Leaders' relentless in pursuit of title

Only able to field two players, Graves Park went down 6-4.

James Quinton won all three of his singles, dropping just one end against Sam Cooper, though Pete Evans could consider himself unlucky, losing two of his ends 15-17, 13-15. But Sam picked up a solid four set victory against Martin Walters and with Pete Evans also beating Martin, Wrangle had five points and were on the cusp of victory thanks to the walkovers.

It came down to a crucial doubles match, which Cooper and Evans took against Quinton and Walters in a tight five setter, winning the fifth 14-12 to clinch a 6-4 victory on the night.

It is a long time since Lodgers A lost to a team other than Penmaen but their defeat to Stickney shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise considering the strong line-up that Stickney have this year. Dave Heppenstall was imperious, taking all of his singles in straight ends, while Gavin Herberts played the wingman to perfection, winning two epic five-enders. However, he couldn’t find a way past Kelvin Clements who brushed him aside in straight ends.

With the score at 5-4, Lodgers needed the doubles to salvage a draw. Dave and Gavin took on Kelvin and Graham Lacey, with the Lodgers duo taking a very close first end 13-15. But Dave and Gavin powered through the next three to give their side an excellent 6-4 victory.

Penmaen continued with their assault on the title with a 9-1 victory against Lodgers B. All matches bar one were over in straight ends, with Trev Blackbourn taking the second end off Brett Heppenstall. However, Lodgers were gifted a point when it was deemed to slippy and dangerous to play the doubles.

Results: Wrangle 6 Graves Park C 4; Stickney 6 Lodgers A 4; Penmaen 9 Lodgers B 9-1

First faced second in Division Two when Lodgers Blades took on their stable-mates Lodgers E, with the Blades coming out on top with a 3-7 victory.

Number one ranked Simon Raistrick had to battle hard for his three singles victories, especially against Vic Clements; Vic taking him all the way to a fifth end but ultimately just missing out, with Simon snatching victory 10-12. Scott Raistrick beat number two ranked Richard Baxter in five ends and Clements in three, but had no answer against number 5 ranked Gary Jaques.

Gavin Read contributed a point with a straight ends victory against the unlucky Clements but didn’t get a sniff against Richard and Gary. The doubles was arguably the match of the night, with Blades’ Simon and Scott Raistrick just edging out Gary and Richard in five sets to secure an excellent 7-3 win for Blades.

Mayflower 2 took full advantage when they visited two-man Graves Park B, coming away with a 5-5 draw. Mick Maltby was in scintillating form, winning all three of his singles, dropping just one end to Allan Marshall. Mike Freeston found the going a bit tough though, losing in straight ends to both Allan Marshall and Tim Sampson, but winning in straight ends against Tony Hall. With the walkovers giving Mayflower a 5-4 lead, the Park needed the doubles for a draw. Once again it was the match of the night and went all the way, with Mike and Mick finally taking it 11-7 in the fifth from Allan and Tim.

Sibsey A hosted Sibsey C , with the A team taking the spoils 7-3. Matt Haslam and Neil Snaith did the damage, winning all their singles matches.

Results: Lodgers E 3 Lodgers Blades 7; Graves Park B 5 Mayflower 2 5; Sibsey A 7 Sibsey C 3

There was just one match in Division Three this week, a very entertaining 5-5 draw between Graves Park E and Tetford. Peter Bell was the star man for the Park, winning all three of his singles. Alex Allbones added another point with a fine victory over Jon Newby. For Tetford, Andy Foster and Mary Silverton both recorded victories over Rita Rowe and Alex Allbones, with Jon Newby also beating an unlucky Rita Rowe,.

The outcome hinged an another entertaining five-set doubles, with Peter and Alex just holding out against Andy and Mary to take the fifth 12-10 and make the final match score 5-5.

Result: Graves Park E 5 Tetford 5