lee, Gary Rogers and Nigel Brayshaw were the A team victors, and it was the ever present John Bedford who save the blushes of the B team. A comfortable 5-1 for the A team, although Steve Boocock appears to have been a bit unlucky in his 2 point defeat against Gary.

At Littlemoor, the league leaders were hoping for a clean sweep... This was obviously not going to be... and quite early on in the piece, when Graham Bentley dominated against Graham Tudor who had won his previous three. 200-154 to the Princeville man. On the other table there never seemed to be a lot in it each time I glanced over. However, Ralph Allan was 160-154 in front against Brian Haigh at the bell, to make it 1-1 and all to play for for both teams. I struggled against Ed Lawson who belied his 95 handicap, with some confident in-offs. There was never much in it, but he held his nerve at the end to win 189-185 at the bell. On the other table, my team-mate John Allan also "dominated" against James Butcher. A confident 196-103 secured the aggregate point on the night, but it wasn't until the scores were added up, that we realised we had also won the double aggregate point by one. I consoled myself on my defeat with the fact that had I not got to the table and scored a cannon when there were just 5 seconds left that the double aggregate point would have been in Princeville's hands! I suppose that's billiards though, and why we love the sport so much... there's always a lot of "ifs and buts".

So, Littlemoor's four point lead remains intact, with now only three matches left. This coming week, Congs will face St Andrews A. Littlemoor have home advantage again to Bradford Deaf and St Andrews B will take on Princeville. Good luck all.

David Howarth

League Secretary

After a fortnight's break to take in the first rounds proper of the Pairs and Individual Merit competitions, we made a return to the race for the league title. Princeville's form has been up and down all season, possibly due to the fact they have struggled to have a "regular four". Their skipper, James Butcher, on the other hand, has been their mainstay, playing all sixteen matches so far. He has kindly sent me the following from their home match against St Andrews A this week:-

"First up was Edward (Lawson) v Gary (Rogers) and Steve (Gatenby) v Nigel (Brayshaw). Nigel got off to a bright start and registered a 20 break, en-route to building a handy lead. Steve had little in the way of run in and momentum. He stabilised a 20 point deficit.  But Nigel wrapped up the game past the 40 minute mark. 

Edward made the first initiative with a 16 break. Gary did get back to parity with a couple of runs, but was up against an unforgiving table. Edward had better fortune where a stray ball seemed to find a pocket. Edward led for the most part, but Gary fought back and brought the deficit to single figures. With 90 seconds to go, a pot red opportunity was presented but it required a rest and an extension. Gary could not get the right execution and conceded a foul. At that point, Edward added a scoring shot to effectively win before the 50 minutes was up, but Gary ended the game with a six shot. A 200 up game may have yielded a different result. 

Next was James (Butcher) v Graham (Pearson) and Neil (Lee) v Graham (Bentley). James and Graham P started openly. The handicap difference was maintained for the 1st 15 minutes. However, James's short game was not on point and Graham P seized the initiative, by playing an effective long game and continuing to accumulate points towards the 200 mark. Graham P wrapped up the game in 40 minutes.

On the other table, Neil got off to a strong start against Graham B and did not really look back. Graham B did find some scoring form late on as Neil was stuck in the 190s for a while.  But the deficit was too great to climb. Another unsettling night for Princeville in the end."

So, St Andrews A's substantial 155 point win was easily enough to overhaul their 122 point loss to Princeville in January, and helped them to a convincing 5-1 win on the night. 

At St Andrews, Bradford Deaf were the B team's opponents. The home side, having not had a league win since the middle of November, will have been hoping to turn that poor stat around. And, although they didn't win this one either, they can rightfully claim they weren't defeated. The scorecard shows wins for John Bedford, and the two Steve's (Boocock & Clark) for St Andrews B. However, Jeremy Dixon's 85 point win against Dave Smith, which included breaks of 22 & 39 actually ensured three points for the visitors on the night, as it not only won them the match aggregate point, but it also won them the double aggregate point, to nick them a 3-3 draw.

This week's table topping clash between Pudsey Congs and Littlemoor was described last week as  "possibly season-defining"... In those terms, it didn't disappoint. In my WhatsApp message to the Littlemoor team, pre-match, I advised  "No pressure, but if we can secure two or, preferably, three points on the night, I'd be happy". As it turned out, Congs won the match 4-2 to reduce Littlemoor's lead at the top to a much closer four and a half points... Kicking off for Congs, Richard Bowes somehow, didn't seem his usual self, but maybe that was due to his opponent, John Allan, occupying the table very well with some regular scoring, to keep him in front despite breaks of 30 and 40 gradually reducing RKB's deficit. It wasn't until there were about 90 seconds left when John missed an easy red over the middle that RKB seized his chance and sneaked past John to win 153-143 at the bell. Up second, were Phil Hirst against Littlemoor's in form Graham Tudor. This one was a little more like "one way traffic", with Graham winning well 200-152 to put his side back in a strong position, particularly for the double aggregate point. 

Next up, were home man John Hirst and myself. My good running for this season continued early on and at one stage, assisted by a handful of outrageous flukes, I was nearly 50 in front. However, John persevered really well and drew back to just about level, when the running changed again. Then, with some renewed confidence, he waltzed past me to deservedly win 200-189. Congs captain, Dave Hirst's form has been excellent recently, and having gone back to his old cue, it's won him his last six league matches. Knowing a big win was needed, to try secure the double aggregate point, he set off well against Ralph Allan. This was another "one way traffic" affair. The running was mostly with Dave and although Ralph tried hard, things just didn't go his way at all. Dave therefore ran out confidently to win by a convincing 200-138, but it wasn't quite enough to pull back the double aggregate after Littlemoor's 52 point win in the corresponding fixture in January. Littlemoor had Graham Tudor to thank for his 48 point win earlier to keep that point in their pocket. 

I asked our interested spectator, John Rider, if he had learned anything in watching most of the match. His response was "Yes, quite a few things... but nothing from you"! Thanks John, I suppose I walked myself straight into that one...

This coming week, Congs will make a visit to Bradford Deaf's current venue of Windhill and Daisy Hill Cricket Club (6:30pm start please). Littlemoor have home advantage to Princeville and there's a derby at St Andrews. Good luck.

By David Howarth

Secretary

Three of the four Pairs quarter-final matches were played this week. The match between Dave & Mick Hirst against Brian Robinson & Ihjaz Hussain has been postponed, and so will be played in good time before the next round is drawn.

Littlemoor's pairing, and last year's winners, John Allan and Graham Tudor were up against Ian Ford and Jeremy Dixon at Windhill & Daisy Hill CC. Apart from being advised that Graham played well to beat Ian 200-170, I don't have much other detail except the score - John & Graham won 400-345.

At Princeville, the St Andrews A pair of Nigel Brayshaw and Neil Lee were up against twice previous winners, from 2022 & 2023, Edward Lawson & Stephen Kershaw. First up was Nigel & Ed. Nigel set off like he had a train to catch and, despite both being on a handicap of 95, he was soon 40, then 60 plus in front, aided by a 23 break, with not a lot coming in response. Ed didn't give up though, and soon made a 26 of his own, once the running changed. This got Ed a fair bit closer. However, Nigel held his nerve and was up (200-167) before Ed could make much further impression. Conceding 100 on the handicap to Neil, plus the 33 Nigel had won by, gave Stephen a mountain to climb. He made a valiant effort, which included a 30 break, plus multiple double figure breaks, but he was still 36 short when Neil reached the 400.

On the other table, it was Trevor and Gareth Kershaw against Sid Ash and myself. First up was Gareth and Sid. Receiving 20 start from Gareth on the handicaps, this was soon increased to 40 and was then pushing up to 60 by Sid; with some regular scoring which included a 20 break. Similar to his Princeville team-mate Ed, Gareth also staged a fight back, which included a very well constructed break of 30. This brought him to within about 15. But Sid had the better running towards the end to see him home by 200-194. Although Sid's win was by just 6, I still received a further 85 start on the handicaps from Trevor. We both missed out on some early opportunities and double figure breaks for me were non-existent for quite a way into the game. So, Trevor was gradually gaining on me with more regular scoring including some good individual shots, but no breaks of any significance. At the point he got to within around 35, it was looking like my number was up. However, with a bit of good fortune that helped to restore some confidence, I was able to get home to win 400-364 in, what really was, a scrappy game; compared to our respective partners, Sid and Gareth.

This coming Thursday sees a return to the league title race. St Andrews A will travel to Princeville. St Andrews B will host Bradford Deaf and in what could be a season-defining match; Littlemoor are at second placed Pudsey Congs. Please remember that from this point on, in the league competition, we are also playing for the additional aggregate point. So, Princeville are 122 up from their previous leg (Week 11) against St Andrews A; Bradford Deaf are 67 up against St Andrews B from Week 11; and Littlemoor are 52 up against Pudsey Congs from Week 11. Good luck to all.

By David Howarth

League Secretary